Mass Effect Legendary Edition Reviews

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition stands tall as one of the best remasters that I've ever played. The amount of care and effort that has gone into restoring the original Mass Effect along with the other two games is unmatched. While there are some underlying minor design issues with the original game, Legendary Edition is the best way to experience the Mass Effect trilogy. Period.

Republished on Wednesday 30th November 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows.

Commander Shepard's tale gets another opportunity to be told. Though Mass Effect 2's clunky combat and the presence of old glitches hold it back a bit, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a great remaster of the original trilogy.

Beautiful, engaging and every bit as fun as it was nearly 15 years ago, Mass Effect Legendary Edition lives up to the name. It's a gorgeous, robust title that will make veterans remember how much they enjoyed the series while giving newcomers a memorable ride for the first time. There's no question you should pick this up if you fall into either category because Commander Shepard deserves that much attention.

Finally, there's a remastered edition of the original Mass Effect games which may be the single greatest video game trilogy ever made.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Review - This is the essential collection of the original Mass Effect trilogy, providing modern players the perfect place to play every game in one place.

There are seldom a few times in life that you find something that truly resonates with you. Something you can confidently call “Your favorite thing.” Halfway through playing Mass Effect 2, I found myself saying to my girlfriend in a hushed tone: “I think this is my favorite video game.” The triumph and heartache of this franchise washed over me and I felt like a teen again. Looking over that slow-moving image of the earth with a press start hanging in the center of the frame, just imagining what kind of adventures me and my crew would get up to today.

Still, quirks and age aside, the Mass Effect Legendary edition is a really good packaging of a fantastic trilogy of games. They’re not without flaws but the highs vastly outweigh the lows. This is great for fans of the games when they originally released and they’re be great for new players who genuinely love good storytelling and characters in video games. To me there aren’t really that many given how many games try, and that alone makes this package special and worth owning. And even if BioWare never reaches these heights again, that should be okay because what heights they are.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a welcome return to one of gaming's most rewarding trilogy of games.

The Mass Effect trilogy’s classic status is well deserved and while these remasters can’t iron out every problem, this is still a hugely entertaining and forward-thinking trio of action role-players.

Mass Effect is a gaming institution. Originally released in 2007, the franchise became one of the poster children of the seventh generation of home video game consoles. All thanks to its fantastic plot, memorable characters, and of course, excellent gameplay that fused third-person shooting and RPG mechanics in a way that seemed absolutely natural. Even though Andromeda ended up being quite a disappointment, a lot of people still hold the original trilogy dear. Thanks to Bioware’s brand new...

Mass Effect Legendary Edition has finally arrived. As a Mass Effect series veteran, I had been awaiting its release for some time. These games are really special and mean a lot to many people. And it’s up to me to give you my thoughts in our review of Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

Overall, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition advertised itself as taking the already-popular trilogy, bringing it to modern consoles, and giving it smart improvements. There's a lot that it does to improve the games without detracting from the core experience, and that says something. The first game is 13 years old and the third game is 9 years old at the time of this writing, and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition makes them feel much more current and recent. It's hard to imagine making the original trilogy any better, but these remasters definitely make them much more current.

Parts of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition show their age, but this remaster is largely an improvement over BioWare's original trilogy.

A wise person once said: with age comes revision, or in the case of video games, remasters. The most successful of these – take Shadow of the Colossus for example – work because the source content remains excellent. Even years on, the loops, mechanics, and content hold their own. With Mass Effect Legendary Edition, we’ve got the opportunity to see how Commander Shepard’s epic tale stands the test of time.

All of this comes together to make a remastered trilogy that is perfect for returning players to run through once again while being the best place for interested new players to jump in as well. The Mass Effect trilogy is the crown jewel of BioWare’s storied history, and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition gives one of gaming’s best trilogies the caring attention it deserves and delivers it with numerous changes that service the games as a whole very well.

