Exodus from developer Archetype Entertainment, under Wizards of the Coast, is playing with familiar ingredients in hopes to create something entirely new. It's not as if there's never been a spacefaring sci-fi shooter RPG before, and Exodus has certainly earned the Mass Effect comparisons thanks to the similar medium and genre on top of its developer backgrounds.
But it is very much its own thing, and exists beyond those comparisons. While Exodus isn't releasing until at least 2027, the developers recently invited us to come and see for ourselves – which made the perfect opportunity to ask: What is Exodus, exactly? How do you actually do something new in such a crowded space? What does that even look like? From inspirations to companions to an early hands-on opportunity, we've boldly gone where very few have and returned with the answers.
Join us below to explore our Exodus Big Preview with us on GamesRadar+
Exodus: The Big Preview
Exodus hands-on: A couple of hours spent exploring the hostile environments of a distant world are enough to get a grasp on Exodus combat gameplay, and the lean toward a more tactical approach to kicking off encounters makes for an exciting challenge. There's plenty that's still under wraps that we haven't seen or experienced, but it already feels like a game to watch.
Drew Karpyshyn interview: Yes, obviously Mass Effect is an inspiration for Exodus, but what else? What other influences were the developers working with to shape their entirely new IP over the last seven years? Exodus narrative director Drew Karpyshyn walks us through all of it while pointing out the big takeaways. Get ready for some time dilation, folks.
The 5 biggest things we learned about Exodus: On top of the hands-on access and interviews, the team at Archetype Entertainment also released a new extended gameplay reveal as part of the Future Games Show. Here's what we learned from the new deep dive from companions to combat to general story structure.
What makes a good RPG companion: Is it even an RPG if you don't have a squad of wildly different characters with sordid backgrounds and strong opinions constantly bickering with each other and you? The Exodus team explains how excellent companions turn good RPGs into great ones.
New Video
Extended gameplay reveal
Developer interview
Dive Deeper
Everything you need to know about Exodus, the sci-fi RPG from former Mass Effect devs
Hasbro boss says "there's a big need" for a BioWare-esque space RPG and Exodus is ready to fill it
More than Mass Effect's spiritual successor, Exodus wants to pull decades of player choice into a single story
Exodus won't be one of those games where "you can just romance anyone because you're the hero"
While you wait, there's always our best RPG games list for more!
