May could be the biggest month for new video games in 2021 yet. One of the month's most anticipated releases being Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. The remastered and upgraded trilogy features all three of the core Mass Effect trilogy's games, bringing one of the most beloved modern series to a new generation of gamers. Mass Effect fans have been anxiously awaiting the game's May 14 launch date. However, it seems that some fans' wait has already come to a conclusion.
The news stems from Reddit's Mass Effect subreddit, where user Orpheus96 shared an image of their recent acquisition. The title of the post is "It arrived early!!!" and the attached photo has a copy of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition on PS4 and a Mass Effect 3 poster shown. While it isn't confirmed, the subreddit is acting like this is the world-first case of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition being found in the wild.
Since it's one of the internet's most active Mass Effect communities, it's no surprise that Orpheus96's post is being met with both excitement and curiosity. Questions range from the standard "Paragon or Renegade?" and "Who are you romancing?" to more technical questions about how the game plays and whether they've noticed any changes. The first questions are simple for Orpheus96 to answer -- Paragon and Liara -- but the more technical questions are especially intriguing.
Orpheus96 says that the first Mass Effect's shooting has been improved, noting that the sniper rifle "doesn't aim all over the place" anymore. However, they say that the cover system remains "a bit annoying." No major glitches have stood out to them, which is great to hear. They don't mention whether they downloaded the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition day one patch, but do note that the game's install size is 87.41GB on the PS5. That's after a two-disc installation with one data disc and one play disc.
It's unclear how Orpheus96 acquired the game early. Their insinuation seems to be that it was simply delivered a couple of days ahead of schedule. It's always possible, and not uncommon, that the game was acquired through illicit means. However, Orpheus96 seems to be more than comfortable sharing their thoughts on the game, so it's likely legitimate.
There's nothing illegal about playing games early, if they're delivered early. Publishers do frown on streaming games early or sharing spoilers, of course. In Mass Effect: Legendary Edition's case, that's obviously not much of an issue. Mass Effect has long been spoiled, after all. That's why the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition's street date being broken comes across as more of a celebration than fans stressing out. It's likely going to make these last two days of waiting that much more torturous, however.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition releases May 14 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
