Hello! This column is part of a regular series in which we share what Tom’s Guide staff members are playing and enjoying right now, with a focus on helping you find great games you might have missed. Be sure to check out our latest entry, where we talk about God of War Ragnarök.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition was an unexpected surprise to me when it came out last year. It took amazing trios of games and ushered them into the modern era of gaming. The improved graphics and faster loading times have been huge wins for new players and longtime fans alike. But the biggest win might be the inclusion of all the Bioware-developed downloadable content for the trilogy.
For those unfamiliar with Mass Effect, it is a third-person shooter/role-playing game that becomes more of an action/adventure game in the second and third games. While fans love the franchise (Mass Effect 2 is my favorite game), it hasn’t aged gracefully in every aspect. And even though it’s been over a decade, you used to have to pay full price for DLC. Given that DLC like Lair of the Shadow Broker and Citadel were just as great as the main games themselves, deciding whether to forgo DLC was a real dilemma. Do you pay for old content, or risk missing out on amazing storylines?
Fortunately, Mass Effect Legendary Edition eliminates the need for that discussion. This is especially true, since the game is part of Electronic Arts’ EA Play, which you get access to as part of your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. The same subscription also gives you access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, which includes Mass Effect Legendary Edition. As I sat at my parents’ house this past Thanksgiving weekend, I decided to see if I could stream the game on my Chromebook, and I’ve been testing it ever since.
Why you should play Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Before we get into Chromebook testing, I need to commend the Mass Effect trilogy a bit. If you haven’t played either of the games before, the trilogy follows Commander John (or Gene) Shepherd as they battle the Reapers. This race of hybrid/droid aliens causes mass extinctions across the galaxy every 50,000 years. Mass Effect 2 takes a short detour as you battle the Illusive Man, a xenophobic power player in galactic affairs, voiced by Martin Sheen. But the Reapers are your main enemy throughout the series.
While the main story is incredible (except for maybe Mass Effect 3’s controversial ending), the real beauty of the game lies in the world-building (or perhaps galaxy-building). BioWare created entire planets, races, and histories and expanded these concepts through quests and exploration. The first game is more straightforward, because the open world revolution had not yet begun when it came out. But in the end, Mass Effect had created an environment that still stands up to the greatest of modern open-world games.
For RPG fans, there is also a lot to enjoy, especially in the first game. The original Mass Effect certainly had the most RPG elements of the three, but each game has story decisions that lead to unique outcomes. Character building, dialogue choices, and the moral system contribute to each play by feeling different. Your choices in one game can affect others, as the series allows you to import your character as you progress through each game in the trilogy.
Xbox Cloud Gaming still needs some work on Chromebook
While Mass Effect is still as amazing as ever, a Chromebook might not be the system for it. The game was lagging a lot. Dialogue interactions felt very good, but even just walking through the corridors of the starship Normandy would cause the game to stutter. The game occasionally buffers extensively during combat, though this isn’t much of an issue in the first game, where fights are slower.
However, I did discover some tips to improve Mass Effect performance on Chromebook. To get started, I recommend that you have a good internet connection. The performance was much better in my home where I have gigabit internet. I’m glad I tested it on both sites, because it made me suspect that the Internet could be as much of a problem as the Chromebook itself.
I also advocate using the Chrome browser website to play the game instead of the Xbox Game Pass app on weaker connections. The streaming experience is a little less daunting. This may be because the app is optimized for mobile devices, although you can use it in Chrome OS.
My other suggestion is to play the game on your phone. If you have an Android smartphone (I have a Samsung Galaxy Ultra S22) and a good internet connection, the Xbox Cloud Gaming app works just fine. Mass Effect ran best on the dedicated app. I’ve even used it in Halo Infinite multiplayer matches and held my own matches. The Xbox Cloud Gaming app isn’t on the same level as the best gaming PC or even the Xbox Series S, but it’s surprisingly close, at least in terms of gameplay functionality.
The block effect is awesome. Chromebook games are not
If I take anything away from this piece, I hope it’s the overwhelming desire starting Mass Effect Legendary Edition this weekend. The Mass Effect trilogy is still holding up, and the Legendary Edition is much better than the original versions of the games. If you have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you’ll get the game included with your subscription.
The second thing I wish you could get away with is not buying your Chromebook as a cheap cloud gaming machine. On paper, it might look like it would work — and sometimes, it did. But the end result is not worth the cost. You’re better off buying a relatively inexpensive gaming laptop. That may change once gaming Chromebooks become more mainstream, but today’s average Chromebooks can’t shake them off completely. Even the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 – a great computer – can’t provide a gaming experience as smooth as a smartphone. However, I’m glad I got to experience it firsthand.
