Mass Effect is a good game. This review is for the Legendary Edition of the game, so keep that in mind. Having not played the original, I'm not sure what is exclusive to LE and some things may not make sense.

I hadn't ever played the first installment in the Mass Effect saga, and had only had spurts of starting and quickly putting down the other two games over the years. While I did have a solid grasp on the core ideas going in, and (unfortunately) knew about the big "upset" regarding the third game's conclusion, I was virtually in the dark when it comes to ME1's plot.

So, I started my playthrough by creating my version of the legendary Commander Shephard. My Shephard was born in the drifts of space to a military family and became somewhat of an infamous character after being the lone survivor of a military operation gone awry. I didn't expect these biographical decisions to mean... well... anything, really. To an extent, I was right. They don't have any impact on the mechanics of the game, nor do they have any affect on how the story plays out. What they do accomplish, however, is an occasional reminder that your character IS somebody in the fiction. They have a history prior to the player taking control, which is occasionally brought up in dialogue in a way that does some noticeable legwork when it comes to immersion and worldbuilding.

Speaking of, the worldbuilding is where I feel ME1 shines the most. The writers did a fantastic job of morphing classic sci-fi ideas into a unique set of systems for the player to experience. The mass relays, while they can of course be compared to any other form of intergalactic portal or superspace highway (etc. etc.), are as mysterious in function as they are aesthetically beautiful. Who doesn't love a giant alien railgun? In ME1, humans are a new addition to the intergalactic scene - a fact that causes a lot of tension between them and the already-established forces of the Milky Way. This tension is a large part of the story, and there are multiple opportunities for the player to make decisions that can either ease this tension, or exacerbate it. There are also quite a few moments where characters (both minor and major) voice opinions that are pretty xenophobic (it an especially literal sense). It's not really pleasant, but it does help drive home the instability that is ever-present in the galaxy. I should also note that the game does give you plenty of opportunity to set people straight in that regard (of course the option to back them up is there too, if you feel your human pride flaring).
The minor characters that you will see in pretty much every landmark you walk through will also often have interesting stories to tell, not even necessarily through a side quest, though that is sometimes the case. The Normandy's pilot, for instance, will tell you at one point that he has a rare disease that makes his bones weaker. He will accidentally clue you in to the fact that this ailment almost barred him from becoming a pilot, and is a sore spot for him in general. Another even more minor character will confide in you that her sister is currently working at a club as an informant for Citadel Security. You can ask questions and offer advice, but none of it has any impact on the story at large or grant you any kind of quest or reward. What these situations both do, though, is make you feel as if the world you're interacting with is alive and breathing. While you're out saving the world from mechanical demons, normal people are still going throughout their days, dealing with normal people problems.
One more interesting plus for the game's worldbuilding, most of the planets you visit will have easy to skip past text that explains the location and some of it's history. Interesting enough on its own, sometimes this history will become relevant in what Shephard experiences there. A small thing, but very cool.

Ok, ok. I didn't give the game a 5 so there's gotta be something wrong, and it had to come up here eventually. Mainly, it's the mechanics and gameplay. I'll preface my criticisms with the fact that I am playing this game in 2024, and didn't play it back when it first came out, so my frame of reference is undoubtedly a bit biased. However, there are some things that just don't feel that good.
First, I'm not a fan of the radial menu for switching abilities. It feels a little unintuitive, and only having one button mapped for a quick-cast is a bit limiting when I know there are ways more could have been squeezed in to the dare-I-say jank control scheme. It also seemed like whenever I wanted to strategically use a squad member's abilities, they had already wasted them on some random low-health enemy that definitely didn't deserve to be cellularly rended while his 7 foot-tall rocket-launcher-wielding companion was standing right next to him.
I did very much like the variety in the different guns within their categories. I had a burst sniper at one point, a Geth assault rifle that ramped up its fire-rate at another, and (my favorite) a marksman rifle single-shot AR that was perfect for popping the heads of Geth that had taken low cover. However, there was no indication of any of these effects or attributes when I was in the equipment screen. There were some relevant stats including damage and heat generation, but never any mention of what actually made those guns interesting and fun. Maybe it seems a bit nit-picky to some, but UX is a field of work for a reason. That stuff matters.
Last issue before I wrap up: almost none of the dialogue options presented to the player during a conversation actually match what Shephard says. The discrepancy can range from order of words to saying something that is just completely out of left field based on the option chosen. Too many liberties were taken when matching those voice lines to the written options, and it leads to some conversations taking wildly unexpected turns. Not great for immersion, nor playing your ideal Shephard.

All in all, the game was a fun experience. Knowing that the continuation of the story is well-received and generally love by gamers everywhere, I can confidently recommend it to pretty much anyone who stomachs sci-fi. The game's short length kind of helps the issues it has, in that it can be over well before those issues start to wear you down. I look forward to starting the second game in the future.

Thanks for reading!