Sometimes you can go back home
In 2003, Canadian developer BioWare released Knights of the Old Republic—a real-time RPG based in the Star Wars universe. BioWare was a relatively young studio at the time, having only released a few licensed Dungeons & Dragons properties (Baldur's Gate I and II and Planescape: Torment). Knights of the Old Republic took the basic formula and applied it to a Star Wars setting, resulting in an instant classic that is widely considered to be one of the best licensed games ever made.
A sequel was guaranteed, but BioWare Project Director Casey Jordan and lead writer Drew Karpyshyn had bigger ambitions. Parent company Electronic Arts farmed the sequel out to Obsidian Entertainment. While much of the studio focused on the original action RPG Jade Empire, Jordan and Karpyshyn started work on an ambitious new project. That new project would build off their licensed games, but in an original science fiction setting.
Mass Effect released in 2007 as an Xbox 360 exclusive. It was an instant hit for Microsoft's console, selling 3 million units and an additional 1 million for the later PC release. The sequel, Mass Effect 2, was an even bigger hit. By 2012, the trilogy had surpassed 10 million units sold across all platforms.
Mass Effect introduced gamers to a galaxy where humans have recently joined more established species in a sort of galactic confederation, but where fast-multiplying humanity's role in the galaxy remains highly controversial. In the first installment, a series of mysterious attacks on human colonies leads one of its most accomplished soldiers, Commander Shepard, to uncover a vast conspiracy led by an ancient AI that threatens to destroy the galactic order.
The later games continue Shepard's quest to save the galaxy from the Reapers, a cybernetic species of sentient ships that reappear every 50,000 years to "harvest" all organic species that have discovered FTL travel. As the series progresses, Shepard and his crew discover more about the Reapers and their purpose, culminating in a denouement that polarized gamers upon release, but which —as I'll argue below— deserves re-evaluation.
The Mass Effect series introduced or refined a number of gameplay elements that are commonplace today. It may be hard to remember, but third-person shooters were not that common in 2007. Mass Effect took the over-the-shoulder shooter formula pioneered in games like Max Payne (2002) and Resident Evil 4 (2005), refined it from a gameplay perspective, and then added spells (i.e. biotic and tech powers) that, borrowing from Knights of the Old Republic, could be triggered in real time or via a pause menu. The effect was so visceral and elegant that nearly all Western RPGs deploy some variation on Mass Effect's gameplay mechanics.
Mass Effect's true genius, though, is its story. Avid readers will note that the central plot —plucky gang of heroes unlock wisdom of the ancients to defeat existential threat to civilization— is a fantasy cliche. On top of that, there are elements of nearly every successful science fiction media franchise blended into Mass Effect: Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, Dune, Alien and so forth. In this case, though, the medium makes a difference. After all, books, film and television are all passive media, where you are the observer to the events portrayed; in video games, by contrast, you are an active participant in the events portrayed—and your actions have the potential to shape how the story unfolds.
Mass Effect was not the first game to give players meaningful choices that could alter the shape of the narrative in significant ways—Knights of the Old Republic, for example, famously gave you the choice of becoming Master Revan or Darth Revan. But Mass Effect links your choices in earlier games to outcomes in the final chapter. It is, to my knowledge, the first series to do so, and the effect is as striking today as it was when the games first came out. It is epic in a way no game before —and few since— can credibly claim to be.
The games are also frequently moving and emotionally resonant. Character deaths, romantic relationships —even friendships— provoke deep feelings in ways I often experience with books and films but rarely, if ever, with games. And the choices you have to make are often painful, pitting what you know in your heart is right against what is most expedient in the fight against an existential threat.
Remastering a Legend
In recent years, game studios have looked to remakes and remasters of old titles to bolster sales in an era of spiraling costs and lengthening development cycles. These come in two basic flavors: (1) remakes, i.e. new builds of old titles that often make significant changes to gameplay; and (2) remasters, i.e. new releases of old titles with upgraded graphics and little else. Mass Effect Legendary Edition fits squarely between these poles.
Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 are clearly remasters, with upgraded graphics and little else. That works just fine for Mass Effect 2, the most loved and best reviewed chapter in the trilogy. But leaving Mass Effect 1 as is feels like a missed opportunity. The game is still fun, but the gameplay feels clunky and antiquated in a way the later chapters do not. BioWare could have married its excellent story to the more developed gameplay mechanics of Mass Effect 2 and 3.
Mass Effect 3, on the other hand, does include some significant changes. There's no multiplayer component anymore, and the method of building war assets to fight the Reapers has been both simplified and streamlined. It is also easier to get the "good" endings, which if you'll recall is the singular reason Mass Effect 3 isn't as revered as the middle entry in the series.
The reason why the ending rankled so many fans is the same reason the endings to Battlestar Galactica, Lost or Game of Thrones rankled so many fans: you've invested a lot of time in something and then you get a conclusion that is rushed, unsatisfying, or just out of left field. And in this case, there's no save from a few hours prior that you can go back to—if you screwed up certain decisions in Mass Effect 2, then you're going to have a very hard time getting the ending you want in the original version of Mass Effect 3.
While that's still true now, the path to the good endings isn't as fraught as it once was—and you also have the benefit of decision-tree guides to help you set things up right for the final episode. For some, this will still be an intolerant rupture in the suspension of disbelief; for me, the decision-tree guides are a convenient tool for getting me where I want to go. And getting there completely recontextualized Mass Effect 3, a game I had decidedly mixed feelings about after my first playthrough way back when.
Like many, I have always thought of Mass Effect 2 as the best entry in the series—and it's still an excellent game. But on replay I'm struck by how much more I like Mass Effect 3. Building war assets is by far the most fun minigame in the trilogy, while most of the annoying tasks from the previous chapters have been removed.
What Mass Effect 3 does best, though, is capture the feeling of a galaxy at war—a war in whose outcome you have a major stake. Mass Effect 1 and 2 are variations on the D&D companion quest, which any RPG fan has played a multitude of times. Mass Effect 3 takes this format and repurposes it: now Shepard has to build a coalition to take on the Reapers, enter key battles in that war and, eventually, execute the final push. Decisions are meaningful and often fraught, and character deaths are frequent and moving, while the narrative as a whole is brisk and visceral. You feel heavily invested in outcomes that are beholden to actions you have taken at many points over the course of the trilogy.
Mass Effect 3 also benefits from the simple passage of time, in the sense that its story about rogue AI and the struggle to reconcile synthetic and organic life just feels more… well… topical. What passes for AI these days is not really: ChatGPT or Gemini can't think, after all; they just process data. But are we that far off from true artificial intelligence? That may not be fully clear yet, but we are definitely at the point where we need to start thinking hard about what happens when we cross that rubicon.
Mass Effect 3 provides a surprisingly sophisticated discussion on the topic. It doesn't spoon-feed you the answers, but gives you the tools for navigating your own thoughts and feelings through the decision tree. Without spoiling it, there is one decision deep into Mass Effect 3 that is particularly fraught—especially after certain assumptions seeded through the first two games turn out to be false. I made my choice and, in the process, began to think more deeply about my own views on sentience and the rights of sentients. I'm still processing those decisions in ways I did not the first time around (more than a decade ago).
At the end of the day, the Mass Effect trilogy is a rare masterpiece of triple-A gaming, one that absolutely deserved this loving remaster. It would have been better served by more significant changes to Mass Effect 1, but it still works well enough as is. Highly recommended for series newbies and old hands alike.
Highlights
- Mass Effect: Legendary Edition remasters the classic trilogy for nostalgics and new gamers alike
- Mass Effect 2 still plays like a classic, while Mass Effect 3 is vastly improved
- However, the decision to remaster, rather than remake, the original Mass Effect is a missed opportunity
Nerd Coefficient: 9/10.
POSTED BY: The G--purveyor of nerdliness, genre fanatic and Nerds of a Feather founder/administrator, since 2012.