We knew this was coming today, but we promised we would still act surprised, even when the news broke last night like a leaky dam holding back a very exciting slough of water.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition has officially been announced, and is coming to Spring 2021 with all three original titles having been remastered.
Precisely what the term means with ‘remastered’ is up in the air; we’re absolutely not getting the same treatment that was experienced with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, where plotlines were rewritten frustrating some older fans although with a brilliant presentation of graphics that are likely unparalleled from studios.
Your choices. Your squad. Your Shepard. Relive the legend in a remastered edition of the highly acclaimed trilogy. Mass Effect Legendary Edition arrives Spring 2021.https://t.co/jLUj8FUGaI pic.twitter.com/vxTKyq4LQ1
— BioWare (@bioware) November 7, 2020
However, long-standing issues and bugs that have continued to plague the franchise on PC could finally be fixed; blacked-out textures in the first iteration along with mouse acceleration, a few progress-blocking issues in the second; the ending of the trilogy cannot be fixed in a simple remaster, however.
BioWare stated in a post that they aren’t attempting to reimagine the series, but instead modernize the experience so new fans can appreciate the world-building thus far.
BioWare states that Mass Effect Legendary Edition will come with all single-player content from all three of the original trilogy, along with all promotional materials such as pre-order bonuses. They also state that they’re well aware of how poorly kept this ‘secret’ was.
The remaster is coming to the three primary platforms; the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and the PC, with the ability to run at ‘4K Ultra HD’ for the platforms able to run that. It is also targeting forward compatibility with the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5; both expected to release in time for the holiday season this year.
They conclude the statement by stating that they’ve been envisioning the next step into the Mass Effect universe and are preparing it; they aren’t ready to publically show anything just yet, but it’s likely a safe bet that it will be a far stronger entry than Andromeda was.
If you’ve been waiting for it to be official, here it is: BioWare has been taking a closer look at the original trilogy, and it’s coming early 2021.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to postpone the play through if you’ve been eyeing another one; on PC, a litany of mods are available that can remake vast parts of the experiences for the better, offering the polish that many argue BioWare lacked, at least for the PC version of the trilogy.
