Mass Effect is back. The upcoming Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a remaster of all three games in the initial trilogy, but better.
May 14th is a date you should plant clearly into your mind. It’s not quite May the 4th, but a date that’ll soon be establishing itself firmly as space faring day of note. For those who are unaware, Mass Effect is a seminal game and experience that’s soon-to-be released as the remastered Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
Packed with incredibly convoluted, branching story lines, true autonomy in character decisions, and some of the horniest aliens you’ll ever encounter, these games truly have it all.
Looking past the rightly huge praise that’s been heaped onto BioWare’s presentation of LGBTQI+ relationships in major media, the Mass Effect titles have won a huge, dedicated fanbase through their firm commitment to world building. These games are deep in scope and emotional intensity. Bringing this depth to the next-gen is what Mass Effect Legendary Edition is planning to do.
If you’re wondering how overdue this is, it’s been nine years since Mass Effect 3 hit the shelves. Wild.
During that time, the team at BioWare have been “hard at work updating the textures, shaders, models, effects and technical features of three enormous games. Our goal was not to remake or reimagine the original games, but to modernize the experience so that fans and new players can experience the original work in its best possible form.”
So what’s new?
Alongside a well-earned visual remaster, we can expect Mass Effect Legendary Edition to bring some nifty updates to the series.
You’ll find new Customisation Options for all types of Shepherd you make. Chief among these is the now-iconic Mass Effect 3 FemShep (babe) now being a default skin across all three games. This is part of a broader approach towards unified character creation across your multi-game playthrough – gone are the days of that ugly jump from Mass Effect 1 to 2.
The most significant overhaul to gameplay itself comes in changes to Mass Effect 1. Bioware have tweaked the visuals for 2 and 3, but have undergone a “full world-building pass” for their first foray back into the world of 1.
Expect better controls, AI, aiming, weapons balance, sound and camera movement – pretty much the whole package. The beloved – albeit clunky – Mako vehicle has also scored a round of control updates.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition will be available May 14th on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. It’s also playable on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X via forward compatibility. It’ll include single player base content for all three titles, plus over 40 original DLC items including story DLC such as Leviathan or Citadel, weapons, armour, and more.
You can pre-order it now.
