After years of speculation the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was finally announced last November 7, AKA N7 Day. Fans of the franchise are looking forward to returning to the Normandy, reuniting with some of BioWare's most beloved companion characters, and taking the fight to the Reapers once again.
The remaster won't just be updating the graphics of the original Mass Effect trilogy. The Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is set to bring some significant changes to the series. Here's everything Mass Effect fans need to know before enjoying BioWare's epic space opera once again when the remaster hits the shelves this May.
Visual Changes
The Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will, unsurprisingly, feature graphical upgrades across the board. The entire original trilogy will be available in 4k, able to run at 60 FPS, and will be upgraded with new textures and improved character models. Based on what has been seen so far, lighting has undergone a big overhaul. Many of the comparison screenshots released by BioWare show significant improvements to lighting and particle effects, as well as a fair amount of lens flare thrown in for good measure.
Shepard will now be customized in a universal Mass Effect character creation system which will extend across all three games. This is good news for fans of FemShep in particular, whose clunkier Mass Effect 1 model stood out as lower quality in comparison to the crisper design of the default male Shepard. An upgraded version of Mass Effect 3's FemShep design will be available across the original trilogy. Shepard will also have access to a greater variety of skin tones and hairstyles during character creation.
Some of Mass Effect's camera angles will also be changed in certain scenes. Some of these changes will be made to better show off the remaster's improved animations, while others will be made to avoid sexualizing female characters. Character and environment director Kevin Meek elaborated on this in an interview with Metro, saying the change was prompted by questions about certain shots in Mass Effect 2 "focusing on Miranda's butt" during serious scenes.
Some of the trilogy's visual changes will be more drastic than others. A screenshot released of Eden Prime - the first world players visit in Mass Effect - showed a very different take on the planet than the one seen in Mass Effect 1. Instead of stormy red skies Eden Prime's environment now more closely resembles its idyllic description in the game's early dialogue. This makes it seem likely that some visuals will be changed to more closely represent original concepts, rather than exclusively upgrading the designs seen in the original games.
BioWare has also revealed that some areas will include new visual assets. This includes smaller details like couch cushions and lighting fixtures, as well as larger edits. A large wall in Noveria's main hub that blocked the player's line of sight in Mass Effect 1 has been removed, for example, taking advantage of the greater capacity of modern hardware to handle open spaces and longer draw distances.
Mechanical Changes
The Mass Effect trilogy will see some significant mechanical changes. Mass Effect 1's infamous Mako vehicle will have its controls overhauled to be easier to handle. Combat will see some key changes in Mass Effect 1 in particular, with weapon accuracy improved to reflect the tighter combat in the later games.
Abilities, XP, and weapon powers in Mass Effect 1 have been rebalanced as well. Commander Shepard will be able to sprint out of combat and melee attacks will be controlled by a separate button instead of activating based on range. Shepard's inventory has also been reorganized, Medi-gel has been rebalanced, all relevant enemies will now take headshot damage, and weapon options will no longer be restricted by class.
Squadmates will be able to take commands independently in Mass Effect 1 as they could be in later games. Boss fights and enemy AI across the first game have undergone tweaks, and additional places to take cover have been added across the original trilogy. These include new boss fight phases, such as a tentacle phase being added to Mass Effect 1's Thresher Maw fight.
However, combat mechanics will not be unified across the original trilogy. For example, weapons in Mass Effect 1 will still use a cooldown system instead of the thermal clips seen in Mass Effect 2 and 3,
Mass Effect 1's elevator rides were originally used to disguise loading times required in the original game which will no longer need to be as long in the remaster. Elevator rides will be far shorter, while companion elevator dialogue will be triggered earlier to ensure players don't miss out on party banter.
Mass Effect 3's multiplayer will not be included in the remaster. All of the original trilogy's DLCs and the Extended Cut of Mass Effect 3's ending will be included in the base game. The only exception is the Pinnacle Station DLC for Mass Effect 1, which will not be included due to the source code being irreparably corrupted.
Players preparedness for the final battle with the Reapers will no longer be affected by factors outside of the story like multiplayer and Mass Effect 3's companion app. Choices made in Mass Effect 1 and 2 will also have a greater impact on how ready Shepard is for the finale.
The Paragon-Renegade morality system is undergoing some tweaks. Some dialogue options were impossible to unlock without an extremely one-sided ratio in terms of Paragon vs Renegade choices. This often encouraged players to commit purely to one path instead of weighing up important moral decisions. As a result some of these dialogue options have been made easier to unlock in the remaster, particularly in Mass Effect 2.
Many bugs from the original trilogy will also be fixed, and audio will be enhanced. The entire original trilogy will have controller and 21:9 support on PC with DirectX11 compatibility. All-in-all, the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition isn't aiming to recreate the original games, but will add some new features and apply old ones more consistently. BioWare appears to be aiming to bring the story of Mass Effect to life in a way that feels familiar while making some much-needed improvements to the game's graphics and mechanics, as well as some changes that are bound to be controversial.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is set to release on May 14th, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.