# Mass Effect 3

8 Hacker News commenters recommended Mass Effect 3 and 13 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Liked as a strong BioWare game with a good story; critics say its ending was disappointing and tied to multiplayer grinding.

## Why people recommend it

- Enjoyable despite its flaws (3 comments): "Frostbite was also a bugaboo for Mass Effect 3, contributing heavily to its shortcomings (although it was a great game nonetheless)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50191096)) "Meh I liked it. In fact they shouldn't have caved and added to it IMO." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50187453)) "I really love mass effect 3." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47508289))
- Strong BioWare reputation (2 comments): "Probably one of the best game studios ever, IMO." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50185423)) "ME3 was the last good game they released" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50185276))

## What people warn about

- Controversial, disappointing ending (4 comments): "a bit controversial on release due to the bad ending" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50189427)) "Even with the later expanded endings it felt disappointing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50192241)) "ME3's ending was doomed before that game started." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50185628))
- Best ending tied to multiplayer (2 comments): "ME3's original ending was tied to you grinding in multiplayer to reach the single player goals." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50193543)) "Especially when it's made mandatory for the best ending." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50199844))
- Crowded, messy design (2 comments): "Part of ME3's problem was that it was left with too much to do" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50194384)) "part of why ME3 was a mess" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50192574))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Elden Ring](https://hackerapproved.com/p/elden-ring.md): 25 recommend
- [Dark Souls](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dark-souls.md): 23 recommend
- [Diablo II: Resurrected](https://hackerapproved.com/p/diablo-2.md): 19 recommend
- [Mass Effect](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mass-effect.md): 19 recommend
- [Path of Exile](https://hackerapproved.com/p/path-of-exile.md): 15 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Mass Effect 3", https://hackerapproved.com/p/mass-effect-3/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).