Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: 14th May 2021
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility
There’s no doubt Mass Effect is among the most beloved RPG series of all time. It’s not surprising, then, that a remaster of the classic trilogy was something fans had been clamouring for throughout all of last gen. Thankfully, now, Bioware and EA have answered the call with Mass Effect Legendary Edition; a completely remastered collection of the original trilogy, including most DLC and a ton of bells and whistles. Let’s see if this galaxy is worth saving, shall we?
A Space Epic
In a nutshell, the original Mass Effect trilogy is all about saving the galaxy. I will keep this review spoiler-free, of course, but one of the key things about this collection is how the entire thing ties together. It’s all one big story where the threat keeps getting bigger and more dangerous, your allies – whether playable or not – keep expanding in number, and the decisions you make have epic consequences throughout. I’m talking life-altering decisions that determine the fate of entire species. And here you probably thought saving the galaxy would be easy, right?
Over the course of the trilogy, you have quite a lot of power over a lot of events, though it’s often quite binary. The games are built around a Paragon/Renegade system that awards you points based on whether you did the “good thing”, or the “bad thing”. It’s tempting to always do what feels right in the moment, even if the game considers it a Renegade (evil) action, but unfortunately the game “punishes” you for not sticking with one or the other, as certain actions will be unavailable if you’re trying to play both sides.
As a result of this system, which even colour-codes options based on their binary value, it’s very easy to pick a path and stick with it – which results in player choice not really being much of a choice at all. The consequences of your actions are usually quite meaningful, despite all this, but the journey would probably have benefited a lot from being less black and white.
Your Shepard, Your Story
So with the extremely broad strokes of the story out of the way, let’s dive into what kind of game(s) you’re getting here. Mass Effect is an action role-playing series, which means you’ll be doing a lot of shooting and looting. You start by creating your very own Commander Shepard, complete with a backstory, combat class and gender. Your backstory will only really come into play in minor ways in conversations, but the other two choices are quite important.
Your chosen class will determine strengths and weaknesses. Will you focus on weapons? Gadgets? Biotics? There’s a class here for everyone, and with the changes made to the Legendary Edition, any class can use any weapon, so it really comes down to playstyle.
Your gender, then, is the other important choice. Not only does it determine things like appearance and voice, but also romance options and how certain characters may speak to you. There’s no clear benefit in one over the other, however, so you’re free to be whichever Shepard suits you best.
At its core, Mass Effect is a cover shooter with RPG mechanics. How a lot of things work depends on the game, however. In Mass Effect 1 you can swap your weapons at all times. In 2 and 3 you can only do so at a weapons rack. The first game also lets you equip more simultaneous biotic powers than the other two, and it uses energy-based weapons with infinite ammo, where you need to worry about your weapons overheating. This is no longer a thing in the later titles, where you need to worry about actual ammo pickups. Even the hacking minigames, which you’ll be doing a ton of in the first game, were expanded in Mass Effect 2, but completely removed for Mass Effect 3. It may sound a little confusing, but thankfully these differences are minor in the grand scheme of things.
Despite the differences, of which there are many more than I have listed here, the collection still feels like one big, cohesive package – which is the key thing. Removing any potential friction when moving from one game to the next has been one of the most important aspects of this collection, and to that end Bioware have created a launcher that includes several trilogy-wide settings, as well as a completely unified character creator, allowing you to take your ideal Shepard from the very start, and see them through to the bitter (sweet) end.
It’s worth pointing out, however, that because these games are now so unified, it’s an all-or-nothing approach to the install size on PS4/5. That means that there is no way to only have one of the games installed, if that’s all you want to play. It’s all 105GB or nothing. Plan accordingly.
When you’re not behind cover, fighting for your life, you’re spending a considerable amount of time exploring the galaxy. Travelling from planet to planet, scanning for resources, completing side missions, doing favours for your companions (partly to open up romance options), and solving complex political, racial and philosophical issues. There is a lot (and I mean a LOT) to do here, even if a lot of it can be quite repetitive. It’s the story and consequences of your actions that are the star here, and they do a lot to push you forward pretty much all the time.
Even all the DLC, which has now been built fully into the experience (as opposed to being launched from the menu), feels natural for the most part – even if it may feel strange to throw a party for your friends in the middle of all-out galactic war. That being said, maybe that is exactly when you should be partying, you know, while you still can, but I digress…
The Technical Stuff
If you’ve made it this far, you may be wondering: “Is it actually a good remaster?”. The answer? Yes. Very much so. Supporting anything from 1080p/30 on base last-gen consoles, to 4k/60 on the latest hardware, a lot has been improved here. I reviewed the collection on a PS5 running on PS4 backwards-compatibility and I had only very minor issues throughout my 111 hour playthrough.
I tested both “Favor Quality” and “Favor Performance” modes, though since I experienced a mostly stable 60fps either way, I opted for Quality for most of the playthrough, for the glorious 4K. There’s no doubt that these games still look and feel old in numerous ways, especially the first game, but it’s still a great remaster that does a lot to improve on the original’s shortcomings.
Speaking of additions to this remaster, one of the great things about it is the photo mode. Now, it’s nowhere near the best photo modes we’ve seen these last few years, but it can create some pretty fantastic results – including every screenshot in this review. A lot of it, of course, is thanks to some stunning vistas and cool setpieces, but it’s possible to make even the most mundane moment look that much sweeter if you tinker away on the right settings.
Unfortunately you can’t launch the photo mode during conversations, however, though a well-timed press of the Share button can work in a pinch, too.
I could talk about this remaster and this particular collection of titles for hours. They’re massive games – and they’re all great. Whether you’ve played the trilogy before and just want to experience a less janky (but still a little janky) Mass Effect 1, want to experience all the DLC you originally missed, or have yet to experience this epic tale altogether, I think you’ll have a great time with Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
Parts of the collection are still showing their age, but you’re getting more than 100 hours of top quality roleplaying games here, and I personally think it’s a journey well worth taking. The galaxy won’t save itself, after all.
-K.A. Pedersen
