Mass Effect: Legendary Edition launches Friday – here’s what we know and how to pre-order

We first heard about Mass Effect: Legendary Edition back in February. With fresh information being released over the past few months, the game is set to launch on console and PC this Friday. Featuring brand-new 4K visuals, enhanced performance, and HDR, there’s quite a bit to explore in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the game and where you can pre-order it.

Three games, one launches, all the DLCs

Mass Effect is a saga that’s spanned many years and two generations and was at the heart of many people’s sci-fi gaming love. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition takes the original trilogy and re-releases them in glorious 4K HDR with improved performance, visuals, graphics, and more.

EA is releasing the new trilogy under one launcher, however, which is unlike any other game in this genre. You’ll find that all of the single-player content is available here, including over 40 DLCs, promo weapons, armors, and packs.

Customize Shepard in all-new ways

Shepard is at the center of Mass Effect, and in this re-release, we have more of the iconic character than ever. There’s improved hair, makeup, eye color, and skin tones, and there’s a unified character creator that has all of these options across the entire trilogy here. You can also choose to play as the iconic Femshep from Mass Effect 3 in all titles, which is a choice we’ve never had before.

Enjoy enhanced gameplay in the First Mass Effect all over again

Sure, the original Mass Effect game is an iconic one that we all know and love. But, if you’ve ever gone back and tried to play it, the gun mechanics, walking, and even sound effects just screamed that it was a dated game.

EA went through and updated all of this to bring improved aiming and weapons balance, sound effects, Mako controls, squad behavior, cover behavior, and even gameplay cameras. It’s truly been rebuilt from the ground up for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.

Choose better quality or performance on console and enjoy ultra-high refresh rates on PC

The list of upgrades is ever-growing for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. But, if you own a next-generation console, you’ll be able to toggle between “Favor Quality” and “Favor Framerate” to choose whether you want high-fidelity graphics or a boosted FPS. Desktops will also be able to pick between a few different options and support ultra-high refresh rates, 21:9 widescreens, DirectX 11, native controller support, and user interface navigation improvements.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition launches Friday, here’s where you can pre-order the game

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition launches this Friday, May 14. You’ll find that the game will retail for $59.99 and is available on Steam, Origin, PlayStation (physical + digital), and Xbox (physical + digital). While you might be wondering why EA is charging the standard MSRP of modern AAA titles for a re-release, just consider that you’re getting three games that have been completely rebuilt for the price of one here.

9to5Toys’ take

I have always wanted to get into the Mass Effect universe. I pre-ordered Andromeda when it came out a few years ago, but I just couldn’t get myself to jump in that late in the game. After trying — and failing — to pick up the titles in their original form due to different mishaps and just the sheer age of the games, I’m quite excited for the re-release here. I don’t think I’ll be picking it up on launch day, but it’s absolutely a title being added to my Steam wishlist for when it goes on sale.

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