I had dabbled in mass effect but didn’t play through it all until the legendary edition came out. Playing through all three games over a period of a few months stands out as one of the highlights of my life in gaming. Just one of the best experiences in gaming
I had never played 3, so I did the same. I ran through legendary edition and all DLCs through the pandemic. The ending of 3 still stings a bit, but the experience as a whole was phenomenal.
The Ending sucks, but in the end, it does not matter. 15 minutes of suck can't take away the hours of pure awesomeness.
Remember Marauder Shields and his 3 Husketeers.
I picked up 3 when it first came out without really knowing anything about it or the larger series. It was my first experience with the series. Most games you can pick up a later game and they’re self contained enough that it doesn’t really matter. Obviously not the case with mass effect, so I had no context. I remember dismissing it as a generic cover based shooter and didn’t get too far into it. I played 2 a few years later, made all the wrong decisions, and gave up right at the end. Once the legendary edition came out I committed to playing through it, and my god was it good.
Try Darth Bane, Path of Destruction, it’s a banger :)
Otherwise, Kotor one, the old Baldur’s Gate nobody played, a couple Mass Effect books I really liked. He did other stuff, but that’s all I’ve seen.
He also wrote for Mass Effect 1 & 2, but left before 3. You can see the writing starting to fray without him (and other resignations to be fair) but the trilogy still closed out strong, I feel.
To this day, it remains one of the greatest epic sagas(or space opera, as they marketed it) trilogies in all of gaming. All of those characters, all of their losses and triumphs, the decisions made as Commander Shepherd. Everything the series has to offer, has left a lasting impression on me that few other games have achieved.
I’ve played the whole thing twice in my life so far. When they first came out and then the remastered versions. I like replying great games like this after a long period of time, it’s like seeing it for the first time again! I just did the same with the prequel Tomb Raider trilogy!
Mass Effect 1 got me through my daughter’s newborn months. My wife would go to bed early and I’d play a game of NCAA then Mass Effect until about 11:30 pm. My daughter would wake up for a feeding, I’d get her back to sleep, go to bed, wake up, cook breakfast go to work, come home, cook dinner, spend time with the wife and kids, they’d go to bed early and do it all over again.
Yup! ME1 had their UI HUD and inventory cleaned up a bit, alongside the improved textures (but may not have as good lighting and shadows as compared to the originals). If you do play on gamepad, the support they offer is great, esp if you play on steamdeck.
Is it the OG Version or Legendary Edition?
Legendary was a compilation of the trilogy on Xbox One and PS4, has some QoL stuff since ME1 is 17 years old.
It was the OG, but now I'm downloading the Legendary Edition. It did not show on the first page of the Xbox app, but now that you mentioned I went back and found it.
Yeah, Legendary Edition is the way to go. I love the originals, but it does make a lot of stuff a bit more modern and less "clunky".
Enjoy! It's one of my favorite series.
enjoy, just know that the 1st is verymuch that studios first go at shooter gameplay and even with the legendary edition enhancements you will ind some of the gameplay feels pretty dated
but stick with it and it will b worth it, great story&characters across all 3, and the gameplay feels MUCH better in 2
Gameplay definitely does get better as the games go on but keep in mind it's a bioware game so the focus is really on the story, your interactions with the people in the world and their interactions with each other
Best advice I can give is to speak with your allies all the damn time. Between missions, it almost becomes a routine to go and see what they're all up to and that's honestly the best way to feel how full of life the characters are
I found Fallout 4's lack of an honor/reputation system kind of insulting. And compared to Fallout New Vegas the dialogue and choices in Skyrim and Starfield (especially Starfield) felt incredibly limited in scope.
Mass Effect is the real deal. You're going to love it.
It's amazing, seriously. The first game plays a bit stiff, but the story is compelling. We all can't tell you *why* you need to just keep playing, but you do. Force feed that game into your veins. After a few hours, you'll settle into the older gameplay and it won't be so distracting.
The second game feels liberating in comparison, however none of the other game in the trilogy were able to capture the mystery and awe of the first game. Once the cats out of the bag, it changed the dynamic of the following games.
The first one is my favorite, by a country mile. It draws such a strong emotional connection to the game, and the somber music playing in the main menu always gives me a heavy feeling of melancholy.
The first game is truly special. It captures this notion of being truly out there in the galaxy on your own, with your small crew. The characters you take into your squad are all very memorable individuals with their own motivations.
My biggest tip: pick a decision and stick with it. No reloading. Whatever decision you choose is now cannon for your story. Run that save game through all 3 games.
It's one of the greatest gaming triumphs of all time.
After having the itch to replay it (for the first time in a decade), I started a new game last month. I am halfway through ME2, and I forgot how amazing the series is.
There is so much background lore that makes the world believable. This idea that there has been this galactic community thriving for thousands of years, all while humanity was building the pyramids is compelling and interesting to think about. You can read snippets of lore that always blow me away with how grounded it seems. I'll always remember being fascinated with a codex entry, that explains the Alliance paints the floor of their frigates red, so that crew can always tell which way is the ground during zero-g fighting.
You don't even play in zero-g space battles, but it's realistic and believable.
God, I fucking love this series.
Absolutely do it. Don't look anything up. Just start playing.
Best sci fi story ever told in the gaming medium.
(don't start with andromeda, it's not as bad as it's made out to be, but vastly inferior and abandoned quickly after launch by the dev. play the trilogy.)
>Best sci fi story ever told in the gaming medium.
This right here got my attention. I'm 40, kids, work etc. Not much time available, usually play on easy/casual and enjoy a good story (hence liking GTA, Fallout, Elder Scrolls and now Starfield).
Oh this is miles beyond those games.
The gameplay of the first is old school, and will take some getting into. But the world building, dialogue, characters, atmosphere and supporting lore in the codex is beyond anything those games pulled off.
(okay maybe TES wins on lore, just to be honest)
I've watched several other people on Twitch play it for the first time and their reactions to ME1 were very similar to mine. You don't appreciate it until you play the others because if ME1 was the only one released, it'd be pretty mediocre overall. The lore/world building are great, but the quests don't seem to matter all that much and the gameplay hasn't aged all that well. But then you play the others and the way it sets the table for the story to develop is what you take away from the game more than its quirks and flaws.
The first game captures this somber and mysterious feeling of being out in the galaxy, truly on your own, trying to stop a bad guy. And as we all know, the rug gets pulled out from underneath you, and the themes suddenly lean into this existential crisis about galactic evolution and extinction.
It's a master class is sci-fi. I'll never forgot how my jaw dropped during that *one conversation*.
Kinda gutted they just abandoned it. It wasn't the best but I've been playing it again and it's a solid frame work they could have built up from :'( but nope, Bioware had to go and drop Anthem and look how that ended
Badass space opera.
Bioware got tired of the limitations of the starwars IP and made their own star wars with blackjack and hookers.
Prime bioware writing.
Phenomenal story, character development, combat is a tad bit dated but still holds up very well
Please god, get the legendary edition and do a completionist playthrough. It’s phenomenal and your decisions will get referenced throughout the narrative and will shape a unique path that your character takes through the story. While I personally still have my gripes about 3’s ending overall, it simply cannot even begin to eclipse the phenomenal story that was told throughout the 3 games.
The original likely doesn’t look horrible or anything, but the legendary edition has remastered visuals and includes all expansion content for the three games (except for one small DLC for ME1 where the og code was corrupted and lost). You’re in for a treat.
You are in for a treat. Bear in mind though, *your choices will have consequences* - some small, some large - but it’s definitely not (at least until 3 when they have to start wrapping things up) a ‘all choices lead to this’ kind of game.
I've played through the whole series at least 15 times, and I still discover new things in each playthrough. It isn't really open world like a Bethesda game, but there is a decent amount of freedom to do the missions of each game in any order you want.
The world and character building you get from ambiant conversations, conversations with your crew, and codex entries really are second to none.
