Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
Mass Effect Legendary Edition – Review
One cannot help but feel old when realizing that their first outing in the Mass Effect universe occurred back in 2007 when the first installment was still an Xbox exclusive. When the series started getting some traction, and other games were to be released, PC gamers, as well as PlayStation gamers got treated to their doses of Mass Effect as well, with the second and third part, becoming a proper trilogy. Even an obscure Wii U release hit the shelves, only for it to be forgotten soon after. Even though the series also spawned a few spin-off titles, people keep going back to the main trilogy as the quality of these games is unmatched in the entire franchise. Mass Effect: Andromeda was released not that long ago, but it never reached the same level of quality as the first games, and it received a lot of mixed reviews. Now, however, we also do what many gamers have been doing for years; go back to basics and play the trilogy once more, albeit in a remastered Legendary Edition bundle.
Mass Effect has become a well-known story, where you pick to play with the iconic ‘Shepard’, be it the male or female version. While humans are a fairly new race that has been allowed into the ‘Council’, it seems that a human might just save all life in the known universe. Of course, many still doubt our race’s capabilities and that’s why Shepard is constantly fighting an uphill battle, having to recruit new members to his party. This may be an extremely simple way to portray the many upon many hours of narrative value of the series, there is too much to dig into in one small review. The story value is amazing, even after all these years. There are so many nicely voiced dialogues, bringing this cinematic masterpiece to life.
From a graphical point of view, the games look very crisp and detailed, especially considering this is still a PlayStation 4 release we were running on our PlayStation 5. It took a while to step down again from the graphical quality of the new Resident Evil and Returnal, but we found ourselves well-adjusted within minutes. It’s clear that the Mass Effect games are not brand new ones, even in their remastered forms. Nonetheless, like a fine wine, you can easily appreciate the somewhat older foundation that lies underneath the crisp new textures. Even within the Legendary Edition, you notice some smoother animations in the third installment, compared to the first Mass Effect game. This probably also has to do with the technological progress at that time. The last game was of course made closer to the end of a generation’s lifecycle, thus meaning the developers had more experience creating games for their respective platform(s). The quality of this bundle is not up for debate, and we can easily say that this trilogy has never looked this good yet. In combination with the expansive set of voiced lines that go with the detailed new visuals, you have yourself a very pleasant game to look at and listen to, as you spend literally more than a hundred hours plowing through everything.
The core of the Mass Effect games is a narrative-driven action RPG experience. You’ll find yourself at the head of a squad with interchangeable members, to explore a big world that opens up as you go. You’ll go from dialogues to combat, to even experience romancing options. The offset is often quite clear, but you’ll have to take some time adjusting to the somewhat more difficult landscape to explore. You’ll notice that some instructions may be a bit vaguer than we are used to in games right now. Those wanting to just explore the game for its narrative qualities can easily set the difficulty at a low setting and even have your party set its skills automatically when leveling up. This bundle directs itself towards casual players, as well as those looking for a challenge to tackle.
These somewhat ‘antique’ titles hold up quite well in our modern gaming landscape, to be honest. The biggest problem lies with the somewhat dated engine that serves as the core for these games. True, things get a bit smoother when you go from the first game to the last, but everything feels a bit clunkier than it should, and certain commands and actions don’t always respond like you would want them to. The Legendary Edition provides hours upon hours of content; and often does not hold your hand when it comes to finding your objectives. It’s one of those games you sometimes just have to stand still, open the map, and see where the game wants you to go next. This in a way is fairly charming, as it contributes to the entire whole of you being in control, which goes well with the expansive dialogue options. The latter of course determines the flow of the story, as choices do have consequences, and even certain romance options also add to the overall meaty content of the collection.
Conclusion
To fully dissect a release such as this, we’d need several more pages of text to do so. In short, Mass Effect’s Legendary Edition is very much worth its asking price, if you have not played the full trilogy yet, do not own them yet, or just want to relive them in the best possible quality. If you are perfectly content with your old games, and also own most of the DLC, you’ll also have a great time firing up your old console(s). That being said, the original trilogy has easily withstood the test of time, outside of a few wonky bits when having a closer look at the engine underneath the hood. We personally loved replaying these games and we loved the comfort of having them all together in a remastered package. We didn’t have the chance to explore everything to the fullest, but we will certainly find ourselves revisiting this Legendary Edition.
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