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Mass Effect 3's button-press finale, the three endings, and the Extended Cut fix

Mass Effect 3 ended by forcing players to pick one of three outcomes with a single button press, a design that mirrored Deus Ex: Human Revolution and drew heavy criticism. The three options—Destroy, Control, and Synthesis—each carried major, specific consequences for Reapers, synthetic life and Shepard. BioWare later released a free Extended Cut DLC that expanded the endings and added a fourth 'Refusal' option. The finale remains a focal point in debates about player agency and narrative closure in the trilogy.

• The game's final sequence resolved the entire trilogy via a single button press choice, a structure similar to Deus Ex: Human Revolution's criticized ending.
• Destroy eradicates the Reapers but also wipes out all synthetic life, explicitly including the geth and the companion EDI.
• Control sacrifices Shepard to assume command of the Reapers; Synthesis merges organic and synthetic life through an unexplained process.
• BioWare issued a free Extended Cut DLC that expanded the cinematic endings and added a fourth 'Refusal' option for players who rejected the presented choices.