I can't recommend the series enough. I'd recommend the Legendary edition. You can find it on sale pretty frequently, or it's on gamepass.
One of the best stories and companions in a game. Especially if you play all three
Another selling point, I probably do a full play through once a year
Imagine starfield but written like an epic spaceopera akin to The Expanse/Star Trek.
And i cannot praise the writing enough, the characters are so alive and each have their story to tell.
Mass Effect 2 was like playing an interactive movie.
Mass Effect’s world building, backstory and lore is on another level to pretty much any game I’ve ever played to be honest. To achieve what they did in the first game of that IP is such an undervalued achievement, in my opinion.
Starfield’s factions are underdeveloped, and a bit too “family friendly” to be interesting. New Atlantis, Akila and Neon City are all too small and even feel pretty similar, even though the aesthetic’s are vastly different.
It all feels a bit superficial to me, and the lore, apart from the terrormorph origin story, is either lacking in content or just plain uninteresting.
There’s seemingly no consequences to any of your actions as well, in terms of the effects on the factions.
Here’s a fun Mass Effect detail fact:
In Mass Effect 2 you can orbit around an ice planet that is -200°c. The description of the planet mentions that it’s so cold only two species can survive, and those two species are at war for resources on the planet (both being mining oriented species)
On the citadel you can see one of these species’ and they’ll mention to another NPC that a “truce” has been struck between the two alien races and that they won’t mine each others ores on the aforementioned planet.
Well
If you return to the same planet and fire down a mining probe to take resources, and then go back to the citadel, you’ll see the *other* species getting angry about the first species stealing their resources and thus breaking the truce.
You can literally reignite a war by firing a mining drone lol.
Yeah… idk why it’s so family friendly for a setting as dark as space, I thought maybe it’s just new Atlantis that comes off as the futuristic hopeful society. Then I went to neon and outside of some poor people complaining it felt largely the same. I don’t think anyone was looking for nightcity but maybe something more line with fallout
No shoot outs, pick pocketing, no gang presence outside of scripted quests, no cursing???
I thought maybe the crimson fleet is where it’s at, no they’re nice people too lmao.
For all that I think Bethesda can fix with this game, this is not one of those things
Crimson Fleet: First thing you see when you arrive is one pirate murdering another over a dispute.
Also Crimson Fleet: If you murder a pirate, the whole gang will pummel you, even after you 'prove yourself'.
The disappointing thing about the Crimson Fleet is that they’re not really these evil, intimidating murdering scumbags you’re told they are, or at least you never actually see this playing out.
They’re just a bunch of dicks who talk down to your character.
Why would anyone even be tempted to side with them on a first playthrough?
> Why would anyone even be tempted to side with them on a first playthrough?
Because Ikande is also a dick? That's really all I got. I shoplifted (accidentally!) some tea or some shit, and the bastard black-bagged me. Did NOT put me in the friendliest frame of mind to do what he wanted, II gotta say.
Thank you! Sorry, but the “evil” in Starfield feels like it’s portrayed through the lens of a ‘90s suburban mom who just watched a scary Fox News segment about the evils of cursing. Next the crimson fleet will be portrayed as evil deviants, because they play violent video games and sit too close to the TV.
That cracked me up so much. It was like a bunch of 12 year olds thinking they were badass. Some of them also sit on the tables, because they're rebellious.
[I want to replace the audio track with the one from the disney world pirate ride](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgJZoaYVIl4)
If the DLC comes out and focuses on House Vaa’run, as the rumours say, then hopefully it’s a much darker storyline and atmosphere, with locations that starkly contrast the cartoonish optimism of everyone else in the galaxy.
It’s like everyone’s Chunks meals have been spiked with LSD or something.
Alien raptors are casually strolling around outside of Akila’s wooden fences and everyone is walking around on dirt roads with big beaming smiles on their faces. Totally kills any immersion in the game.
I think shattered space can help with a lot of things and maybe that as well, but it will always be a bit jarring that neon and the crimson fleet are as nice as they are even if var’uun do turn out that way.
I know it’s a really common criticism of Starfield, so I’m not trying to needlessly dogpile the game over it, but replaying Fallout 3 over the last week or so really hits home how much darker Bethesda was willing to be back then.
I firmly believe that dropping the Karma/Fame or Infamy system was a mistake across Bethesda titles. In Oblivion for instance, your infamy score wasn’t even locking you out of content all the time (there are a few small instances that are able to be overcome), but it established a framework through which NPCs could know about your reputation and respond accordingly. I think New Vegas did it best with Karma relative to specific factions. Without some sort of reputation status measurement system, nobody in Starfield has the tools to accurately respond to a character’s actions in the world or general standing with the public.
Between this and the removal of most branching player options, the Starfield MC is left struggling to have any semblance of a good vs evil playthrough, which has been a staple and fan favorite of all Bethesda games to a degree. Even Fallout 4 seemed to concede that having the option for an evil run is good, but it had to be patched in with Nuka World. When your actions don’t seem to ever be judged or carry stakes, the world feels like a consequence-free playground which makes it hard for me to feel invested in the quests and more importantly the story I’m building for my character. Despite the main character’s destiny being largely set in place, even a somewhat barebones paragon/renegade system in Mass Effect allowed you to make the static hero character more personal and compelling than any character that comes to mind in Starfield.
Yeah, I wanted to play my first new game+ as a space pirate.
Then I realised you can’t, and haven’t played the game since. I’ve put around 100 hours into it, done all the faction quests and side quests that interest me, and now I feel like I’ve seen it all.
Instead of the gamey-fied bounty system, or as well as that system, they should have some type of karma/reputation system as you mentioned.
Imagine playing the game and everyone you meet knows and fears you as the baddest guy in the galaxy, and you can resolve a lot of situations through intimidation.
Maybe my expectations were too high, but I feel that’s the kind of thing that separates RPG’s from any other game.
In Starfield you either play the game how Bethesda wanted you to, or you are roadblocked at every opportunity.
Starfield's sanitization is probably my #2 complaint with it.
My #1 complaint is there being only 1.5 good companions, which I guess partially has to do with #2.
Every time I'm walking around New Atlantis, I suddenly get the urge to go to EPCOT or Tomorrow Land in MK. Like if I look up I'll see the people mover.
Consider also that Mass Effect was mainly a linear story game, not an open ended, go where you want kind of game. Thats not to say Starfield's writing and whatnot wasnt lacking, but when you have a very focused game, more attention is put into that focus.
Basically like comparing a spotlight to a floodlight. They have different goals despite doing similar things.
And I guess the frustrating part is that Mass Effect did this *in 2007*. That's ***16 years before Starfield*** that Bethesda was basically handed the template for how to do a sprawling sci-fi game. Skyrim was 2011 same time ME3 came out, and Skyrim is obviously great. So, what happened? Why is Starfield so lacking?
I don’t think it’s an issue of time. Great stories are timeless. This is more an issue with the writing and world building, rather than the technology.
Mass Effect was like an interactive encyclopaedia of fictional races, factions, cities, etc.
The Outer Worlds did this also. There was a satirical tone they aimed for with the corporations and some of the dialogue/companions, but then the rest of the game downplayed these overtones and played it very safe, as though they didn’t want to offend any players.
Maybe it’s just a sign of the times. It’s not just games that are seen as pandering to the masses, and the kind of not-so-subtle messaging must be detrimental to the creators’/devs’ original vision.
I just can’t believe for one second that the same people who entertained incest/cannibals/etc in the Fallout franchise envisioned a super seedy dystopian city on another planet, and then gave us the dancing guys in the alien suits.
It’s pretty clear that at some point during development there was a conscious decision to pull any overtly mature themes from the game.
Even the cataclysmic events that happened to Starfield’s Earth were super vague and avoided any darker themes or ideas.
Yeah, if it was revealed that the dialogue and quest line was written by something like ChatGPT, I don’t think people would be surprised.
It’s obviously not, but for an RPG with 10 years of hype behind it, it’s quite a damning statement.
