After months of lore drops, Exodus has taken the next step in its intergalactic journey with a gameplay reveal trailer, and yes, it feels like Mass Effect. For anyone who has been watching Archetype’s game evolve, that’s no surprise. It’s a sci-fi epic all about action, mystery, and the consequences of your choices. That’s pretty much the Shepard trilogy to a T. Whether you’re seen every twist in the Normandy‘s saga or you’ve never spent a day with Urdnot Wrex, there are reasons to be hyped. Here are our key takeaways from the first Exodus gameplay trailer.
The Exodus and Mass Effect Comparison
The Archetype team includes veteran devs from BioWare and Bungie. You’d expect some of that Mass Effect and Halo DNA. In “The Traveler’s Creed,” protagonist Jun battles a variety of alien beasts, including one multi-armed bot reminiscent of General Grievous. We also see Jun swing around on a grappling hook (showing off some traversal mechanics). The Traveler even pulls a Mission: Impossible, repelling into a vault. If there’s one highlight, however, it’s Jun’s confrontation with an armored grizzly. Our hero grapples around the arena, performs a plunging attack off a pillar, and even slashes the bear with an energy blade like a futuristic Soul Reaver. Space Yogi is not impressed.
The fantastical fight against the bear feels like a far cry from the grim galaxy described by the mysterious C.C. Orlev (Matthew McConaughey) during the Mara-Yama reveal. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If Star Wars is big enough for both the Ewoks and Yuuzhan Vong, then Exodus can handle the coexistence of the Mara-Yama and space bears. The trailer also gave us glimpses of the game’s stealth mechanics. With so limited a peek, however, it’s hard to draw any serious conclusions. It all looks polished and pretty for pre-alpha footage, but there are light-years to go before this voyage reaches its end.
