I really want to like the Mass Effect remasters. The original trilogy, particularly Mass Effect 2, is home to some of my favourite stories and characters in the entire history of gaming, and although I’ve played them multiple times, it’s been a while since I last explored Rannoch, Thessia, and the rest. It feels like the right time to revisit them - to see how the games hold up, and how I’ve changed as a player in such a choice-based experience. I’m also excited to dive back into the stories - both the ones I’ve forgotten and the ones I remember fondly. I get that BioWare could have just ported the games as they were, but a remaster means a greater chance of capturing a bigger audience, especially players too young to remember the original trilogy. After the initial excited reception, a few people seemed to have cooled on the whole thing, but I’m not one of them. At least not until I saw Liara’s boobs. Now, I’m not so sure.
Here at TheGamer, our own Cian Maher flagged potential issues with the remaster a long time ago, pointing out that the graphically improved Eden Prime has lost its soul. Since then, there have been a smattering of complaints about the lighting, facial animations, lens flare, and a few other aesthetic issues. None of these have bothered me. They’re slightly different atmospheric choices to the originals, but I don’t think the absence of these features in 2007 is proof of the Legendary Edition vandalising our beloved Mass Effect. For example, the better lighting means we can see just how scratched up Garrus is with his Archangel scars. It was moodier before, granted, but there are benefits to both styles, and we need to see the full picture before deciding whether the new take is only fit for the bin.
In fact, most of the major changes revealed so far have been positive ones. The actual FemShep face will be available across the board rather than just in Mass Effect 3, the gratuitous butt shots while Miranda discusses her deepest trauma are gone, FemShep no longer sits with her legs wide open when she’s wearing her dress, weapons are no longer restricted by class, aim assist is included, and you can max out Shep’s level without New Game Plus. While I would agree that Eden Prime looks better in the original, most of the aesthetic changes are subjective - it comes down to personal preference, and most people passing judgment at this stage are players who already know the original trilogy inside and out. The more tangible changes to gameplay and on-screen interactions are objectively improvements. The elevators are faster - while I’ll miss that banter, which I’m remembering through rose tinted glasses, the load times were a chore.
The only thing I was torn over was the Mako’s makover, and even then, I’m just going to miss how bad it was. The Mako has charm, but improving it objectively means it will be better, especially for newcomers.
But the most recent screens show a new-look Liara, and it’s the first time my enthusiasm has wobbled. Liara isn’t only my most beloved Mass Effect character, she’s a contender for one of my all-time favourite characters in games. And the remaster has given her - I can’t think of another way to say this - vacuum-sealed boobs. It looks like they’ve taken the original Liara model and stuck two grapefruits on her.
The worst part is that I can’t understand why. Liara is deliberately dressed down in the first game; she’s a young (for an asari), bookish scientist. She isn’t really sure of her place in the universe. It’s probably inaccurate to say that she lacks confidence, since she’s very aware of her own intelligence, but she definitely becomes more forthright and better at communicating as the series goes on. As she steps into the shoes of the Shadow Broker in Mass Effect 2, her change from a drab, shapeless overcoat to something more colourful and form fitting is an important part of her characterisation. When we first meet her, we have no idea that she’s the Shadow Broker, and that contrast in visuals is a key aspect of the reveal. It’s Liara, Shep, but not as we know her.
We’ll still see her personality develop in the same way, but the chest ‘adjustments’ don’t fit her character. They diminish the effect of her contrast between the first two games, and worst of all, they’re not realistic. Even if her outfit was made of vinyl - which it’s not - the material wouldn’t cling to her so tightly. It’s not only wrong for Liara, it’s wrong for physics, and makes Mass Effect look like Alien Sex Simulator - something it has been (falsely) accused of in the past. There are some sexualised aliens, sure - I’m still hoping Liara’s mother Matriarch Benezia gets toned down, but after seeing Liara I’m half expecting her to go full Kate Upton - but most of the sexualised characters in the series have an agency over this. Aria T’Loak, for example, is designed to be attractive, but she isn’t just mindless eye-candy.
It just feels insulting to both Liara and the fans. There are missteps in the existing Mass Effect designs - even without the butt shots, Miranda’s outfit is an odd choice, and quite why Jack opts to go shirtless for the whole of the second game is anybody’s guess - but why are the remasters adding new ones in? Liara’s design was fine. A bit blocky by today’s standards, but adding two big round grapefruits isn’t the way to fix that. This isn’t enough to put me off the remasters, but I finally understand why people are a little fearful.