Everyone has their favourite Bioware joint, and mine by far is the original Mass Effect trilogy. Unless you’re one of those weirdos that likes playing The Old Republic solo, they’re probably still the best sci-fi RPGs ever made and, unlike much of the competition, are also great action romps full of high-octane setpieces.
Bioware would subsequently return to the games, spending years remastering all three for 2021’s Mass Effect Legendary Edition, which included texture, lighting and 4K resolution upgrades, as well as control improvements, bug fixes, and gameplay enhancements. It vastly improved the original game, which wasn’t quite as mechanically polished as the later entries, and is now the definitive way to play these titles.
The current Steam Sale has the best-ever deal that Mass Effect Legendary Edition has seen, a 92% discount, meaning you can pick up hundreds upon hundreds of hours of Bioware at its best for $4.99 / £3.99. This offer also chucks in over 40 DLCs across all three games to boot: You just don’t get much more bang for your buck than that.
The main reason to recommend the Legendary Edition over the original trilogy (apart from the beautiful visual overhaul) is the improvements made to the first game. Mass Effect had all the ideas, but was definitely a stepping stone between Bioware’s older RPG sensibilities and the swashbuckling style it would perfect in Mass Effect 2. The Legendary Edition’s version of the first game isn’t a complete overhaul, but it does smooth-out a lot of the more annoying kinks (inventory management, I’m looking at you) and, 14 years on, even made the Mako a tolerable vehicle to drive.
The first Mass Effect is still a great experience, but it’s in the sequels that Bioware just cooks, weaving its classic choice-and-consequence RPG formula around a Star Trek-style planet of the week structure. The combat is just enormous fun: rock-solid cover shooter fundamentals mixed with space magic that can reach ludicrously powerful levels, and endless brooding cosmic baddies that need a good thwacking.
I think of the Mass Effects in the way I think of the Saturday shows I’d watch as a kid, and I mean that as the highest compliment. They’ve games I’ve always loved that, somehow, haven’t lost their lustre. And if you haven’t played them then, for this price, you simply cannot go wrong.