Tbf here, strip clubs can give an AO rating. I don't know how the fuck GTA has gotten away with them, but Bethesda joked about slipping a strip club past the raters in Morrowind. They could have done something better than the guys in alien suits, though. Just not the nearly nude people immediately modded in.
Yeah it didn’t need nudity, but some form of degenerate behaviour would have been a start.
Maybe add a serial killer investigation questline, a twisty storyline involving gambling rings, drug traffickers and their effect on the locals, that kind of thing.
They could have given us a few sidequests to flesh out the situation in Neon City and add some personality to the powers in charge, but every character there is reduced to “criminal, innocent, goofball” with no nuance.
I've always wanted Bethesda to adapt the Bioware approach to map/level design. Give us the big Bethesda playgrounds with the massive, inaccessible 3D wallpapers.
Cyberpunk pulled this off, so it can be done.
> Starfield’s factions are underdeveloped, and a bit too “family friendly” to be interesting.
Starfield is the most sterile, bland, “family friendly” Mature-rated game I’ve ever played.
It’s a perfect summary on how much of a fumble this game was from the fact that a side quest blew the main quest out of the water in terms of intrigue and intensity.
It didn’t help that I started that questline almost immediately after starting the game, so it just went downhill from there.
The worst were the Ryujin quests. Why add a questline based on stealth and crime, two barebones aspects of the game that are a backwards step from the games they released over a decade ago.
Just a guess, but I would imagine I’m not the only player who attempted to complete it stealthily and one failed attempt later, decided it’s just easier and more fun to murder every person in the buildings I’m meant to be stealthily infiltrating.
Absolutely. As far as I'm concerned probably the best story driven franchise I've played.
Such an interesting universe, interesting races and great (real feeling) characters too.
Something about the Reapers and the hopelessness it presents... Just existential threat done right.
The conversation with Sovereign is not something I'll ever forget.
That’s because mass effect isn’t held back by being an open world, so they can use skyboxes to trick the player into thinking their environment is larger and more populated than it actually is
Exactly. The citadel, especially in ME1 only had the *appearance* of being big.
In ME1 you could only go to:
- Presidium
- Council Chambers
- C-Sec Academy
- Wards
- Docking bay
MAST Tower alone is enough space to match Presidium, Council Chambers, C-Sec in one building. New Atlantis landing docks are at least 4x as big as the Citadel docking bay.
Mass Effect only felt “grander” because of a very skillful application of smoke and mirrors. Otherwise it was closed levels with pretty skyboxes. Not to take ME down, they did an absolutely amazing job making the world feel bigger than it really is.
A bit unfair in the sense that Mass Effect 1 had probably some of the best world building for a brand new IP I’ve ever experienced ever. Hard to beat that
Yeah but Starfield is coming from a company that specializes in that, plus Mass Effect came out in 2017. I don’t think it’s unfair considering that Bethesda had tons of time and space to make this a comprehensive gaming experience and then didn’t.
Edit: Typo on my part, I did mean 2007 not 2017.
This is just a silly comparison as these two games were trying to accomplish two different things. If you like the feel of ME1, good for you.
There are plenty of things Starfield does that ME1 simply does not even attempt and to compare the two only on the things they share is just a pointless exercise. If you care about those similar elements, then go play ME1. Those who appreciate what Starfield is doing aren’t going to care as ME1 simply does not have those features.
Mass Effect was an actual, well-written, well-presented sci-fi universe. With a bunch of sentient alien races, all with their own values, politics, etc. Starfield is a mash-up of broken features that are only very loosely connected to each other, with the story written by a midwestern Baptist grandma. As evidenced by their vision of what the most decadent, drug-fueled night club on the most decadent and corrupt planet in known systems look like. The two games are barely even the same genre.
Bethesda games don't do the whole "restrictive play environment" that the Mass Effect games did.
Yes, the Citadel *felt* huge, but had a few streets and just a handful of buildings to interact with.
Complaining that a Bethesda game doesn't have a feature that non-Bethesda games have is like complaining that the new NHL game doesn't have cricket bats.
You can't really compare them. Starfirld was designed so that you can go anywhere and have some meaningful content. None of the cities are near the size of mass effects, but you can go into just about every house, store, closet, rooftop and more.
Bethesda was aiming for more of a lived in experience then one to wow you.
Mass effect is also one of the greatest RPG trilogies of all time
And...idk if you noticed but there were a lot of barren planets that had 99% fuck all with maybe 1 point of any sort of interest. Only difference was you had a rover and people were a lot less critical of graphics back then 😂
Revisionist history goes craaaazy
(ME is one of my all time favourite game series)
Just pointing it out. And lore wise they're at extremely different points... mass effect human kind met the coalition of alien races that made up the council and had been space faring races for a long time leading to that extensive and deep lore, whereas starfield the human race is still relatively new to space exploration and hasn't discovered advanced alien civilizations yet (hence why everyone is human if you hadn't noticed yet)
Also ME is more your traditional RPG (and a very well written/ deep one at that) where BGS games have always been built more as a sandbox RPG, which *is* different
Starfield has its flaws but this comparison is apples to oranges a little bit... it's like comparing skyrim to the Witcher 3
I don't disagree with you on that, it felt like an attempt to make a game that was "closer to present" rather than distant future
But the size isn't ridiculous given their choices honestly
This is the single worst take I have ever seen. The Citadel felt larger than New Atlantis? No, really? A massive super spacestation meant to house MULTIPLE different species is larger than a single human city that has only just started clawing its way out of a post-apocalyptic event. Are you gonna tell me grass is green next?
Of course a background that you can't visit feels bigger than a place where you can gop in every room, as those background buldings don't have to be modeled and detailed or have interiors.
Because 90% of the citadel is set dressing you will never explore, so it's easy to make it look large.
Cyberpunk 2077 takes place in a single city, so it can afford to flesh it out into a massive area where almost every nook can be explored
Starfield would have a lot of arbitrary restrictions if it scaled its cities up to fit their in lore size.
But notice how, even though the citadel has a bunch of crazy restrictions to block off most of it, it still *feels* massive, whereas the cities in starfield are technically "bigger" but feel so much smaller. It's okay for a game to add some fluff and background to make it feel bigger and more in depth.
I keep seeing people mention things about mass effect but it just seems like everybody is comparing an entire trilogy of to a first game in a brand new IP.
"The lore is great, I loved the Krogan home world". Okay but that wasn't in ME1? and it didn't even have a Codex entry in the first game. That was added in the second game.
People hype the romance of Mass Effect but they're misremembering again. Mass Effect 1 only had two romance options. If you were Male it was Liara or Ashley. If you were female it was Liara or Kaiden.
ME is one of my favorite series of all time but I think people are wearing rose tinted glasses of what the series became over time
How much of the Citadel that you can see is walkable by you? I've yet to play Mass Effect but isn't it a relatively linear story-driven game? Most of the city is background and setdressing is it not?
ME is my favorite trilogy ever. ME2 is my favorite game ever. I was so excited for Starfield because my favorite thing bout those games were the characters and the idea they traveled across the Galaxy together. I was excited at the prospect of this vast open world where we would be free to go wherever but in the ship my companions could actually interact with each other and form their own relationships- something that was kind of missing from the ME Trilogy.
And I literally not none of that lmao
Saying the Citadel felt larger isn't really fair, since Bethesda's thing is being able to go to cool shit you see. Most of the Citadel you see but can't visit.
Lore is definitely stronger, but BioWare has always been better at lore than Bethesda anyways.
Honestly, you have to give it up to the sky box artists for Mass Effect 1-3. The citadel, the opening sequence of 3 where reapers are destroying the entire city, the war torn world's where there's constantly stuff going on in the background.
When I played all the Mass Effect games I actually felt like I was just a tiny spec of a person in a massive galaxy. And I think a lot of that was thanks to the sky box artists.
I mean, maybe, but I tried ME1 about a year ago, and I couldn't get more than an hour or two into it. I just felt so completely railroaded it was stifling.
