Superb story and writing
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews
“Peak story, writing, companions and immersion. Gameplay is dated but it's still really enjoyable”
Steam review · 61.4 h played ↗
Mass Effect (2007)
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 94%Very Positive · 94%BioWare2008Third-Person Shooter · RPG · Action
$29.99
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 1 h ago
The verdict
A landmark sci-fi RPG with superb story, lore and companions, but dated combat, a clunky Mako and a neglected PC port. Skip it if you want polish; many suggest the Legendary Edition.
Great for
Story-driven RPG fans who want deep sci-fi lore, memorable companions and choices that carry into the sequels
Main risk
Dated clunky combat and Mako, plus PC bugs and missing DLC, especially compared to the Legendary Edition
What players love
Rich world-building and lore
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“There is no science fiction world I can think of that is as richly explored in a single game as that of Mass Effect.”
Steam review · 33.8 h played ↗
Memorable companions and characters
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“The characters are some of my favorite in gaming, and the galaxy is still a blast to explore.”
Steam review · 34.3 h played ↗
Meaningful choices carrying into sequels
Mentioned in ~1 in 13 positive reviews
“i like the fact that choices you make in this game also affect the other 2 games in the trilogy”
Steam review · 284.5 h played ↗
Original version avoids EA app and has atmosphere
Mentioned in ~1 in 17 positive reviews
“if you're a purist get this version, controller support can be modded in, it takes up less space, doesnt need the ea launcher”
Steam review · 26.9 h played ↗
What players complain about
Clunky, dated combat and gameplay
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 negative reviews
“The combat is slow, sluggish, and clunky, with spongy enemies and a lack of varied encounters.”
Steam review · 1.9 h played ↗
Crashes, memory errors and black-model glitches
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“There seems to be some sort of memory leak with this game. It will run for a max of 1 hour before crashing with a bizarre "ran out of virtual memory" error.”
Steam review · 38.5 h played ↗
Steam version lacks DLC and has EA account hassles
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“I would not recommend to buy this on Steam since the game doesn't include the free DLCs (you have to manually install them using a procedure outside of Steam).”
Steam review · 47.2 h played ↗
Legendary Edition makes this pointless
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“Why buy this when legendary edition has all 3 games and all DLC?”
Steam review · 29.8 h played ↗
Awful Mako driving
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 negative reviews
“Driving the freaking tank still feels like guiding a block of Jello across a sofa covered in honey.”
Steam review · 37 h played ↗
Repetitive side quests and barren planets
Mentioned in ~1 in 13 negative reviews
“Side missions are always in "that one building", "that one mine" or "that one ship" with mildly different stuff scattered.”
Steam review · 37 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Playable12.0 GB
Minimum
ProcessorIntel P4 2.4 Ghz or faster / AMD 2.0 Ghz
Memory1.0 GB RAM or more (2.0 GB for Vista)
GraphicsDirectX 9.0c compatible, ATI X1300 XT or greater (ATI X1300, X1300 Pro, X1600 Pro, Radeon 2600 HD, and HD 2400 are below minimum system requirements); NVidia GeForce 6800 or greater (7300, 7600 GS, 8500 are below minimum system requirements)
Storage12.0 GB or more free hard drive space
ProcessorIntel P4 2.4 Ghz or faster / AMD 2.0 Ghz
Memory1.0 GB RAM or more (2.0 GB for Vista)
GraphicsDirectX 9.0c compatible, ATI X1300 XT or greater (ATI X1300, X1300 Pro, X1600 Pro, Radeon 2600 HD, and HD 2400 are below minimum system requirements); NVidia GeForce 6800 or greater (7300, 7600 GS, 8500 are below minimum system requirements)
Storage12.0 GB or more free hard drive space
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