In talks about the best RPGs of all time, BioWare’s prestigious sci-fi series Mass Effect is all but guaranteed to come up in the discussion. Its deep, choice-driven narratives, stellar characters, and engaging third-person shooter gameplay all make it one of gaming’s top franchises for fans of single-player roleplaying. Notably, thanks to the release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition in 2021, you can experience the beloved original trilogy of games with stunning remastered visuals optimized for 4K. And if you’ve never played before, there’s never been a better time to jump into what are undoubtedly some of the best Xbox games and best PC games.
That’s because right now, both Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and Mass Effect: Andromeda (a follow-up sequel to the aforementioned trilogy) are on sale for N7 Day, which falls on November 7 and references the in-universe designation for the special forces branch that series protagonist Commander Shepard is part of. For Mass Effect’s developers and fans, this day is a day to celebrate the franchise, resulting in the galactic discounts you can take advantage of currently.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is normally $60 and Andromeda goes for $30 or $40 depending on which edition of it you buy, but thanks to N7 Day deals, the former is available for about $10 on Xbox and PC and you can get the latter for just $6. These are some of the lowest prices we’ve seen either game go for, so if you’re interested in checking them out, you shouldn’t sleep on these discounts.
Series newcomers will want to play Legendary Edition first, which bundles all three of the original Mass Effect titles and their single-player DLC in one package and modernizes them with gorgeous remade graphics. No spoilers here, but to give you an idea of what to expect, the story begins in 2183 and focuses on humanity’s political relationships with various alien communities — all while a threat to the universe as you know it looms in the background. As Commander Shepard, you lead a tightly knit team across the galaxy in an effort to bridge relations and investigate some disturbing discoveries.
Then there’s Mass Effect: Andromeda, which takes place in 2185 between the events of Mass Effect 2 and 3 and follows the Andromeda Initiative, which is a plan developed by the Milky Way Galaxy’s races to settle on new worlds in the Andromeda Galaxy. It’s similar to the first three games, though the open world-nature of most planets means there’s more of an emphasis on exploration and the game’s combat is more vertical and fast-paced. Most fans agree the story and characters aren’t as good as the trilogy’s, but there’s still a lot to enjoy.
Note that while the discounts for these games last until November 14 on Xbox, you only have until November 9 to take advantage of them on Steam. Therefore, you shouldn’t wait too long to pull the trigger if you’re a PC player.