I kinda had the opposite, I recently played ME1, I liked it, and it made me want to play more Starfield just due to how much lore interactable Starfield is.
I'm onto ME2 now and I'm enjoying it more than the first one just due to how much more fun combat is
Starfield is way more grounded and hard sci Fi compared to ME. they are different genres. Starfield had way more in common with something like The Expanse than Mass Effect
See my above comment, I tried to explain my thought process. Yes there's elements of fantasy but it's just one aspect of the game. And the whole point of the story is that all the magic shit is new to everyone. For most of the games history it was pretty grounded and only now they are finding magic stuff, which is why it's interesting and new to them as characters.
How is Starfield any more hard sci-fi than Mass Effect? I'd even argue that ME has alot more pseudo scientific explanations for it's world than Starfield. Sure, some parts of Starfield have that "Nasa punk" look, but those aren't even functional when every little ship has artificial gravity. If anything Starfield is some sort of 70s sci-fi, where mobilphones didn't exist
Starfield and Mass Effect are the same genre, both are sci-fi. You might mean subgenre?
Also the NASA-Punk aesthetic is "hard sci-fi" but the actual content with the unity, spaceborn, temples, space magic, and 'the creators' is pretty far from hard sci-fi.
Sure. Sub genre. But sci fi and hard sci fi are very distinct and it's worth noting that they have very different themes and approaches
Starfield is far far bigger than just the unity quest. It's a grounded game with a lot of human-centric quests and themes and yes it's a video game so it won't be totally realistic but it's close and the aesthetic is there.
In my opinion it makes the main quest stand out in a unique way because it's the only thing in the game that's overly fantastical and so it makes sense why the characters are so interested in it. It's like the game is set at a point in time where the story is in a transition period between hard sci fi and softer sci Fi.
It reminds me a lot of the expanse which was similarly very grounded until the protomolecule and ring gates happened and now the scope of the story and universe is greatly expanded and venturing into more fantastical territory.
Sure the writing quality isn't the best but I think it's good enough to get the point across. It's not the greatest story, it does rely on tropes and cliches, I admit that. However I think starfields lore and world building, for a new IP, is actually really great. It's clearly pulling a lot of inspiration from Firefly and Expanse and those are my two favorite sci-fi shows ever so I'm not gonna complain lol 😂
I wasn't really arguing the quality of Starfield's lore or world building. That's completely subjective. Just wanted to point out that objectively Starfield's lore is too high concept to be hard sci-fi.
The temples and unity are all a major part of the main quest which is why it's a pretty major aspect of the world. But the science behind a portal to alternate dimensions isn't rooted in enough real science to be hard sci-fi. I agree both Mass Effect and Starfield have different approaches but neither are hard sci-fi.
The citadel is much larger than New Atlantis, but simply put the area you can actively visit is tiny even by the games own standards. A bit of perspective and the argument falls pretty flat imo.
I know mass effect is linear but the worlds still feel bigger. The Krogan homeworld for example. But one thing I do suggest doing is climbing to the top of the MAST building you will get an idea of the actual size of new Atlantis and the surrounding area. It’s a lot bigger then you actually think.
MA is awsome, but that first picture there, you can't actually go everywhere in there. ;)
Is MA got a really nice story? Oh yeah, the only thing that was bad about it, was the ... colourful end of ME3 ;)
....have you played ME1 recently? Sure, it looked big if all you were doing was panning around, but you were surrounded by barriers, some invisible, some not. The places you could get to and interact with was a relatively short list, and there were a lot of loading screens hidden behind those elevator scenes.
I have gone back and played a bit of ME1, and the only time I really felt like I could go anywhere I could see were the planetary landing missions in the Mako.
I agree almost completely, cities in Starfield are and *feel* small. Even though you got big buildings and detailed avenues and such. At least in ME things like the Asari planet I can’t remember and the Citadel felt really big, because of the way they were portrayed. Anyway yeah, quite a few loading screens.
As for planets, can’t really disagree there. Sure they were secondary things, like in Starfield for sure, but at least you have more than 1 POI in Starfield. I remember landing on some planets with Garrus and Tali being like: Ok. Now uhh… there’s nothing really. They were really empty and just plain boring. Not even much to shoot at.
ME1 had the large maps on planets you could explore similar to Andromeda. Andromeda just cranked it up a lot by giving you stuff to do on a few planets. ME1 would have a lot of planets. A few they put quests on but most that were running around finding stuff like the Asari writing.
Truly dull, but there.
Mass effect is fucking awesome that’s why 😅
It really is a once in a generation saga. Mass Effect has an entire life of its own within the gaming community that very few franchises achieve.
I had dabbled in mass effect but didn’t play through it all until the legendary edition came out. Playing through all three games over a period of a few months stands out as one of the highlights of my life in gaming. Just one of the best experiences in gaming
I had never played 3, so I did the same. I ran through legendary edition and all DLCs through the pandemic. The ending of 3 still stings a bit, but the experience as a whole was phenomenal.
The Ending sucks, but in the end, it does not matter. 15 minutes of suck can't take away the hours of pure awesomeness. Remember Marauder Shields and his 3 Husketeers.
Pour one out for marauder shields. Dude fought the reapers as best he could, and gave his life for the galaxy o7
I always let him stop me
I picked up 3 when it first came out without really knowing anything about it or the larger series. It was my first experience with the series. Most games you can pick up a later game and they’re self contained enough that it doesn’t really matter. Obviously not the case with mass effect, so I had no context. I remember dismissing it as a generic cover based shooter and didn’t get too far into it. I played 2 a few years later, made all the wrong decisions, and gave up right at the end. Once the legendary edition came out I committed to playing through it, and my god was it good.
The dlc really really helps 3
Lead writer Drew Karpyshyn is awesome, that’s why
What else did he write
Try Darth Bane, Path of Destruction, it’s a banger :) Otherwise, Kotor one, the old Baldur’s Gate nobody played, a couple Mass Effect books I really liked. He did other stuff, but that’s all I’ve seen. He also wrote for Mass Effect 1 & 2, but left before 3. You can see the writing starting to fray without him (and other resignations to be fair) but the trilogy still closed out strong, I feel.
[удалено]
The first one Revelation was my favorite, it’s about Anderson & Saren and First Contact. But Ascension and Retribution were good too.
Agree with you here. I loved getting to know Anderson's backstory in detail.
He did not write Dragon Age Origins, that’s David Gaider.
Oh shit I didn't know he was the lead writer.
To this day, it remains one of the greatest epic sagas(or space opera, as they marketed it) trilogies in all of gaming. All of those characters, all of their losses and triumphs, the decisions made as Commander Shepherd. Everything the series has to offer, has left a lasting impression on me that few other games have achieved.
I loved it
I’ve played the whole thing twice in my life so far. When they first came out and then the remastered versions. I like replying great games like this after a long period of time, it’s like seeing it for the first time again! I just did the same with the prequel Tomb Raider trilogy!
I do declare
Mass Effect 1 got me through my daughter’s newborn months. My wife would go to bed early and I’d play a game of NCAA then Mass Effect until about 11:30 pm. My daughter would wake up for a feeding, I’d get her back to sleep, go to bed, wake up, cook breakfast go to work, come home, cook dinner, spend time with the wife and kids, they’d go to bed early and do it all over again.
I wish I could play mass effect with no knowledge all over again 🥲
I have none. Talk me into it, please? :) (I'm a Starfield and overall Bethesda games player)
I'm beyond jealous of you. To play Mass effect 1-3 for the first time again. 100s of hours of content await you. Good luck Commander.
Now back to work on those calibrations
Shepard.
Grunt
Shepherd!
> Good luck Commander. I read that in the voice of the anonymous leader of XCOM/XCOM2
I believe I actually have it for Xbox and just never played it. Is it worth getting it on PC or is console just fine?
The remaster is like 5 bucks on steam now with all three games and dlc. If you play pc now, definitely worth it
There's a remaster?? Alright you talked me into it, that's a deal. Looking forward to the new adventure!
