Exodus, the sci-fi role-playing game from Archetype Entertainment, arrives on April 7, 2027. The date closed a cinematic trailer shown during Gamescom Opening Night Live, and the game launches the same day on PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. PCGamesN reported that pre-orders have not opened yet.
The trailer's subject was Salt, a companion character who is an octopus — specifically an Awakened one, which in Exodus means an animal given heightened consciousness and the ability to speak through technological augmentation, Polygon reported. Salt fights in a mech suit built around a portable aquarium, serving as a long-range sniper who can deploy ink smokescreens to reposition, according to GameSpot and PCGamesN.
A Mass Effect lineage, with time dilation
Archetype Entertainment is a Wizards of the Coast studio staffed in part by former BioWare developers, among them Drew Karpyshyn, lead writer on the Mass Effect series and narrative director on Exodus, IGN reported. PCGamesN reported that the team also draws on people who worked at 343, Electronic Arts and Naughty Dog. Eurogamer noted that the resemblance between the two space operas is unsurprising given that lineage: both are built around companions, romances, morality and special powers.
The mechanic Eurogamer identifies as the significant difference is time dilation. Exodus uses it to fast-forward through the consequences of a player's important decisions and show how those choices played out. The system is built around what the game calls exodus missions — long-distance tasks that require travelling near the speed of light. Minutes pass for the player on the mission while hours, weeks, months or even years pass for the people left behind.
GameSpot put a number on that from the trailer: a few years in space for Salt works out to 87 years away from her home planet. Polygon reported that the footage shows Salt returning to a formerly aquatic world whose oceans have since evaporated to sand.
Who else is on the crew
Salt is one of five confirmed combat party members alongside protagonist Jun Aslan, Polygon reported. The others are Tom Vargas, a fellow Traveler — humans who give up their personal lives to travel relativistically; Elise Charroux, a human mercenary in a mech suit of her own; Phaedra Nath, a blind archaeologist who sees the world through drones; and Suliman, of whom Archetype has released little beyond a name and a screenshot. GameSpot reported that the trailer also featured Emrys, a member of a hivemind-like species called the Deva, who drains power from enemies and converts it into protection for Jun and Salt.
Exodus was first revealed at The Game Awards 2023, with Matthew McConaughey voicing the trailer and playing a character in the game, IGN reported. GameSpot reported that Archetype is running wishlist milestones for it, and that the first target of 500,000 wishlist additions has already been passed, unlocking an in-game apartment decoration, a batch of concept art and the soundtrack's first released track.