The Mass Effect trilogy was universally acclaimed for its story, gameplay, character development, and vastly creative universe, entering and never leaving the hearts of many. It also was one of the first major franchise to implement the save file transfer feature, so players could fully immerse themselves in the journey of Commander Shepard.
But BioWare’s hit trilogy that released two console generations ago isn’t without its faults. While some criticisms only come because the series is now somewhat dated, there are other glaring issues in the franchise that have the potential to be resolved with the remastered trilogy, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. While it’s not the developers’ intent to “remake or reimagine the original games,” perhaps BioWare will take into consideration some large criticisms from past installments.
The Mako controls in the first Mass Effect installment were clunky at best, and some improved controls would go far in refining this experience. Many consider the M35 to be an icon for the franchise, as well as essential for exploration, so it’s important for BioWare to put the effort into optimizing it for the Legendary Edition. Getting this right may not make or break the remastered game, but it will show how much detail is put into this remaster.
Of course, a facelift is guaranteed with Mass Effect‘s Legendary Edition, which is precisely why BioWare needs to pay extra special attention. Not only are expectations high thanks to the new generation of gaming having just begun, but Mass Effect 3‘s graphics were already top-of-the-line for its time and still stand as acceptable today. There’s always room for modernization when it comes to graphics, but fans will be expecting the best of the best in terms of enhanced textures, loading times, models, effects, ray tracing, and lighting for the Legendary Edition.
Along with a graphics enhancement, players may be expecting some improvements to combat and gameplay controls, and this is especially important when looking at the first installment, Mass Effect. Mass Effect released back in 2007 and received highly favorable reviews among critics for its excellent third-person shooter and use of the Biotics mechanic. Even so, it’s undeniable that some elements have become dated in the last 13 years, but the Legendary Edition is the perfect chance to modernize the controls, even if it’s meant to be a remaster and not a full remake.
Despite its flaws and not being as well-received as its predecessors, the combat in Mass Effect: Andromeda was the highest-praised element of the game by further improving on the classic mechanics that players had come to love over the series. The original Mass Effect specifically needs to improve its unbalanced combat and poor squad AI, but fans can likely expect BioWare to continue the gradual upward trend of modernized combat in the remastered Legendary Edition.
Mass Effect 3 isn’t known for its co-op game mode in comparison to the main series’ story and for good reason, but there’s also a story requirement that forces the player to use the multiplayer function that players found this incredibly frustrating. While ME3‘s co-op mode had a small group of dedicated fans, many felt it to be lackluster and halfhearted, but this can be easily improved by taking notes from Andromeda. The bigger issue is the tie-in to the storyline.
War Assets are what lay down the paths for the Mass Effect 3 endings, and in order to get the best ending possible, the player will need to participate in the multiplayer mode to increase their war readiness rating high enough. This meant paying for any services that would allow online functionality, essentially meaning players had to pay for the best ending. Hopefully, BioWare has plans to change this requirement for the Mass Effect 3 ending, but perhaps it will see some changes as well.
Again, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is going to be a remaster and not a full remake, so where does this leave the controversial ending to the trilogy? The ending of the game landed itself in hot water as it did not meet fan expectations, with much of the criticism focused around the inconsequential decision making throughout the game and how all options lead to nearly the same ending cutscenes. It was a major narrative turn for the series and led to a lack of closure.
Since Mass Effect 3‘s release, the ending has created its own legacy, being used to compare endings of other games, such as Life is Strange, which beholds the same inconsequential actions. Though Legendary Edition is not a remake, reworking the ending to ME3 would boost the overall reception of the series and would likely rid fans of leftover bitter feelings towards the disappointing ending. BioWare may decide to not touch it whatsoever, which is a good decision in and of itself, but whatever it decides, it has got to get it right.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will be released in Spring 2021.
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