When Mass Effect 3 originally came out I hated it. This was more than just because of the infamous ending but I had a lot of issues with it as a whole. I never went back to it when the extended version was released or when any of the DLC came out and I've been kind of bitter about it for years. I built it up in my head to be an unplayable mess and yet going back to it 10 years later with fresh eyes and a different temperament with age... I found myself having a really good time with it.

Oh sure, the problems I had with it are still there. The stripped back quest system is painfully stupid, the dialogue being cut back to almost simple good or bad answers with nothing in-between, the Reapers chasing you on the map, the playable cast feeling like a step back, not being able to put your gun away, Kai Leng's edgy '14 year old boy's idea of cool' existence etc. The game is plagued with little issues that seemingly come from pulling the game together at the last moment. Bioware themselves referred to this as the "Bioware Magic":

"BioWare former executive producer Mark Darrah has shared his thoughts on the so-called “BioWare magic.” The expression, which was used at the company, means getting stuck during the development process for an indefinite time and then finishing the project shortly before launch as if by magic."

And in my opinion Mass Effect 3 is the first game Bioware made where the cracks of this are plainly visible for players to see. (Well maybe Dragon age II...) The game doesn't feel quite finished in a lot of areas and it's a shame because despite much younger me being bitter about it for not reaching the hype I'd built in my head, there is actually a lot of good here.

The combat is excellent, the best in the series in my opinion. It's pretty fast paced, being able to map abilities, roll, direct team mates, launch cool abilities and combos etc. It takes all the best parts of Mass Effect 2 and builds on them. What really makes them good though are the combat arenas, tight well designed battle areas pushing you to use strategy and cover especially on harder difficulties. My issue with Andromeda's combat despite smoother animations and movement was just the areas you fight in were often so large, empty and bland. Mass Effect 3 has the right balance to make each fight feel intense and fun.

Some of the moment to moment dialogue and story beats are also great, bringing back all the cast and decisions into the game must have been extremely difficult and yet I think it's done well overall to link it all together. Mass Effect 3's biggest issue isn't even Mass Effect 3, it's Mass Effect 2. The ending of 2 as awesome as it was would have been better as the ending of 3 to finish the trilogy. As it is, 2 wrote Bioware into a corner due to the suicide mission. Having to account for the possibility of not every character being alive. (No one gets left behind on my watch) limits their appearances and who is playable and also accounts for a slightly weaker playable cast. Despite this though I feel they did a good job in the story beats with Mordin, Tali, Legion etc. Some are stronger than others but to take account for everything was accomplished better than I remember and I do feel Bioware deserve credit for this.

I genuinely had fun meeting the cast, seeing the huge set pieces as the galaxy overcomes it's differences. Most of my complaints that seemed big at the time I actually see as a lot smaller replaying it now. The DLC adds a lot to this with the inclusion of Javik as a playable character, playing the citadel to relink up with everyone was amazing and how Leviathan, such an important part of the game was pushed to DLC is beyond me as it does give more context to Mass Effect 3's initial awful ending.

Speaking of which, I had to address this at some point but the ending to this game even with additional DLC and content is still awful. I got the destroy ending with enough military force behind me for the best possible outcome and it's still insanely unsatisfying. There is a point where things were fine, it would have been a good place to stop. Lacked the adrenaline pounding moments of storming the citadel or the suicide mission, but it was fine. Then it goes a step further and that's where it crumbles. It's a real shame Bioware couldn't hold it all together in the end, even with that ending it's still one of the best trilogies in gaming but this is where Bioware's magic started to run out. I hope they can recapture their glory years going forward with the next Mass Effect game in development.

Mass Effect 3 isn't a bad game though, in fact completely revising my opinion, I think it's a good one, just a little flawed.

+ Combat encounters are fantastic.
+ Story beats linking to earlier games are generally well done.
+ Great visuals, music and voice acting.

- Quests are still awful.
- Ending is terrible even with additional content.
- Plethora of smaller issues.
- Kai Leng.