Mass Effect Legendary Edition changes showcased in new video

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
(Image credit: BioWare)

We’ve got a fresh batch of footage from the upcoming Mass Effect Legendary Edition which showcases the new visuals, gameplay adjustments, and character creator.

This latest video comes from IGN, and it offers over 11 minutes of new footage which highlights the major changes that have been made to all three Mass Effect games. It’s fair to say that the lion’s share of the changes have come to the original Mass Effect, which makes sense. It’s the oldest game and needed the most changes to bring it up to modern standards.

We’ve already had announcements for most of the features that are showcased in this video, but it's nice to see them in action. The most noticeable changes are to the visuals - all three games have better textures, character models, and lighting effects, most noticeable in the first game. There's also a look at several combat scenes which show off the updated locations, and some of the hub areas, including Noveria station. 

Some more substantial changes have been made here, such as the removal of a wall which restricted sight lines. In the original game, this wall served to block your view so that the game didn’t need to load the whole room as soon as you entered. With next gen hardware, that trick wasn’t needed anymore, so Bioware knocked down the wall to give you a more impressive view of the station when you first enter

The video also shows off some driving sections which gives us an idea of how the updated Mako drives. Fans of the original Mass Effect will remember the Mako as the helium-filled, barely controllable landing vehicle that you navigate planets with. The dev team has made efforts to keep the spirit of the Mako alive, while curtailing some of its wackier handling tendencies. It’s hard to tell how well they’ve succeeded from just watching a video, but it still looks like the Mako we know and love, so we’re hopeful. And yes, it can still bunny hop.

There are tons more details sprinkled throughout the video that showcase the upgrades that Bioware have done to the classic trilogy, so give it a watch. We’re super hyped to jump back into Bioware’s sci-fi classic and we don’t have long to wait, as the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition release date is in May.

If you need to brush up on your Mass Effect info to make sure you get your dream playthrough right, then our Mass Effect endings guide will help you save the galaxy your way.

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Ian Stokes
Contributor

Ian Stokes is an experienced writer and journalist. You'll see his words on GamesRadar+ from time to time, but Ian spends the majority of his time working on other Future Plc publications. He has served as the Reviews Editor for Top Ten Reviews and led the tech/entertainment sections of LiveScience and Space.com as Tech and Entertainment Editor.