Some characters (particularly Shepard's mentor Captain Anderson) stare a little too long, like they're trying to pierce your soul. The facial animation also triggered a major sense of uncanny valley. The movement is lovely and smooth in 60 frames per second, but controlling Shepard felt like steering a tank for those first few seconds of gameplay. However, it hasn't been completely redone, like last year's Final Fantasy 7 Remake or 2019's Resident Evil 2, so it still feels like the same game you played in 2007.
Meeting Liara T'Soni - my favorite squad mate from the trilogy - again is a thrill. Gone are the graphical glitches that plagued almost every step on the Xbox 360 version - between that and the shortened loading times, the friction of exploring space stations, ships and uncharted worlds is gone. I only got to play the first 6 hours, but was immediately struck by how smoothly BioWare had sanded the game's rough edges off. The excellent writing, engaging world-building and awesome character design made up for some awkward gameplay and graphical quirks, with the sequels vastly improving those aspects.ĭiving back with the Legendary Edition on PS5 this week, I was caught in Mass Effect's dramatic orbit all over again.
You might remember how janky the original Mass Effect was, even in 2007.