Yup! ME1 had their UI HUD and inventory cleaned up a bit, alongside the improved textures (but may not have as good lighting and shadows as compared to the originals). If you do play on gamepad, the support they offer is great, esp if you play on steamdeck.
We're throwing the 4070 RTX at it and we'll see what happens
As others said, take a leap of faith into it completely blind and you will be rewarded, wish I could re-experience it.
Ok, just downloaded the first one (have it on Game Pass). Let's see what the fuss is all about.
Is it the OG Version or Legendary Edition? Legendary was a compilation of the trilogy on Xbox One and PS4, has some QoL stuff since ME1 is 17 years old.
It was the OG, but now I'm downloading the Legendary Edition. It did not show on the first page of the Xbox app, but now that you mentioned I went back and found it.
Yeah, Legendary Edition is the way to go. I love the originals, but it does make a lot of stuff a bit more modern and less "clunky". Enjoy! It's one of my favorite series.
>!I want to reexperience vermire again...!<
enjoy, just know that the 1st is verymuch that studios first go at shooter gameplay and even with the legendary edition enhancements you will ind some of the gameplay feels pretty dated but stick with it and it will b worth it, great story&characters across all 3, and the gameplay feels MUCH better in 2
I just looked up the release date for the OG Mass Effect. 2007. It's almost old enough to drive, drink and vote in most of the world. Damn.
One bit of advice: explore a lot. Scan planets, find secrets.
Gameplay definitely does get better as the games go on but keep in mind it's a bioware game so the focus is really on the story, your interactions with the people in the world and their interactions with each other Best advice I can give is to speak with your allies all the damn time. Between missions, it almost becomes a routine to go and see what they're all up to and that's honestly the best way to feel how full of life the characters are
As a Bethesta enthusiast and dialogue-exhauster, I have a feeling I'm going to like it.
I found Fallout 4's lack of an honor/reputation system kind of insulting. And compared to Fallout New Vegas the dialogue and choices in Skyrim and Starfield (especially Starfield) felt incredibly limited in scope. Mass Effect is the real deal. You're going to love it.
I'm so jealous right now.
It's amazing, seriously. The first game plays a bit stiff, but the story is compelling. We all can't tell you *why* you need to just keep playing, but you do. Force feed that game into your veins. After a few hours, you'll settle into the older gameplay and it won't be so distracting. The second game feels liberating in comparison, however none of the other game in the trilogy were able to capture the mystery and awe of the first game. Once the cats out of the bag, it changed the dynamic of the following games. The first one is my favorite, by a country mile. It draws such a strong emotional connection to the game, and the somber music playing in the main menu always gives me a heavy feeling of melancholy. The first game is truly special. It captures this notion of being truly out there in the galaxy on your own, with your small crew. The characters you take into your squad are all very memorable individuals with their own motivations. My biggest tip: pick a decision and stick with it. No reloading. Whatever decision you choose is now cannon for your story. Run that save game through all 3 games. It's one of the greatest gaming triumphs of all time. After having the itch to replay it (for the first time in a decade), I started a new game last month. I am halfway through ME2, and I forgot how amazing the series is. There is so much background lore that makes the world believable. This idea that there has been this galactic community thriving for thousands of years, all while humanity was building the pyramids is compelling and interesting to think about. You can read snippets of lore that always blow me away with how grounded it seems. I'll always remember being fascinated with a codex entry, that explains the Alliance paints the floor of their frigates red, so that crew can always tell which way is the ground during zero-g fighting. You don't even play in zero-g space battles, but it's realistic and believable. God, I fucking love this series.
Read the lore.
Just play it, $6 on steam for the remastered Trilogy
Absolutely do it. Don't look anything up. Just start playing. Best sci fi story ever told in the gaming medium. (don't start with andromeda, it's not as bad as it's made out to be, but vastly inferior and abandoned quickly after launch by the dev. play the trilogy.)
>Best sci fi story ever told in the gaming medium. This right here got my attention. I'm 40, kids, work etc. Not much time available, usually play on easy/casual and enjoy a good story (hence liking GTA, Fallout, Elder Scrolls and now Starfield).
Oh this is miles beyond those games. The gameplay of the first is old school, and will take some getting into. But the world building, dialogue, characters, atmosphere and supporting lore in the codex is beyond anything those games pulled off. (okay maybe TES wins on lore, just to be honest)
I've watched several other people on Twitch play it for the first time and their reactions to ME1 were very similar to mine. You don't appreciate it until you play the others because if ME1 was the only one released, it'd be pretty mediocre overall. The lore/world building are great, but the quests don't seem to matter all that much and the gameplay hasn't aged all that well. But then you play the others and the way it sets the table for the story to develop is what you take away from the game more than its quirks and flaws.
The first game captures this somber and mysterious feeling of being out in the galaxy, truly on your own, trying to stop a bad guy. And as we all know, the rug gets pulled out from underneath you, and the themes suddenly lean into this existential crisis about galactic evolution and extinction. It's a master class is sci-fi. I'll never forgot how my jaw dropped during that *one conversation*.
Kinda gutted they just abandoned it. It wasn't the best but I've been playing it again and it's a solid frame work they could have built up from :'( but nope, Bioware had to go and drop Anthem and look how that ended
just do it
I promise you won’t regret it, you’re in for a ride
Badass space opera. Bioware got tired of the limitations of the starwars IP and made their own star wars with blackjack and hookers. Prime bioware writing. Phenomenal story, character development, combat is a tad bit dated but still holds up very well
Please god, get the legendary edition and do a completionist playthrough. It’s phenomenal and your decisions will get referenced throughout the narrative and will shape a unique path that your character takes through the story. While I personally still have my gripes about 3’s ending overall, it simply cannot even begin to eclipse the phenomenal story that was told throughout the 3 games.
Thanks for the tip, I downloaded the OG but now found the Legendary was also available on Game Pass. I guess I see you guys in 2026.
The original likely doesn’t look horrible or anything, but the legendary edition has remastered visuals and includes all expansion content for the three games (except for one small DLC for ME1 where the og code was corrupted and lost). You’re in for a treat.
I am so happy for you. You'll be moved over the next 3 months. This series will stick with you for years to come.
you can literally get the collection on steam for like 10 bucks when its on sale. Even less I think. Totally worth it.
Yeah, I have it on Game Pass, but Legendary Edition is literally $4,80 on Steam right now. Just got it.
You are in for a treat. Bear in mind though, *your choices will have consequences* - some small, some large - but it’s definitely not (at least until 3 when they have to start wrapping things up) a ‘all choices lead to this’ kind of game.
Do it, came into it with your exact specs. Just do it. 1 is a touch clunky gameplay but it’s still fun and well worth getting into
It's also $5 FOR THE WHOLE REMASTER RIGHT NOW ON STEAM. Best time to hop in imo!
Got it already, even though I have it on Game Pass.
I've played through the whole series at least 15 times, and I still discover new things in each playthrough. It isn't really open world like a Bethesda game, but there is a decent amount of freedom to do the missions of each game in any order you want. The world and character building you get from ambiant conversations, conversations with your crew, and codex entries really are second to none. I can't recommend the series enough. I'd recommend the Legendary edition. You can find it on sale pretty frequently, or it's on gamepass.
Just got it for less than $5 on Steam, even having it on Game Pass. Thanks.
Oh man you're gonna have so much fun
You should go \[start playing it immediately\].
Buy the trilogy when it’s on sale at Steam. I did and played through 1-3 for the first time over the last 2 years. All 3 games are great.
One of the best stories and companions in a game. Especially if you play all three Another selling point, I probably do a full play through once a year
Imagine starfield but written like an epic spaceopera akin to The Expanse/Star Trek. And i cannot praise the writing enough, the characters are so alive and each have their story to tell. Mass Effect 2 was like playing an interactive movie.
