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It has been a long time since a sci-fi RPG made me sit up properly. The Mass Effect trilogy did, obviously. Andromeda did not, and we do not need to talk about why. Everything since has either been too small, too janky, or aimed at someone other than me. Nothing really scratched that Mass Effect itch. Until now.
When Archetype Entertainment invited me to a hands off preview event, I went in with the kind of guarded interest you reserve for games that have your number but might still ruin your evening.
It went well. Not flawlessly, but well.
Exodus is an action RPG set 40,000 years in the future, where humanity has fled a dying Earth and ended up as underdogs in a hostile galaxy. The dominant force are the Celestials, who used to be human but evolved into something else over thousands of years, and who now hold all the best weapons and technology. You play Jun Aslan, the Traveler, the one person able to interface directly with Celestial tech, which makes you both humanity's best chance of survival and the inheritor of a dynasty that comes with rather a lot of baggage.
The pitch, in case the developer pedigree had not already given it away, is an action RPG where choices matter with a hard sci-fi spine. Archetype is led by people who built the original BioWare era, and you can feel that and obvious Mass Effect inspirations it in every part of the showcase. There is a hub city full of missions and characters whose attitudes shift based on your choices. There is a companion roster that ranges from a stoic soldier called Tom Vargas to an octopus in a mech suit named Salt the Octo, who I am already certain will be my favourite. There is romance, with several companions available, although not, sadly, the octopus. There is a codex with deep lore on the world, the factions, and the enemies. If you have been missing this kind of game, the muscle memory will return within minutes.
What sets this one apart from anything I've played so far is the is time dilation. It is the game's defining mechanic, and it does heavy lifting both narratively and structurally. Going on an exodus, the in-world term for a mission, means leaving home for what feels like a week or a month to you, while years or decades pass for everyone you left behind. You do not just clip into a loading screen and pop back out for the next quest. You plan. You weigh up who and what might not be there when you return. The developers talked about it as a tool they intend to use in major story moments rather than constantly, which is the right call. Used sparingly, this is the sort of mechanic that gives a game a permanent emotional weight. Used badly, it would become a chore. We will see which side of that line they land on.
Combat is where the Uncharted comparison starts to feel earned. Movement looked snappy, with a grappling hook for vaulting chasms and traversing levels, slide mechanics, a stealth cloak for getting around unnoticed, and a generous variety of guns and rifles and cover options. There is a full skill tree dedicated to stealth alone, with corresponding companion synergies, weapon mods, and suit upgrades for anyone who wants to play that way. The shooting looked snappy and at times spectacular, but the way it knits together with the movement gave the showcase a real sense of momentum. It is not trying to be a hard tactics game. It is trying to feel good to play, and from what I saw it does.
The choice and consequence systems are also fully present, which will not surprise anyone who has been following the studio. The example shown was a moment where you can purge an airlock or refuse, with different companions backing or resenting you accordingly. Tied to all of this is the Traveler's Oath, the game's morality framework, which the developers stressed is not built to punish you. You can change direction mid-playthrough, there are hybrid paths, and the rewards exist across the spectrum rather than at the extremes. In practice, your oath will influence companion reactions, your upgrade options, and your ability to persuade or influence other characters. Standard BioWare-style stuff, in other words, but updated for an audience that does not need another paragon and renegade slider in their lives.
Companions, predictably, are central. The developers talked openly about wanting to build on the Bioware tradition of companions with real arcs, real opinions, and relationships that grow over time. McConaughey's character, C.C. Orlev, sits slightly outside that pack as Jun's mentor and a kind of voice of the people, with the game keeping most of his role under wraps for now. The roster shown off in the presentation is a mix of human and otherwise, with at least one wolf-like creature called Houston, an alien called Emrys, and the aforementioned octopus. It looks like a proper crew, which is half the battle.
Now, my one real gripe. The character art is too cartoonish for my taste. The world around it looks gorgeous, the environments are doing genuinely cinematic things, but the human characters have a stylised, slightly softened look that I would have preferred to see pushed in a more realistic direction. It is not an ugly game by any stretch, and there is a clear artistic intent behind the choice, but for a story this self-consciously serious, with inspirations the developers cite as Interstellar, Dune, and Star Wars, I expected the faces to carry a bit more weight. Your mileage may vary.
Everything else from the showcase pointed in the right direction. The hub city sounds like a proper living place with many different and unique characters you meet including an elephant vendor. Yes a real, elephant. The dynasties and politics angle that the developers got most excited about during the Q&A suggests they are thinking about long-term structural consequences instead of something you'll forget after a mission or two.
The studio is also pretty honest about the fact that they are operating in a suddenly crowded sci-fi RPG space, with friendly rivalry with the team behind The Expanse adaptation, and that confidence read well.
Exodus is currently targeting early 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. That gives Archetype time to land everything they have promised, which is just as well, because they have promised quite a lot. On the evidence of what I saw, though, this is the one. If you have been holding out for a proper Mass Effect successor, stop holding your breath for someone else to make it. This crew might actually pull it off.
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