Many of us making our way through Mass Effect Legendary Edition have probably clocked in more playthroughs of the games than we care to admit. Whether you want to see everything the game has to offer or just play as the exact same Shepard every time, it’s a series that invites replays, and the recent remaster has only made it more tempting.
But what if you already know every mission like the back of your hand? What if playing on insanity just isn’t hard enough, and you need something even more demanding? Well, look no further than the form of torture concocted on r/masseffect - the 100% completion, insanity difficulty, no deaths challenge.
Put forward by Redditor Chrononah, this challenge doesn’t just pertain to a single game - but the entire trilogy. They’re still discussing what the exact rules should be on the Subreddit, but this is what there is so far:
- No deaths - not from Shepard, not from your companions. Oh, and not just in combat, but in the narrative too. This means saving Wrex in the first game, keeping everyone alive in the suicide mission, talking down Kaidan/Ashley in the third game, among other things.
- No exploits, cheats, or lowering difficulty during the playthrough.
- Dying at any time during the run results in a reset.
- This is a 100% run - you’ve got to do all the side content. Yes, even the daft ones you get through overhearing conversations on the Citadel.
Sounds like your idea of fun? Me neither, but fun is of course subjective, and Chrononah is determined. In the replies, many cast doubt on whether or not such a run is even possible, since all it would take is one stray bullet or companion A.I. mishap, and you can kiss the run goodbye.
Zeranvor sums it up simply: “Inb4 having to restart a 60 hour Me1 save due to a stray Geth sniper shot.” Others also highlight that keeping companions alive is likely to be the hardest part - especially since you can only heal them when they’re already down in Mass Effect 2 and 3. If this rule is followed religiously, then your run will involve a lot of babysitting.
If you think this might be the run for you, you won’t be completely alone. Permadeath runs are discussed on various fan forums from time to time, albeit much less harsh than this 100% run.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is out now and available on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Google Stadia.