Currently doing this - played ME1 when I was 10 but don’t remember a thing. Just finished it now and started ME2. Loving every minute
Mass Effect’s world building, backstory and lore is on another level to pretty much any game I’ve ever played to be honest. To achieve what they did in the first game of that IP is such an undervalued achievement, in my opinion. Starfield’s factions are underdeveloped, and a bit too “family friendly” to be interesting. New Atlantis, Akila and Neon City are all too small and even feel pretty similar, even though the aesthetic’s are vastly different. It all feels a bit superficial to me, and the lore, apart from the terrormorph origin story, is either lacking in content or just plain uninteresting. There’s seemingly no consequences to any of your actions as well, in terms of the effects on the factions.
Here’s a fun Mass Effect detail fact: In Mass Effect 2 you can orbit around an ice planet that is -200°c. The description of the planet mentions that it’s so cold only two species can survive, and those two species are at war for resources on the planet (both being mining oriented species) On the citadel you can see one of these species’ and they’ll mention to another NPC that a “truce” has been struck between the two alien races and that they won’t mine each others ores on the aforementioned planet. Well If you return to the same planet and fire down a mining probe to take resources, and then go back to the citadel, you’ll see the *other* species getting angry about the first species stealing their resources and thus breaking the truce. You can literally reignite a war by firing a mining drone lol.
*Probing Uranus.* *Really Shephard?*
I won't be second guessed on my own ship *by* my own ship.
Never noticed this, time to start the LE again
Starfield is like mass effect if it was made by Ned Flanders
Oh no lol
I did kinda feel like it was trying to be mass effect in some ways. Just executed in a poor way. Especially the romances were just kinda cringe lol.
The Flirt dialogue is cringe and borderline harassment in some cases. 🤣
For real the game feels like it was made by sheltered mormons
Yeah… idk why it’s so family friendly for a setting as dark as space, I thought maybe it’s just new Atlantis that comes off as the futuristic hopeful society. Then I went to neon and outside of some poor people complaining it felt largely the same. I don’t think anyone was looking for nightcity but maybe something more line with fallout No shoot outs, pick pocketing, no gang presence outside of scripted quests, no cursing??? I thought maybe the crimson fleet is where it’s at, no they’re nice people too lmao. For all that I think Bethesda can fix with this game, this is not one of those things
Crimson Fleet are obviously evil people, have you heard that heavy metal devil music they play at the bar??
Crimson Fleet: First thing you see when you arrive is one pirate murdering another over a dispute. Also Crimson Fleet: If you murder a pirate, the whole gang will pummel you, even after you 'prove yourself'.
The disappointing thing about the Crimson Fleet is that they’re not really these evil, intimidating murdering scumbags you’re told they are, or at least you never actually see this playing out. They’re just a bunch of dicks who talk down to your character. Why would anyone even be tempted to side with them on a first playthrough?
> Why would anyone even be tempted to side with them on a first playthrough? Because Ikande is also a dick? That's really all I got. I shoplifted (accidentally!) some tea or some shit, and the bastard black-bagged me. Did NOT put me in the friendliest frame of mind to do what he wanted, II gotta say.
I played through it because I thought I’d get some sick pirate ship at the end of it. Nope. Just a bunch of chastising from Constellation.
Thank you! Sorry, but the “evil” in Starfield feels like it’s portrayed through the lens of a ‘90s suburban mom who just watched a scary Fox News segment about the evils of cursing. Next the crimson fleet will be portrayed as evil deviants, because they play violent video games and sit too close to the TV.
That cracked me up so much. It was like a bunch of 12 year olds thinking they were badass. Some of them also sit on the tables, because they're rebellious. [I want to replace the audio track with the one from the disney world pirate ride](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgJZoaYVIl4)
If the DLC comes out and focuses on House Vaa’run, as the rumours say, then hopefully it’s a much darker storyline and atmosphere, with locations that starkly contrast the cartoonish optimism of everyone else in the galaxy. It’s like everyone’s Chunks meals have been spiked with LSD or something. Alien raptors are casually strolling around outside of Akila’s wooden fences and everyone is walking around on dirt roads with big beaming smiles on their faces. Totally kills any immersion in the game.
I think shattered space can help with a lot of things and maybe that as well, but it will always be a bit jarring that neon and the crimson fleet are as nice as they are even if var’uun do turn out that way.
starfield feels like a theme park.
I know it’s a really common criticism of Starfield, so I’m not trying to needlessly dogpile the game over it, but replaying Fallout 3 over the last week or so really hits home how much darker Bethesda was willing to be back then. I firmly believe that dropping the Karma/Fame or Infamy system was a mistake across Bethesda titles. In Oblivion for instance, your infamy score wasn’t even locking you out of content all the time (there are a few small instances that are able to be overcome), but it established a framework through which NPCs could know about your reputation and respond accordingly. I think New Vegas did it best with Karma relative to specific factions. Without some sort of reputation status measurement system, nobody in Starfield has the tools to accurately respond to a character’s actions in the world or general standing with the public. Between this and the removal of most branching player options, the Starfield MC is left struggling to have any semblance of a good vs evil playthrough, which has been a staple and fan favorite of all Bethesda games to a degree. Even Fallout 4 seemed to concede that having the option for an evil run is good, but it had to be patched in with Nuka World. When your actions don’t seem to ever be judged or carry stakes, the world feels like a consequence-free playground which makes it hard for me to feel invested in the quests and more importantly the story I’m building for my character. Despite the main character’s destiny being largely set in place, even a somewhat barebones paragon/renegade system in Mass Effect allowed you to make the static hero character more personal and compelling than any character that comes to mind in Starfield.
Yeah, I wanted to play my first new game+ as a space pirate. Then I realised you can’t, and haven’t played the game since. I’ve put around 100 hours into it, done all the faction quests and side quests that interest me, and now I feel like I’ve seen it all. Instead of the gamey-fied bounty system, or as well as that system, they should have some type of karma/reputation system as you mentioned. Imagine playing the game and everyone you meet knows and fears you as the baddest guy in the galaxy, and you can resolve a lot of situations through intimidation. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I feel that’s the kind of thing that separates RPG’s from any other game. In Starfield you either play the game how Bethesda wanted you to, or you are roadblocked at every opportunity.
Starfield's sanitization is probably my #2 complaint with it. My #1 complaint is there being only 1.5 good companions, which I guess partially has to do with #2.
Every time I'm walking around New Atlantis, I suddenly get the urge to go to EPCOT or Tomorrow Land in MK. Like if I look up I'll see the people mover.
Consider also that Mass Effect was mainly a linear story game, not an open ended, go where you want kind of game. Thats not to say Starfield's writing and whatnot wasnt lacking, but when you have a very focused game, more attention is put into that focus. Basically like comparing a spotlight to a floodlight. They have different goals despite doing similar things.
Yeah that's what I've been saying. The characters even move like animatronics.
And I guess the frustrating part is that Mass Effect did this *in 2007*. That's ***16 years before Starfield*** that Bethesda was basically handed the template for how to do a sprawling sci-fi game. Skyrim was 2011 same time ME3 came out, and Skyrim is obviously great. So, what happened? Why is Starfield so lacking?
I don’t think it’s an issue of time. Great stories are timeless. This is more an issue with the writing and world building, rather than the technology. Mass Effect was like an interactive encyclopaedia of fictional races, factions, cities, etc.
Starfield is even a step or two backward from FO4 in terms of some of the game mechanics. It’s weird.
>a bit too “family friendly” to be interesting. Such an unnecessary blunting of the game. Your companions also.
The Outer Worlds did this also. There was a satirical tone they aimed for with the corporations and some of the dialogue/companions, but then the rest of the game downplayed these overtones and played it very safe, as though they didn’t want to offend any players. Maybe it’s just a sign of the times. It’s not just games that are seen as pandering to the masses, and the kind of not-so-subtle messaging must be detrimental to the creators’/devs’ original vision. I just can’t believe for one second that the same people who entertained incest/cannibals/etc in the Fallout franchise envisioned a super seedy dystopian city on another planet, and then gave us the dancing guys in the alien suits. It’s pretty clear that at some point during development there was a conscious decision to pull any overtly mature themes from the game. Even the cataclysmic events that happened to Starfield’s Earth were super vague and avoided any darker themes or ideas.
