Mass Effect 3: Leviathan DLC Review

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. After the scathing reaction to the original Mass Effect 3 ending and the subsequent scramble on BioWare's part to quell the outrage with a massive 2GB ending "fix". I didn't think I could ever be interested in anything BioWare put out let alone anything from the Mass Effect universe. But Leviathan teased a possible explanation as to the origins of the Reapers, the cataclysmic race bent on harvesting all organic life in the galaxy, and any insight into their past was reason enough for me to jump back in. Leviathan, while not lengthy feels substantial, there are four new areas to explore three of which are as big as any of the main story mission e.g., Mars, Palaven, etc. These three new environments are different from anything else in the game and provide gorgeous new vistas with one planet in particular being unlike anything the series has ever done before. And like it or not this piece of content dives, quite literally, into the depths of the controversy and attempts to explain some of the back-story to this Reaper predicament.

Sure is dark in the depths of this controversy 

Leviathan proposes to explain the origin of the Reapers and while it certainly does that, it comes with BioWare's now patented level of contradictory and convoluted story-telling. They explain the creation of the Reapers and the fan coined "Star-child" and put simply it's not satisfactory. They should have just left it alone and in my opinion they have dug themselves into an even deeper hole of nonsensical fiction. But this is still a Mass Effect adventure and it's a damn good one if a little unnecessary. There is a constant uneasy feeling as you play through this dlc having seen how this saga ends this adventure feels out of place as it takes place during the events of Mass Effect 3, which it has to, as anyone who has completed the game will tell you, but it simply feels weird. There is a great mixture of detective work and intense combat in this dlc, with Shepard asked to investigate the mysterious Leviathan, which after a tragic lab accident has Shepard piecing together clues and traveling the galaxy to unravel the mystery. Thankfully the quality of this little adventure is on par with Mass Effect 2's Lair of the Shadow Broker and Overlord and way better than From Ashes.

(4 out of 5)