I think I’m quite ready for another adventure. Let’s dive in to Mass Effect, a series that I’ve been told for the longest time that I would enjoy.

The last few months I’ve played nothing but short-and-sweet indie games. Which is great, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve been craving something big, something epic, a large-scale game to get absolutely absorbed in. I saw that Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was on sale for 85% off and it felt like perfect timing. This is exactly what I’m in the mood for; I love science fiction, I hold high regard for BioWare, and I’m in the mood for a large-scale AAA game. That mixed with the critically acclaimed reception of this series made it a no brainer for me. I’m actually shocked it took me this long to play it considering it checks off all my boxes.

For whatever reason, Mass Effect didn’t appeal to me in its hay day. I have a foggy memory of trying it out when I was younger but all I remember was not getting into it. The main culprit was probably Halo, which satisfied my sci-fi cravings; its fast paced combat was better suited for young PapaJaeger and the multiplayer is what all my friends were in to. I was in middle school when Mass Effect originally came out and I guess the slower paced, story-focused game just wasn’t what I was in the mood for (which is bizarre because I was a huge KOTOR stan a few years prior, but we’ll get to that later). I have no memory of my short stint with Mass Effect, so I was essentially going into this series completely blind, just the way I like it.

I am so freakin’ glad I played this. The biggest compliment I can give to this game is that the world building is so incredibly in-depth and creative and was what carried the majority of my gratification of the game. Learning about the cultures, species, the politics, and the history or this universe was quite enjoyable. I am a huge science-fiction fan from movies, to books, to TTRPGs, to video games. I love how science-fiction can warp traditional story-telling tropes to twist trope-y narratives, introduce new perspectives, and challenge our beliefs as human beings. Mass Effect is damn good sci-fi. This is masterclass world building. When you have a world so rich with fascinating lore, it makes it that much easier to write a compelling narrative and introduce interesting characters.

The message of the story was all about what it means to be human. This is a common storytelling theme, but I think science-fiction is the best host for such a tale. In science-fiction, we can be shown different ways of thinking which can challenge the way we as humans inherently think. Instead of asking ourselves “why do these aliens think differently than we do?” we can ask ourselves “why don’t we think more like these aliens?” In this game humans are presented as overly emotional compared to other races. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? That’s up to the viewer to interpret. It’s not the storytellers job to tell you what to think, rather it’s their job to unbiasedly offer different perspectives and let the viewer come to their own opinion. I really like when a storyteller can find this balance and, in this area, Mass Effect did a great job.

I have many friends who are ultra-fans of this series. A few of them lamented to me that classic “I wish I could experience it again for the first time” sentiment. It’s a feeling we can all relate to about our favorite stories. This feels like a series I will have similar thoughts about in the future, so I am trying to absorb it in all right now.

Now, there are a few things that may not have aged so well in this game. For example, the inventory managing and equipment upgrading systems did not feel very good – the UI was weird to navigate at best and convoluted at worst. The combat had a bit of clumsiness to it, and the controls for the Mako were not good (it’s easy to compare it to the Warthog in Halo, which was a very similar control system but felt so much better in Halo). Overall the remastered graphics look good (although I don’t have the OG to compare them to) but one thing that stuck out was how bad the human facial expressions looked, especially when a character was talking. I do hope a few of these systems are updated in the 2nd game.

One last anecdote before I wrap up: one of my favorite games ever made is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003), developed by BioWare only a few years before Mass Effect (2007). The influence KOTOR had on this game is clear. From the space exploration, to its sci-fi setting, to its signature RPG elements, even to using the same voice actors (shout to my boys Carth and Kaiden both being voiced by the legendary Raphael Sbarge). KOTOR has influenced many other games I’ve played, but this one even more so than the others. It was so, so cool seeing this much of KOTOR baked into the DNA of Mass Effect. It felt like BioWare took everything they learned from KOTOR and applied it here and it’s awesome seeing how the studio progressed itself. For the record: I do think KOTOR is the better game, but in certain areas Mass Effect does outpace it.

Overall, HELL yeah, I loved this game. I could definitely see how it could improve in certain areas and I’m hoping these are addressed in the sequel. But in a world with this much depth, I can only imagine what kind of stories there are left to tell. I’ve been told the second and third games are even better than this one, so I need to make sure to keep my expectations in check. I’m glad middle-school PapaJaeger did not play this game – it would’ve robbed adult PapaJaeger of the pleasure.