Mass Effect

I played ME3 not having played any previous entries so my response to the ending was entirely "???".

I thought the whole deal with the series is that each one builds on the previous, and your decisions matter? Funny you started with ME3.

Don't know anything about a controversial ME3 ending, except that people don't like "Andromeda."

The non spoiler summary of the controversy is that you get presented with the same set of choices at the end no matter what character and story routes you took in all the preceding gameplay, and supposedly contradicted the "choices matter" ethos of the series. As someone who doesn't believe in free will, I didn't much mind.

An illusion of choice is an apt summation of countless video games. It's an aspect of their novelty, that they can produce compelling gameplay even when the typical conclusion (survival! victory!) is preordained.