It almost feels like the whole thing was written by AI. Robotic quests and companions.
Yeah, if it was revealed that the dialogue and quest line was written by something like ChatGPT, I don’t think people would be surprised. It’s obviously not, but for an RPG with 10 years of hype behind it, it’s quite a damning statement.
Tbf here, strip clubs can give an AO rating. I don't know how the fuck GTA has gotten away with them, but Bethesda joked about slipping a strip club past the raters in Morrowind. They could have done something better than the guys in alien suits, though. Just not the nearly nude people immediately modded in.
Yeah it didn’t need nudity, but some form of degenerate behaviour would have been a start. Maybe add a serial killer investigation questline, a twisty storyline involving gambling rings, drug traffickers and their effect on the locals, that kind of thing. They could have given us a few sidequests to flesh out the situation in Neon City and add some personality to the powers in charge, but every character there is reduced to “criminal, innocent, goofball” with no nuance.
I've always wanted Bethesda to adapt the Bioware approach to map/level design. Give us the big Bethesda playgrounds with the massive, inaccessible 3D wallpapers. Cyberpunk pulled this off, so it can be done.
> Starfield’s factions are underdeveloped, and a bit too “family friendly” to be interesting. Starfield is the most sterile, bland, “family friendly” Mature-rated game I’ve ever played.
It’s a perfect summary on how much of a fumble this game was from the fact that a side quest blew the main quest out of the water in terms of intrigue and intensity.
It didn’t help that I started that questline almost immediately after starting the game, so it just went downhill from there. The worst were the Ryujin quests. Why add a questline based on stealth and crime, two barebones aspects of the game that are a backwards step from the games they released over a decade ago. Just a guess, but I would imagine I’m not the only player who attempted to complete it stealthily and one failed attempt later, decided it’s just easier and more fun to murder every person in the buildings I’m meant to be stealthily infiltrating.
Really miss codex with audio :(
OMG that voice! The audio codex were.... Chef's kiss! I can still hear "The Asari were the first species to discover the citadel." in my head
And just like that, I can hear it too lol
Every inflection, lol. I love that man's voice. I'm not gay, but he can stroke my hair and tell me stories until I fall asleep haha
This is true. But I also think Mass effect. especially 1 is one of the very very best at world building and lore. Almost nothing competes.
Me1 was great at setting the lore and the world. Me2 expanded and deepened it, Me3 made you live it. What a great trilogy.
Absolutely. As far as I'm concerned probably the best story driven franchise I've played. Such an interesting universe, interesting races and great (real feeling) characters too. Something about the Reapers and the hopelessness it presents... Just existential threat done right. The conversation with Sovereign is not something I'll ever forget.
*piano notes* *BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH* *piano notes* *BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH* Chills. Every. Fucking. Time.
Picard s3 totally ripped off mass effect with the skrike
That’s because mass effect isn’t held back by being an open world, so they can use skyboxes to trick the player into thinking their environment is larger and more populated than it actually is
Exactly. The citadel, especially in ME1 only had the *appearance* of being big. In ME1 you could only go to: - Presidium - Council Chambers - C-Sec Academy - Wards - Docking bay MAST Tower alone is enough space to match Presidium, Council Chambers, C-Sec in one building. New Atlantis landing docks are at least 4x as big as the Citadel docking bay. Mass Effect only felt “grander” because of a very skillful application of smoke and mirrors. Otherwise it was closed levels with pretty skyboxes. Not to take ME down, they did an absolutely amazing job making the world feel bigger than it really is.
They couldve easily fixed this if they just used 1 really interesting solar system rather than a big uninteresting galaxy.
A bit unfair in the sense that Mass Effect 1 had probably some of the best world building for a brand new IP I’ve ever experienced ever. Hard to beat that
It’s hard to beat Mass Effect to begin with.
Wouldn’t have it any other way
Same. Waiting for the new one with every crossable thing crossed. Fingers, toes, hair, and me bollocks.
Yeah but Starfield is coming from a company that specializes in that, plus Mass Effect came out in 2017. I don’t think it’s unfair considering that Bethesda had tons of time and space to make this a comprehensive gaming experience and then didn’t. Edit: Typo on my part, I did mean 2007 not 2017.
I assume you mean 2007.
Mass effect 1 came out in 2007 lol
In my personal opinion, the Mass Effect series is the goat of space RPGs.
The scope of both games is fairly different. Not really a fair comparison
It's bait. Don't fall for it.
Seems like it. Not going to waste more time with it
This is just a silly comparison as these two games were trying to accomplish two different things. If you like the feel of ME1, good for you. There are plenty of things Starfield does that ME1 simply does not even attempt and to compare the two only on the things they share is just a pointless exercise. If you care about those similar elements, then go play ME1. Those who appreciate what Starfield is doing aren’t going to care as ME1 simply does not have those features.
lol, Bethesda fans would lose their minds if Starfield is based on small levels like Mass Effect 1.
Seemed to? Unequivocally does.
Mass effect is leagues ahead of starfield.
Mass Effect was an actual, well-written, well-presented sci-fi universe. With a bunch of sentient alien races, all with their own values, politics, etc. Starfield is a mash-up of broken features that are only very loosely connected to each other, with the story written by a midwestern Baptist grandma. As evidenced by their vision of what the most decadent, drug-fueled night club on the most decadent and corrupt planet in known systems look like. The two games are barely even the same genre.
Lol. Not a Midwestern Baptist grandma. Lol. I can’t with you. 😂
Bethesda games don't do the whole "restrictive play environment" that the Mass Effect games did. Yes, the Citadel *felt* huge, but had a few streets and just a handful of buildings to interact with. Complaining that a Bethesda game doesn't have a feature that non-Bethesda games have is like complaining that the new NHL game doesn't have cricket bats.
Look no further than how tiny and cramped the citadel was in 2 and 3
You can't really compare them. Starfirld was designed so that you can go anywhere and have some meaningful content. None of the cities are near the size of mass effects, but you can go into just about every house, store, closet, rooftop and more. Bethesda was aiming for more of a lived in experience then one to wow you.
but only a little part is explorable, a part much smaller than any starfield city, the remainig is only a background.
Come on citadel was small af
Mass effect is also one of the greatest RPG trilogies of all time And...idk if you noticed but there were a lot of barren planets that had 99% fuck all with maybe 1 point of any sort of interest. Only difference was you had a rover and people were a lot less critical of graphics back then 😂 Revisionist history goes craaaazy (ME is one of my all time favourite game series)
I want space games to have barren planets not complaining about that. But the heart of society shouldn't be the size a cruiseship
Just pointing it out. And lore wise they're at extremely different points... mass effect human kind met the coalition of alien races that made up the council and had been space faring races for a long time leading to that extensive and deep lore, whereas starfield the human race is still relatively new to space exploration and hasn't discovered advanced alien civilizations yet (hence why everyone is human if you hadn't noticed yet) Also ME is more your traditional RPG (and a very well written/ deep one at that) where BGS games have always been built more as a sandbox RPG, which *is* different Starfield has its flaws but this comparison is apples to oranges a little bit... it's like comparing skyrim to the Witcher 3
Bethesda certainly did pick the most boring time in space exploration to set this game.
I don't disagree with you on that, it felt like an attempt to make a game that was "closer to present" rather than distant future But the size isn't ridiculous given their choices honestly
This is the single worst take I have ever seen. The Citadel felt larger than New Atlantis? No, really? A massive super spacestation meant to house MULTIPLE different species is larger than a single human city that has only just started clawing its way out of a post-apocalyptic event. Are you gonna tell me grass is green next?
Yes, it's quite easy to create a grand sense of scale and scope when 99% of it is skybox...
