While the overall fan reception of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition has been generally positive, there are many players who have a number of gripes with the remastered versions of the Mass Effect trilogy. There are a number of new things added to the game in the Legendary collection, as well as some old features that were changed or removed.
The highlights of the collection include a number of visual overhauls and optimizations for PC users, including widescreen and ultra HD support for the trilogy. However, some fans on Reddit are none too impressed with the many problems evident in the collection.
7 The Russian Voice Over Is Awful
Oftentimes, foreign translations and voiceovers for a game can take up a huge chunk of a development budget. Sometimes, the option to change a game's localization is not available, and players are stuck with whichever version their country was able to get. This change is often made so that players can't buy cheaper games from other countries, then simply change the language settings.
A Mass Effect: Legendary Edition player from Russia, Reddit user /u/mr3LiON, posted to the Mass Effect subreddit to complain about the changes made in the remaster. According to /u/mr3LiON, the new voices of almost every character in the game don't match the characters' personalities.
6 There's A Lack Of Callouts In The Original Mass Effect
In a bit of a tongue-in-cheek post Reddit user /u/alsconza complained about a vital part of the original Mass Effect that is now missing from the remastered Legendary version: the "ENEMIES ARE EVERYWHERE!" callout so often heard throughout the first game.
In the original Mass Effect there are a lot of phrases NPCs call out constantly, which over time became earworms to dedicated players. The "ENEMIES ARE EVERYWHERE!" callout is just one of them, but players have also noticed a lack of, "GO GO GO" and "ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL" callouts throughout the game.
5 Lighting Seems A Little Off, In Parts...
Generally, when a game gets remastered, the quality of visuals throughout the game are improved greatly. Comparing The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and its HD remake is like comparing two completely different games. In Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, though, the quality has actually gone down in several places.
Reddit user /u/CosmicStarfall pointed out one particularly egregious example of how the quality of lighting in the remaster went down. In the screenshot from the original game, Ashley looks pretty well lit, though a bit polygonal. In Legendary Edition, Ashley is bathed in unflattering darkness, despite light coming from in front of her face.
4 ...And NPC Models Are All Over The Place
Alongside special effects and lighting improvements generally come improvements to the quality of NPC models in games. Remasters of early 2000's titles tend to get rid of the polygons that plagued early 3D games, and remasters of titles from around a decade ago are generally focused on improving how lifelike the world's characters feel.
Reddit user /u/Stopthelemurs pointed out the difference between Kelly's original model in Mass Effect 2 and her updated model in the Legendary edition of the game. Despite being much brighter, the face of the original model looks pretty lifelike and well-toned throughout. The changes to how lighting and character creation works in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition likely led to the lower-quality appearance of the revamped model.
3 The Legendary Edition Was Only Made To Lead Into Future Games
The release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was known for some time, but fans didn't expect the trilogy collection to cost as much as it does. Reddit user /u/ posted their theory on why the remaster was even made in the first place: to lead into a possible new entry in the Mass Effect series directly.
It's not out of the question – there's a long history of sequels that read a player's progress in the previous game and change the narrative accordingly, most notably in The Witcher series. Another user suggested that the failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda prompted the team to probe interest in the Mass Effect franchise in a safe manner, by releasing remakes of the most beloved entries.
2 Mass Effect's Original Cameras Were Further Away
For most players, the most comfortable field of view level is very subjective. Some players like having the camera close to their character, perhaps more fitting for a TV setup, while others like having the camera further away to see more of the world at once. It's a default feature in most games, especially on PC, but it's one that's not present in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.
Reddit user /r/Gonzito3420 pointed out that the camera in the original Mass Effect games is further back and allows the player to see more of their surroundings. As it stands, the camera placement in the collection makes the game feel claustrophobic.
1 Mouse Inputs and Sensitivity Are Broken
Mouse input schemes for console-to-PC games are typically awful. Sword-swinging combo-building RPGs are nearly impossible to play with a mouse, racing games feel imprecise, and in general, there doesn't seem to be a lot of effort put into keyboard controls on console-to-pc ports across the industry.
The PC version of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition takes these problems to a new level, which Reddit user /u/PSNparkerplace pointed out in a complaint post. There are a number of small issues, but the main problem with mouse controls is tied to the framerate of the game. If the game runs faster, the camera will turn faster, which makes for an extremely difficult time moving in the 3D environment with a non-fixed framerate.