Mass Effect 3’s Biggest Twists Explained

Mass Effect 3 is the final entry in the Mass Effect trilogy, and serves the purpose of concluding the story of Shepard and the Reapers by fully solving the mysteries that players encountered in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. But even as the story nears an ending, Mass Effect 3 manages to throw some big twists at the player.

With the release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, fans of the trilogy can experience the series from start to finish. Along with all three base games, almost every single Mass Effect DLC is included in Legendary Edition, so players will be able to fully play through all available story content.

As Mass Effect 3 aims to wrap up the plot lines introduced in the first two games of the trilogy by functioning as a logical conclusion, it doesn’t feature as many unexpected twists as Mass Effect or Mass Effect 2. However, there are still some surprises in the game’s plot that may catch fans off-guard. Here are some of the biggest twists from ME3.

Mass Effect 3 Biggest Twist – Udina’s Betrayal

Councilor Udina, though not one of Shepard’s biggest supporters, still serves as their ally throughout the series. As the human ambassador on the Citadel, he is responsible for arguing humanity’s interests to the Council in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. Udina is shown to be a slow-to-act individual who prefers methodical thought and caution in order to not rock the political boat, prioritizing his standing with the Council. This is a large part of why his betrayal in Mass Effect 3 came as a surprise to many players. Udina serves as the human Councilor up until midway through the game, at which point he begins working with Cerberus to stage a coup on the Citadel in response to the Council’s lack of action in assisting Earth. After Udina is killed during the coup attempt, Anderson and Shepard speculate that he may have been indoctrinated, similarly to what happened with the Illusive Man.

Mass Effect 3 Biggest Twist – The Ending

The ending of Mass Effect 3 is infamous for being controversial, as players are presented with only a small handful of options that determine the ending of the trilogy. Shepard discovers that the Crucible is actually the creator of the Reapers, and that their cycle of destruction was meant to keep organics from being destroyed by their own synthetic creations. The completion of the Crucible is an indication that the cycle will no longer be a viable option moving forward, and so Shepard is presented with several options to end things. Players can destroy the Reapers (and all synthetic life in the galaxy), control the Reapers by letting Shepard become the master AI, combine all organic and synthetic life in the galaxy, or refuse to decide and let the cycle continue. The unexpected explanation behind the Reaper’s goals and the final choices presented within the game’s ending caught many players by surprise.

As the final entry in the Mass Effect trilogy, Mass Effect 3 aims to serve as a logical and satisfying conclusion to the overarching story of the series while still surprising fans with interesting twists. The surprising narrative turns are a large part of what makes the series a suspenseful action experience.

About The Author

Ky Shinkle
(528 Articles Published)

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Ky Shinkle is a Senior Gaming Features Writer for Screen Rant as well as an overall avid gamer and writer. Her prior experience is primarily that of a narrative designer for video games, although her writing has covered all formats from screenplays and novels to stage scripts. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, when she isn’t writing she works on digital media projects and other types of fiction writing. Ky currently works out of Ohio and enjoys spending her free time either playing RPGs or running with her dog.

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