Aspects of the gameplay of the earlier titles will probably no longer satisfy, but the Legendary Edition is a stellar compilation and dutiful upgrade of three classic titles that show BioWare at the peak of its storytelling and world-building prowess.

The acclaimed space RPG trilogy makes a well-deserved return and a remaster, supported by various gameplay and visual improvements.

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This feeling of connection extends to the whole of Mass Effect Legendary Edition. It feels far more enjoyable and cohesive to play through the entire series from start to end, as the trilogy feels more like a singular narrative now than ever before. In the past, many fans reported playing Mass Effect 1 only once, or altogether skipping it, because it contained so many bugs and so much friction. With the elimination of PC bugs like the notorious black blob bug that changed character models into Minecraft silhouettes, and the more simplified, unified importer to allow players to bring their unique Shepard into the next game, the trilogy now has cohesiveness to it. The integration of Mass Effect: Genesis, the interactive comic that allows players to input their major choices without importing a save file also affords more flexibility to players while maintaining a sense of connectedness across all three games.

Though it shows its age in spots, Mass Effect is still as mesmerizing today as it ever was. The Legendary Edition is a fully-featured revival of one of gaming's greatest stories.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is an impressive remastered collection of one of the best gaming trilogies of all time.

If you've never played a Mass Effect game before, you can consider purchasing the Legendary Edition an absolute no-brainer. If you fancy revisiting BioWare's seminal sci-fi saga (and frankly, why wouldn't you?), then, equally, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is essential. Bottom line: you need this.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition brings back one of the best sci-fi trilogies in the best way possible. The original game has been reworked visually and mechanically to be far more playable in 2021, even though it’s still less than ideal when it comes to combat, especially moving onto the sequels. The second and third Mass Effects don’t receive as major an enhancement to their quality of life, but what they do receive is visual clarity. The game runs magnificently on current and last-generation consoles, not to mention load times are insignificant now and the graphical touches that have been instituted only help to enhance the experience. There’s nothing quite like Mass Effect out there, and having upwards of 300 hours worth of content readily available is an immense value that goes unmatched. It may have taken longer than we had expected to come out, but we finally got a remaster that’s does the franchise proud.

Influential and poignant, the Mass Effect trilogy left a lasting impression on gamers, advancing the impact of choice in games and proving that personal connection endears players to the overall experience. It could have been a story merely about saving the galaxy, but BioWare created a rich and complex world full of unique and realistic viewpoints that factored into the difficult choices that must be made. With the fate of the galactic civilization on your shoulders, nothing came easy in Mass Effect, and that’s part of the reason the series still resonates with people all these years later.

With a graphic overhaul, integration of 40 DLC, and an overall tightening all around, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the best way to experience this magical trilogy. Whether you are a long time veteran or new to the series, it doesn’t get better than this.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a fan's dream come true. With all three games and almost all of their DLC included in one upgraded package there simply isn't more to be asked for here other than a full remake.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition brings the original trilogy into one package, with plenty of updates and improvements for each game, especially the original Mass Effect. It’s a great way to experience the story again, or play it for the first time.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is a phenomenal remaster of the original trilogy, with enough changes to not only feel fresh, but with enough quality-of-life improvements to truly call this the definitive way to play the Mass Effect trilogy.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition hits consoles and PC tomorrow, and Stevivor was able to put the remastered trilogy through its paces (at least, in part) on both Windows PC via Origin and Xbox One via Xbox Series X ahead of that time.

The Legendary Edition’s version of the original Mass Effect updates the first game of BioWare’s amazing sci-fi RPG trilogy enough that a modern audience can play through it and enjoy its spectacular story and characters without being asked to suffer much for the privilege. Combat and driving sections are still lackluster, but a universe this dense with rich lore and consequential decisions is a pleasure to come back to and to welcome newcomers into. After replaying, I’m surprised at how much I’m looking forward to diving into the next two games – stay tuned for those reviews.