Mass Effect 3
Shares rank 8 of 14 action role-playing games by recommenders
Liked as a strong BioWare game with a good story; critics say its ending was disappointing and tied to multiplayer grinding.
Liked as a strong BioWare game with a good story; critics say its ending was disappointing and tied to multiplayer grinding.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 13
- approval share
- 38%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Enjoyable despite its flaws
“Frostbite was also a bugaboo for Mass Effect 3, contributing heavily to its shortcomings (although it was a great game nonetheless)”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” “Meh I liked it. In fact they shouldn't have caved and added to it IMO.”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” “I really love mass effect 3.”
Comment from 24 Mar 2026 in “Today's Layoffs” Strong BioWare reputation
“Probably one of the best game studios ever, IMO.”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” “ME3 was the last good game they released”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Controversial, disappointing ending
“a bit controversial on release due to the bad ending”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” “Even with the later expanded endings it felt disappointing.”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” “ME3's ending was doomed before that game started.”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” - Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare”
Best ending tied to multiplayer
“ME3's original ending was tied to you grinding in multiplayer to reach the single player goals.”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” “Especially when it's made mandatory for the best ending.”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” Crowded, messy design
“Part of ME3's problem was that it was left with too much to do”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” “part of why ME3 was a mess”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare”
Other action role-playing games people recommend
The four most recommended other action role-playing games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elden Ring | 25 | 8 | 76% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Dark Souls | 23 | 6 | 79% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Diablo II: Resurrected | 19 | 3 | 86% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Mass Effect | 19 | 5 | 79% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Mass Effect 3This page | 8 | 13 | 38% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
19 of the 23 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Especially when it's made mandatory for the best ending.”
“Part of ME3's problem was that it was left with too much to do”
“ME3's original ending was tied to you grinding in multiplayer to reach the single player goals.”
“part of why ME3 was a mess”
“the idiotic fights with Kai Leng, the whole Crucible concept”
“Even with the later expanded endings it felt disappointing.”
“Frostbite was also a bugaboo for Mass Effect 3, contributing heavily to its shortcomings (although it was a great game nonetheless)”
“Almost every mission feels anodyne and flat, the skill balancing is way off.”
“I would think Bioware fans marked the fall of Bioware at ME3”
“one of the greatest things about the ending was also the psychological trick it made”
“a bit controversial on release due to the bad ending”
“ME3 does a decent job of explaining what had happened”
“Meh I liked it. In fact they shouldn't have caved and added to it IMO.”
“ME3's ending was doomed before that game started.”
“At least you can pick the color filter to apply to the ending.”
“They wiffed on ME3's ending.”
“Probably one of the best game studios ever, IMO.”
“ME3 was the last good game they released”
“I really love mass effect 3.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.