The Citadel DLC marks the final piece of content released by Bioware for their highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy, and a suitable end to an astounding trilogy it is. The Citadel DLC takes place just before the final assault of earth, and the crew of the Normandy are told to enjoy some well-deserved shore leave, however, it turns out to be fair from relaxing
The real winning aspect of this DLC are the characters, cameos and relationships, Bioware really indulge in the situation provided by the inclusion of almost every crew-member Shepard has ever met, with some wonderful dialogue and character interaction. In particular, storming the antagonist’s base as one great big dysfunctional but equally loving family is a real highlight, as the banter exchanged between parties is simply excellent. The humour in Citadel boarders on hilarious at points, with running jokes that never failed to make me laugh. Really, the characters are what makes this DLC second only to Mass Effect 2’s Liar of the Shadow, the clear focus on their relationships with Shepard make each and every one of their stories shine (except Jacob; as to be expected). Even after the main plot is over Shepard can invite various friends, lovers and crew-mates up to her apartment or join them on the glamorous Silver strip, to further develop her/his relationship with them.
The Citadel DLC turns out to be unusually challenging for a Mass Effect 3 mission and it’s a pleasant surprise, especially during the sections wherein Shepard is on their own. However, when your crew is around you it’s easier, especially when the whole gang is there, but I suspect these parts are clearly allowing you to feel a sense of comrade and hope, which is very much needed at this stage in the main game’s story.
The main plot lasted about three hours, including Shepard’s party , with the added hours of character encounters and the number of activities available on the Citadel Sliver-Strip, the value for you money is very high, particularly considering multiple play-through with different relationships with crew-mates achieve different results. Also, the Amax Arena: an artificial battle-ground where the player can organise their own challenges and unlock additional settings and prizes with points, is a great way to either power through easier targets or aim for the big guns with a mixture of foe types and handicaps.
Possibly the DLC’s only downfall is that it’s main plot story isn’t that great, it makes for plenty of stellar character interaction, but on it’s own it appears rather weak and would be much better if it was a little more fleshed out. However, it’s a relatively small issue when considering the pure undiluted fan-service produced by Bioware, simply hitting all the right notes.
The Citadel DLC is the true goodbye Mass Effect fans have been wishing for, because it perfectly executes the elements that make it my favourite series of this generation in grand finally that will leave you emotionally drained and wanting to replay the entire trilogy again.
9/10
