Exodus steps out of Mass Effect's shadow with combat that builds on BioWare's RPG and a galaxy that I'm itching to explore

I think of myself as an early adopter of Exodus, one of the first passengers aboard this particular RPG hype train. The risk of buying that kind of ticket, of course, is that you end up at your destination disappointed, let down by a game that hasn't lived up to your expectations. With Exodus, however, I've got no fear of that. My 60-minute, combat-focused demo showed off the Mass Effect successor I've been hoping this would be, and hints that the BioWare Magic might still be out there – it's just Archetype Magic now.

My demo is made up of a single mission, far enough into the game that protagonist Jun has come to terms with the powers offered by his mysterious Celestial connection. He's found a ship and assembled a crew to fill it. I'm assigned two companions before I start; Suleimon favors the quiet approach, and can teleport in close to stab unaware enemies in the back. The second couldn't be more different – Elise pilots a towering mech, and her abilities hinge around a variety of ways to fire off as many rockets as possible. I quickly warm to her explosive charm, and while Suleiman's smug, smarmy demeanor seems purposely designed as a frustrating foil to Jun, the fact I enjoy his company regardless is testament to his writers.

No exit

Jun will be the keystone around which every mission roster will be built. His personal armory of weapons offers decent variation even before you factor in gadgets and the powers bestowed by his gauntlet – a piece of ancient, alien technology that grants various abilities that can manipulate the environment and offer new combat options. In battle, I can cloak myself before repositioning to line up a powerful sniper shot, or lock a larger enemy in place before rushing in for a melee attack and following up with a volley of chattering shotgun fire.

Meanwhile, Suleiman and Elise contribute their own firepower, letting me know when their abilities have recharged to let them dish out even more punishment. Controlling their timing and targets is simple but satisfying, a huge chunk of HP disappearing from enemy health bars whenever either one steps up.

Anyone familiar with Mass Effect should have no trouble picturing that system. It's Commander Shepherd reimagined, enhanced by virtue of Jun's massive arsenal of tools and gadgets. Most smaller-scale skirmishes are too small to rely on all of those toys, but gunplay has a satisfying spit, and ammo management offers an extra layer of strategy. I lean heavily on the sniper rifle, but its limited magazine means I have to be careful about when I make use of it.

I'm also pleased to see that Elise and Suleiman will let me stay quiet at the start of an encounter, only turning their own weapons towards the enemy once the firefight has properly broken out. My only complaint is that in bigger boss fights, my companions feel largely ignored – in one battle, I'm relentlessly chased down by an enemy that often runs through the middle of my allies' hail of gunfire, a series of slightly clunky dodge-rolls my only way to avoid an attacker apparently unconcerned for their own wellbeing.

The caveat to the success of Exodus' combat is that an hour-long slice of a game that's supposed to take place over the span of centuries can't possibly begin to show off the weight of its choices. Its aping of Mass Effect-style combat is definitely successful, but I imagine we won't get a sense of how well it emulates that series' decision-making until launch.

Yet, I still got a good look at what seems to be a robust system of choice and consequence. Suleiman and Elise's approval (or otherwise) of my actions flashes up several times, and I rack up a good number of Paladin alignment points by opting not to indulge my darker urges. In one of those moments, I get what I think is a glimpse at the longer-term decisions that will drive one of Exodus' core roleplaying systems – by sparing the life of an enemy grunt offered up as cannon fodder, I have a strong sense that that minor character could return to my story, years or even decades later. I'm only guessing, but it felt like a tantalizing glimpse at a larger system.

Wake me up

What my demo lacks in roleplaying it makes up for in world-building. Archetype has spent years fleshing out this universe through a collection of short stories, a novel, and even a tabletop game. It's easy to explain Exodus away as no more than the sum of its constituent parts: a Mass Effect-style sci-fi RPG drawing heavily from the time dilation at the heart of Interstellar. But, while we're yet to see many of those ideas at full strength yet, the depth that the studio has already woven into its creation is on show, primarily through the Awakened.

The Awakened are hyper-intelligent animals that occupy Exodus' universe alongside humans. The mission in my demo takes place on the planet Khonsu, home to the Kay, a species of Awakened frogs who maintain a shield around the planet to protect it from space debris. The Kay work on a fairly voluntary basis, but a recent invasion has threatened them, and in turn put the entire planet at risk.

Despite that, the Kay NPC we meet during the mission, C42, is a cheerful and energetic character who flits chaotically between subjects as Jun and Suleiman try desperately to keep him on topic. He's a very different figure to the next Awakened we meet, a huge mama bear whose weight and fury makes them a terrifying foe. Talking animals aren't a huge narrative novelty, but the Awakened offer Exodus an identity, and the clever ways they seem to be woven into the galaxy alongside genuine extra-terrestrial species offers a means for the game to show itself off even when its core roleplaying components aren't available. I'm keen to see where else it goes, especially with Salt, an Awakened octopus who serves as a companion from within a water-filled chassis.

I'm aware launch is still some way off, but I've been following Exodus closely for nearly three years. In that time, the question of whether Archetype was capable of filling the large shoes it was making for itself was never really clear. Many newly-founded studios of veterans have spent years building something grandiose to capture the magic of what they'd made before, only for the project to never realize its full potential.

It's been a long time since we've had a major spiritual successor that was truly capable of living up to that title, but I'm ready to say that I think Exodus is it: This is Mass Effect 5 in all but name, engaging combat, strong roleplaying roots, and an engaging world and cast all combining to establish what I think is my now firmly my most-anticipated RPG after The Witcher 4. The last major test is whether Archetype can realize its ambition when it comes to its centuries-long depiction of choice and consequence, but the foundation it has built to support those ambitions seems more than strong enough to carry Exodus into the stars.

Before your exodus from this article, consider checking out our best RPGs ranking, or our games like Mass Effect recommendations for more adventures!