Playing Mass Effect spiritual successor Exodus was the best kind of surprise

Eurogamer's hands-on Gamescom preview of Exodus, Archetype Entertainment's sci-fi RPG, left the outlet more impressed than expected, despite limited prior enthusiasm for its spiritual predecessor Mass Effect. The 45-minute demo, played alongside a discussion with game director Chris King, followed protagonist Jun Aslan and a party of companions infiltrating the orbital defence platform Khonsu in the year 42530 to free an imprisoned ally, a Death Star-inspired raid King said was designed to "surprise players and put our own twists on it" through striking zero-gravity visuals and a distinctive mineral-based station aesthetic built from a lore substance called livestone.

Set roughly 40,000 years in the future, Exodus follows Jun, an evolutionary link between humans and genetically engineered Celestials, on a mission to save his home planet Lidon from a Celestial techno-virus, aided by a crew including pilot Kara Voss, operative Suliman Tenjin, weapons expert Elise Charroux and Awakened mercenaries Salt and Houston. Gameplay blends third-person action with exploration and dialogue-driven story choices: Jun can manipulate livestone to summon platforms and walkways, and uses a "precognition" ability to reveal hidden rooms, weak walls or weapon mods, while narrative sequences task the party with negotiating with captive characters such as the airwave-taught "human expert" Kay.