For all of the improvements that are most welcome (and will doubtless help court a new generation of fans) Mass Effect’s brilliance isn’t about technicality. Not really. It is about that total investment in its galaxy and its characters --be it your most trusted squadmate or the elephantine Elcor shopkeeper you bumped into-- that has fully enveloped me again. That hasn’t aged a jot.

The fact that the first Mass Effect is fundamentally the same game, is a lost chance to correct the mishaps of the original one. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful remaster, as proper remasters should be. As a whole, the Legendary Edition is a must-have collection for every conscious gamer on the planet. You know, the planet called Terra, in the Local Cluster.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a magnificent compilation. A title that will undoubtedly delight fans of Shepard's epic. Those who grew up and discovered a genre thanks to the work of BioWare will find their favorite titles like never before. The facelift looks great on each of the three games. In addition, the increased and stable fps on Xbox Series X gives a totally new look and feel to the title.

If you've never played a Mass Effect game before, you can consider purchasing the Legendary Edition an absolute no-brainer. If you fancy revisiting BioWare's seminal sci-fi saga (and frankly, why wouldn't you?), then, equally, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is essential. Bottom line: you need this.

It's as great as most people say it is. There's not a conversation I want to skip, not a companion I want to ignore, and really not a single mission I want to decline. Mass Effect is the ultimate RPG. When so many of your actions affect the future of not just you and your friends, but potentially the entire universe, there's a great deal of responsibility on BioWare to deliver outcomes that feel worth one's time. Even acknowledging its final scene is notoriously polarizing, and you may come down harder on it than I do. Either way, the journey is well worth your time.

The update of the game has its pros and cons, but the main improvements are well received. Narrative, setting and dialogs are still awesome, so having all condensed in a single package feels like a real treasure.

If you ignore these flaws and show indulgence for a 14-year-old game, you will reconnect with a memorable and still captivating saga to walk through, coated in a generous layer of varnish that allows it to - almost - hang on to the present day.