With the Mass Effect back catalogue recently becoming available as backwards compatible Xbox One titles, I decided, fresh from the newly premiered Mass Effect: Andromeda cinematic trailer, to revisit the original. The reasons for this were a two-fold: First, purely and simply, The Andromeda trailer has whet my appetite, and as a huge fan of the original trilogy, I was pining to return to that incredible world. Secondly, I’ve always felt like a return to the very start might be fun, but I’ve always unfailingly talked myself out of it.

What I remember from my single playthrough years ago is a fantastic story, but gameplay that was decidedly loose in comparison to the later games in the series. I suppose I was always a bit worried that my rose-tinted memories would be cruelly exposed as a product of nostalgia.

Were my fears justified?