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Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.
If you’re looking for some screenshots click here to view all the ones I took for this game.


🟩 Pros
🟥 Cons



• Exceptional value. 110-140 hours of content depending on completion rate; even at full price it’s a great deal.
• Solid visual upgrades overall, with ME1 receiving the most benefits by far.
• Hardcore / Insanity difficulties are available from the start in all three games, unlike in the originals.
• Balance reworks and quality-of-life improvements across the board, especially with ME1’s UI being markedly improved.
• “Galactic Readiness” mechanic in ME3 was removed.


• ME3’s entire co-op multiplayer component is not available, which is a shame; it was great fun.
• Interface bugs and performance issues, especially in ME3, that were not present in the original.
• ME1’s rebalance made it significantly “broken” and too easy.





🟨 Bugs & Issues
🔧 Specs



• In the Citadel area, major frame drops can occur in some areas regardless of settings.
• Rare crashes, mostly in ME1.
• Antialiasing option doesn’t work well, be prepared for heavy aliasing in most locations.


• i5 11400H
• 16GB RAM DDR4
• 512 GB SSD
• RTX 3060 6GB
• 1080p





Content & Replay Value:
It took me 134 hours to complete ME:LE on Insanity difficulty in all three games, taking considerable extra time to complete all side activities and explore thoroughly. With many significant choices, varied classes, and the renegade / paragon dichotomy, the replay value is high.


Is it worth buying?
Absolutely, especially if you’re new to the series. The value of this package is exceptional, and barring a few bugs, probably the best version of the Mass Effect Trilogy you could possibly play.


Verdict: Very Good
Rating Chart Here
An iconic RPG trilogy that comes back shinier than ever. Not without flaws, but overall it’s an exciting story you don't want to miss.



In-Depth

Mass Effect 1
The one that began it all, and that’s a merit of its own - even with all the clunkiness and half-assed mechanics it may have. In this Legendary edition, ME1 is the oldest and, of course, has received the best uplift from its former self. The remastering work, in some fields, borders on the “remake”; the UI was completely reworked and modernized in comparison to the unwieldy, clunky disaster of the original. Everything feels smoother, more responsive, more fluid. The visual upgrades are impressive, and a far cry from the original in almost all aspects; however, this probably weighed more on its dated engine, and that’s the reason behind the sporadic crashes and frame-drops in specific areas.
Gameplay–wise, an effort has been made to rebalance the economy, loot tables, weapons and enemy difficulty. On one side, this makes the early-to-mid game phases more challenging on higher difficulties, so much that you might get 1-shot but snipers and other shenanigans; on the other it makes late-game much more trivial compared to the original. This is mainly due to the massive power creep in both weapons and attachments, other than absurd amounts of money gained from sales, and imbalances in the XP gained from side missions, far more than it would be reasonable. Result: Shepard will become an unstoppable killing machine, capable of 1-shotting most enemies with heavier weapons and ragdoll the rest across the battlefield by sheer bullet impact force.
The controls, UI, movement and cover systems have been largely overhauled, a large improvement over the clunky mess that were the controls of the original ME1, as now they’re more similar to the far superior sequels in handling. For the rest, the game remains largely the same, including the tedious side-exploring of planets for collectibles or the time-consuming meandering through locations with dubious fast-travel solutions, if any. It’s a good RPG, but in my opinion the weakest of the trilogy gameplay-wise.
Mass Effect 2
Considered by many, myself included, to be the overall apex of this trilogy, ME2 has undergone visible but comparatively-minor overhauls if compared to its older brother. The lighting solutions are markedly improved, same for textures and effects quality, overall offering a crispier visual fidelity, but not without downsides. The visible, annoying aliasing (jagged edges) can’t be countered very well by the shoddy anti-aliasing solution, so you’ll either have to live with it, or use GPU control panel fiddling or external mods (such as ReShade) to alleviate the problem. Moreover, roughly the same results, except for lighting, could be achieved with existing mods, like the popular “ALOT” to name one. Is the remaster version better? Yes, it is, but not without additional performance issues, especially at the Citadel.
The balance shenanigans of ME1 Remaster are fortunately gone, and the game offers a consistent, well-balanced challenge (unless you play on Insanity, which I did, and is pure pain) that you will enjoy. The story and character arcs of this second entry are the best in the trilogy; most people that aren’t my dead-inside self will become emotionally-invested in the characters and events surrounding Shepard’s space opera epic in saving the galaxy.
Unfortunately, the devs didn’t want to alleviate the tremendous pain that is planet scanning, which will take literally dozens of hours to 100%, if you’re a completionist or, like me, an autist. Be prepared to put an anime on your second screen (if you don’t have a second screen, buy a cheap one) and scan endless planets for miserable resources and the occasional artifact collectible. You don’t have a choice anyway, if you want upgrades.
Mass Effect 3
This last chapter is, of course, the one that benefitted less from the remaster, as it’s the most modern and, even in its original state, had pretty solid visuals. The remaster’s results are not as noticeable here. Barely any change was made to the gameplay, UI or balancing compared to the original release. Considered by many to be the worst entry of the series (except Andromeda, but we don’t speak about that one…), I don’t think it’s fair to say that, especially gameplay-wise. Sure, the story is a downgrade from ME2 and the ending a train wreck, but it has its great moments; its gameplay is hands down the best in the trilogy, by variety of weapons, builds, combat feel and mechanics. It’s still better than Mass Effect 1 as far as I’m concerned, and having played this trilogy four times in my life, I can tell.
It’s downright a shame that the fun, engaging, varied multiplayer of ME3 was mercilessly scrubbed away. It may have been infested by dumb microtransactions, it may not have been well-balanced, but with some friends or even randoms it was a blast, and had plenty of content not available in the main game, like being able to play as enemy characters with unique abilities, unlocking unique weapons, and even unique enemies like “upgraded” Collectors.