Mass Effect Legendary Edition includes the option to skip the elevator loading screens

Mass Effect Legendary Edition
(Image credit: EA)

Mass Effect Legendary Edition will give you the option to skip its notoriously long elevator loading screens.

In a presentation attended by GamesRadar last week, producer Crystal McCord explained some of the changes that you can expect to see when the game launches on May 14. 

One of the key focuses of the gameplay improvements section is the reveal that not only are elevator times now faster across all platforms, but an optional skip button will appear if you don’t want to stand with your teammates and stare at the elevator window.

How much of an improvement is it? Well, in footage from Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Commander Shepard is only hanging around in the Citadel’s elevator for 14 seconds, whereas in the PC version of the original Mass Effect, the wait is an agonising 52 seconds. This time out, Commander Shepard isn’t just saving the galaxy, he’s also saving you some precious seconds.

Of course, faster loading times aren’t the only positive update when it comes to the first outing. McCord revealed that the team had reached out to the community to get their feedback on what they wanted to see from a remaster. 

McCord explained: “We got a lot of feedback in Mass Effect 1, and what we wanted to do was take what we learned over the course of the trilogy and see what we could use from our learnings there and bring that back into Mass Effect 1.” You can expect plenty of quality of life upgrades in the original that put it more in line with the rest of the trilogy. 

You’ll be able to enjoy these speedy elevator rides when Mass Effect Legendary Edition launches on May 14 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

Find out how Mass Effect’s character creator is changing in the Legendary Edition. You can also get your own Mass Effect Legendary Edition pre-order right here.

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Ben Tyrer

Hello, I'm GamesRadar's News Editor. I've been working in the games industry since 2013, after graduating from Bournemouth University with a degree in multimedia journalism. Since then I've worked for Official PlayStation Magazine as a staff writer and games editor, as well as writing for Official Xbox Magazine, Edge, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, PC Games N, and more. When I'm not moaning about being beaten on FIFA and Warzone, I'm writing news, features, and reviews for this wonderful site.