The Best Mass Effect Games, Ranked According to Metacritic

Mass Effect: Infiltrator – 68

The only mobile title in the series, Mass Effect: Infiltrator is unfortunately the lowest rated game in the series. Though it is intentionally a smaller, somewhat restrained experience. Infiltrator takes place just before Mass Effect 3 and follows a Cerberus operative named Randall Ezno. After finding out some startling information about the shadowy organization, he goes rogue and begins to fight Cerberus.

The title currently sits at a 68 on Metacritic, based on 27 critics. Unfortunately, the user score hasn’t fared quite as well with a 4.9 based on 28 ratings. The good news is, after the Infiltrator’s 1.03 patch, many of its technical issues, like glitchy controls, were rectified.

Mass Effect  – 88

The first Mass Effect introduced BioWare’s most successful series to date, introducing players to an expansive, original sci-fi universe. Mass Effect told the story of Commander Shepard, someone on the forefront of humanity’s expansion into the larger universe. The title helped define what player choice meant in video games, giving you options with real consequences, on top of a Paragon and Renegade morality system. However, the game had its own fair share of technical hiccups.

Currently, Mass Effect sits at an 88 on Metacritic based 125 critics across PS3, PC, and Xbox 360. User score is just about equal with an average of 8.5 based on over 2,000 ratings across the three systems.

Mass Effect 3 – 92

Mass Effect 3 was the highly anticipated conclusion to the epic sci-fi trilogy, effectively wrapping up the story of Commander Shepard and their crew. It was certainly an emotional rollercoaster that featured a number of gameplay and combat additions as well. Additionally, Mass Effect 3 also featured the series’ first multiplayer mode, pitting teams of players against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. Virtually the only point of contention with the third entry was the controversial ending that left some fans dissatisfied.

The title currently sits at an average score of 92 on Metacritic based on over 74 critics for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC versions. Unfortunately the user score sits quite a bit below that with an average of 5.6, based on over 3,000 ratings.

Mass Effect 2 – 95

Mass Effect 2 remains both the critic and fan favorite of the entire series, even garnering a few Game of the Year awards in 2010. The title started off with a bang, killing Commander Shepard in its opening moments, before bringing them back to life with a shadowy organization named Cerberus. Shepard and their crew are sent on a literal suicide mission to investigate a strange alien race known as the Collectors. Mass Effect 2 was a huge step up in terms of gameplay, switching to combat that felt much more like a shooter than an RPG. It also had a huge emphasis on party characters, even mixing in side quests that corresponded to your crew members’ loyalty to Shepard.

The title currently sits at an average score of 95 on Metacritic, based on over 100 critics for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC versions. User score is just a bit lower, with an average of 8.7, based on over 3,000 ratings across all systems.