Yeah, that's right, Mass Effect 3 turns ten today. I know, we're old, bones turning to dust, etc. It hurts. However, as painful as it is to be reminded of the unrelenting passage of time, it's a great opportunity to reminisce on one of gaming's most famous, and infamous, launches of all time. And what better way to celebrate Mass Effect 3 than talk about its ending, and dig up some old discourse?To mark the Mass Effect trilogy's big birthday, fans are revisiting the ending, and finding it might not have been as bad as everyone thought. They're also digging up old, pre-launch promotional material, and reliving the feeling of waiting for the game to drop.Over on the Mass Effect subreddit, a thread celebrating the anniversary quickly turned into a discussion about the story. Surprisingly, most seem to speak positively of it - something we very much didn't see at launch."I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. Mass Effect 3 is one of the best games ever made", comments user extremelobster. "This is my favorite one in the series and it still holds up after playing the remastered version", agrees AbernathyCrimson.
"It really is one of the best games ever, we are lucky that it wrapped up this series the way it did", says WhoThatBengal.
Some still go after the ending, calling it disappointing and weak. But at the very least, it seems that many more players are appreciating the good to be found in the story with the benefit of hindsight.
On Twitter, unofficial update account Mass Effect News shares a thread on the ways BioWare hyped up the release of the trilogy's conclusion. As Dragon Age fans know all too well right now, BioWare likes to keep a lid on things until close to release, and it was no different back then. "Hints" as to what the story of Mass Effect 3 would entail included sharing an image of the cover art to The Clash's London's Calling, a link to the UK's SIS site, and a literal red herring. As we now know, the first two were hints that the game would finally take us to earth, with the game's final mission set in London.
Other than that, fans didn't get much to go on. There were a few glimpses of a trailer before its official reveal at the Spike Video Game Awards in 2010, but even then, it wasn't confirmed to be a Mass Effect game. As we can still see in the comments, some believed it would be a spin-off.
BioWare is yet to mark the anniversary in its own way, but the company is likely to celebrate later on in the day.