I’m a huge fan of the Mass Effect series. I’ve played through 2 and 3 multiple times - ME2 is definitely on my top 10 games list - and I’m an apologist for the original ending of 3 and for the entirety of Andromeda. Until last week, I had never played the original Mass Effect. A few thoughts about my experience playing through the game for the first time:

  • Prior to this playthrough, I never made it past the first Mako mission. I just couldn’t take it. I think it’s the worst designed vehicle in all of gaming, and honestly, despite improvements in the Legendary Edition (LE) version of the game, I still think that. I finished ME1 in spite of the Mako, and I think the people who wanted to keep the original version are crazy.
  • I deeply respect Bioware’s commitment to going all-in on the RPG elements in ME1. With power/weapon/armor systems in gaming generally, I feel like the usual pattern is to limit the depth of customization before expanding scope in subsequent releases. ME1 starts with serious RPG depth right out of the gate, and I think I actually prefer it to ME2’s more streamlined systems.
  • I really enjoyed building my Shepard from scratch and unfolding the Geth/Reaper/Sovereign story firsthand. I certainly understood the general premise from playing through the sequels, but it was an absolute treat to explore the narrative’s nuances myself, build a main character with “unique” experiences, and have a chance to make different choices than those retroactively made for me when I first played ME2.
  • Other than the Mako, if the game has any core weaknesses, they’re mostly relative to ME2 and ME3 (which I mean as a compliment to all three games). In particular, I prefer the way companions and pacing are handled in the sequels.

In the face of a ballooning backlog, I’m glad I took the time to go through ME1. There’s very little I’d love more than for Bioware to find their magic again; maybe the next Mass Effect game will do just that.