Exodus Gameplay Trailer Continues Mass Effect’s Legacy

Summary

• A new game from a former BioWare developer at Archetype Entertainment titled Exodus has revealed a new gameplay trailer.
• The trailer displays many excellent combat interactions, along with the overall tone of the gameplay experience.
• Taking inspiration from Mass Effect, Exodus also demonstrates its storytelling abilities in the latest showcase.

It’s been a good few years for Western RPG fans. With Baldurs Gate 3 nabbing 2023’s Game of the Year at the Game Awards and studios like BioWare and Obsidian still churning out massive 3D experiences such as Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Avowed, it’s been hard to decide what hundred-hour journey we should venture on next.

For many of us, a huge Mass Effect-sized hole exists in our hearts. Although BioWare has struck well with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, many critics have still lampooned the game for its relatively safe story and writing, which only touches the surface of thematic and narrative depth previous games had.

A new studio, Archetype Entertainment, which includes a former BioWare developer, James Ohlen, seems to have picked up the pieces where Mass Effect had left off. Their new upcoming title, Exodus, just released a gameplay trailer filled with the action and narrative intrigue we’ve been hoping for.

Because Ohlen was a key developer on projects such as Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, Dragon Age: Origins, and even the original Mass Effect, it’s a good sign that this project is in the right hands to lead to its success.

This latest gameplay trailer titled “The Traveler’s Creed” gives us a solid look at Exodus’s exciting gameplay and, more importantly, some snippets of narrative that give us a taste of what to expect from the overarching story.

Especially with BioWare somewhat dropping the ball with Mass Effect: Andromeda, it is a bit of a no-brainer that fans would implant their hopes on a proper Mass Effect follow-up on this title. Don’t be mistaken, it’s clear a lot of the gameplay and dialogue in the trailer purposefully give off Mass Effect vibes.

Although many publications, including us, are instantly drawing the connection this game has to Mass Effect, it’s still clear the game is creating its own take on the dramatized sci-fi adventure. The flashy combat, for instance, makes a very purposeful appearance to demonstrate how this game hopes to push the envelope even further.

Even though Mass Effect had relatively solid combat, the story and characters were what kept us coming back for more. So, funnily enough, one of the greatest highlights of Exodus’s trailer is the showstopping combat, for instance, the impressive-looking fight with a war-torn battle bear.

Some other creatures and combat abilities feel straight out of Warframe, which feels very fitting, especially with some awe-inspiring particle effects that are sure to push the latest next-generation hardware.

That said, it’s once again the narrative briefly shown throughout that has inspired many talks about whether this game will be able to push the boundary further and truly be the next narrative-led action RPG we’ve been hoping for.

The Trailer’s Glipse Of A Narrative

Although this trailer dove headfirst into the gameplay and combat, it’s pretty clever that they led with a cinematic about a year ago, revealing a lot of information that continues into the latest trailer.

Compared to many modern RPGs set in a sci-fi universe, the story throughout Exodus’s trailers shows a very inspiring trend. Despite taking place in massive, complex sci-fi worlds, the narrative and drama remain personal and human.

The original trailer sets the main character up as a long-lost time traveler due to complications with high-speed space travel. This latest trailer though, sets a broader stage for the side characters and interactions throughout the entire experience.

Once again, like Mass Effect, these complex interactions will prove most crucial for the game to get right. Even if not much has been shown yet, the characters and interactions we’ve seen tempt us with a story that already seems to be setting the game up for success.

Although Exodus is still in the middle of development, the hype is already building. Hopefully, this isn’t another Callisto Protocol and the game sticks the landing as a rightful successor to its immensely influential predecessor.