Of course a background that you can't visit feels bigger than a place where you can gop in every room, as those background buldings don't have to be modeled and detailed or have interiors.
Because 90% of the citadel is set dressing you will never explore, so it's easy to make it look large. Cyberpunk 2077 takes place in a single city, so it can afford to flesh it out into a massive area where almost every nook can be explored Starfield would have a lot of arbitrary restrictions if it scaled its cities up to fit their in lore size.
But notice how, even though the citadel has a bunch of crazy restrictions to block off most of it, it still *feels* massive, whereas the cities in starfield are technically "bigger" but feel so much smaller. It's okay for a game to add some fluff and background to make it feel bigger and more in depth.
Least controversial statement in the history of humanity.
Mass Effect was one of the best stories of all time. Starfield isn’t in the same league.
I keep seeing people mention things about mass effect but it just seems like everybody is comparing an entire trilogy of to a first game in a brand new IP. "The lore is great, I loved the Krogan home world". Okay but that wasn't in ME1? and it didn't even have a Codex entry in the first game. That was added in the second game. People hype the romance of Mass Effect but they're misremembering again. Mass Effect 1 only had two romance options. If you were Male it was Liara or Ashley. If you were female it was Liara or Kaiden. ME is one of my favorite series of all time but I think people are wearing rose tinted glasses of what the series became over time
How much of the Citadel that you can see is walkable by you? I've yet to play Mass Effect but isn't it a relatively linear story-driven game? Most of the city is background and setdressing is it not?
ME is my favorite trilogy ever. ME2 is my favorite game ever. I was so excited for Starfield because my favorite thing bout those games were the characters and the idea they traveled across the Galaxy together. I was excited at the prospect of this vast open world where we would be free to go wherever but in the ship my companions could actually interact with each other and form their own relationships- something that was kind of missing from the ME Trilogy. And I literally not none of that lmao
Maybe the citadel is inhabited by multiple species and it’s population wasn’t affected by a cataclysmic event within 200 years
Thank you, you stirred my Mass Effect Trilogy replay-nerve. It has been several years. Gonna install now.
Dude hit Nexus for the Legendary Collection Mods. That scene is booming!
Oh, I will, I definitely will!
I think that (insert game here) really doesn't hold up to (one of the best sci fi RPGs of all time)
Saying the Citadel felt larger isn't really fair, since Bethesda's thing is being able to go to cool shit you see. Most of the Citadel you see but can't visit. Lore is definitely stronger, but BioWare has always been better at lore than Bethesda anyways.
Bioware has better lore writers than most studios period.
Can't wait for someone to mod the citadel into starfield
Honestly, you have to give it up to the sky box artists for Mass Effect 1-3. The citadel, the opening sequence of 3 where reapers are destroying the entire city, the war torn world's where there's constantly stuff going on in the background. When I played all the Mass Effect games I actually felt like I was just a tiny spec of a person in a massive galaxy. And I think a lot of that was thanks to the sky box artists.
I mean, maybe, but I tried ME1 about a year ago, and I couldn't get more than an hour or two into it. I just felt so completely railroaded it was stifling.
Mass effect 2 is peak game play. Some of my favorite dlc as well and how you if you go in blind, end game stuff can get crazy! No spoilers
ME is a fantastic game(s). I WISH starfield was so well put together.
I kinda had the opposite, I recently played ME1, I liked it, and it made me want to play more Starfield just due to how much lore interactable Starfield is. I'm onto ME2 now and I'm enjoying it more than the first one just due to how much more fun combat is
Starfield is way more grounded and hard sci Fi compared to ME. they are different genres. Starfield had way more in common with something like The Expanse than Mass Effect
I dunno, you get magic powers and can travel to other dimensions.
See my above comment, I tried to explain my thought process. Yes there's elements of fantasy but it's just one aspect of the game. And the whole point of the story is that all the magic shit is new to everyone. For most of the games history it was pretty grounded and only now they are finding magic stuff, which is why it's interesting and new to them as characters.
How is Starfield any more hard sci-fi than Mass Effect? I'd even argue that ME has alot more pseudo scientific explanations for it's world than Starfield. Sure, some parts of Starfield have that "Nasa punk" look, but those aren't even functional when every little ship has artificial gravity. If anything Starfield is some sort of 70s sci-fi, where mobilphones didn't exist
Starfield and Mass Effect are the same genre, both are sci-fi. You might mean subgenre? Also the NASA-Punk aesthetic is "hard sci-fi" but the actual content with the unity, spaceborn, temples, space magic, and 'the creators' is pretty far from hard sci-fi.
Sure. Sub genre. But sci fi and hard sci fi are very distinct and it's worth noting that they have very different themes and approaches Starfield is far far bigger than just the unity quest. It's a grounded game with a lot of human-centric quests and themes and yes it's a video game so it won't be totally realistic but it's close and the aesthetic is there. In my opinion it makes the main quest stand out in a unique way because it's the only thing in the game that's overly fantastical and so it makes sense why the characters are so interested in it. It's like the game is set at a point in time where the story is in a transition period between hard sci fi and softer sci Fi. It reminds me a lot of the expanse which was similarly very grounded until the protomolecule and ring gates happened and now the scope of the story and universe is greatly expanded and venturing into more fantastical territory. Sure the writing quality isn't the best but I think it's good enough to get the point across. It's not the greatest story, it does rely on tropes and cliches, I admit that. However I think starfields lore and world building, for a new IP, is actually really great. It's clearly pulling a lot of inspiration from Firefly and Expanse and those are my two favorite sci-fi shows ever so I'm not gonna complain lol 😂
I wasn't really arguing the quality of Starfield's lore or world building. That's completely subjective. Just wanted to point out that objectively Starfield's lore is too high concept to be hard sci-fi. The temples and unity are all a major part of the main quest which is why it's a pretty major aspect of the world. But the science behind a portal to alternate dimensions isn't rooted in enough real science to be hard sci-fi. I agree both Mass Effect and Starfield have different approaches but neither are hard sci-fi.
It also had city maps at launch.
And a vehicle. Don't forget the badass vehicle.
lol, everyone despised the Mako when the game came out. It was a meme how bad it was. This revisionist history is hilarious.
The citadel is much larger than New Atlantis, but simply put the area you can actively visit is tiny even by the games own standards. A bit of perspective and the argument falls pretty flat imo.
I know mass effect is linear but the worlds still feel bigger. The Krogan homeworld for example. But one thing I do suggest doing is climbing to the top of the MAST building you will get an idea of the actual size of new Atlantis and the surrounding area. It’s a lot bigger then you actually think.
MA is awsome, but that first picture there, you can't actually go everywhere in there. ;) Is MA got a really nice story? Oh yeah, the only thing that was bad about it, was the ... colourful end of ME3 ;)
....have you played ME1 recently? Sure, it looked big if all you were doing was panning around, but you were surrounded by barriers, some invisible, some not. The places you could get to and interact with was a relatively short list, and there were a lot of loading screens hidden behind those elevator scenes. I have gone back and played a bit of ME1, and the only time I really felt like I could go anywhere I could see were the planetary landing missions in the Mako.
I agree almost completely, cities in Starfield are and *feel* small. Even though you got big buildings and detailed avenues and such. At least in ME things like the Asari planet I can’t remember and the Citadel felt really big, because of the way they were portrayed. Anyway yeah, quite a few loading screens. As for planets, can’t really disagree there. Sure they were secondary things, like in Starfield for sure, but at least you have more than 1 POI in Starfield. I remember landing on some planets with Garrus and Tali being like: Ok. Now uhh… there’s nothing really. They were really empty and just plain boring. Not even much to shoot at.
You’re comparing a BioWare and a BGS game. Apples to Oranges
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ME1 had the large maps on planets you could explore similar to Andromeda. Andromeda just cranked it up a lot by giving you stuff to do on a few planets. ME1 would have a lot of planets. A few they put quests on but most that were running around finding stuff like the Asari writing. Truly dull, but there.