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The Expanse RPG gets even more Mass Effect with choices that “define the character you play,” devs say, but you only have “one chance to stay on everyone’s good side”
Developers working on The Expanse RPG have said the upcoming action-RPG will lean further into Mass Effect-style storytelling, with dialogue and decisions designed to "define the character you play." The comparison highlights an ambition for player choice to meaningfully shape both the protagonist's identity and their relationships with other characters throughout the game.
According to the developers, players will only get "one chance to stay on everyone's good side," suggesting that key decisions carry lasting consequences and cannot easily be undone or replayed to please every faction or character. Full details of the game's story structure, characters and release plans were not included in the available article text.
In short
- The Expanse RPG choices will shape your character, devs say.
- Comparisons drawn to Mass Effect-style branching dialogue systems.
- Players get only one chance to please everyone, developers warn.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
This design respects player agency by making choices genuinely matter, allowing you to define your character through real decisions with lasting consequence rather than optimising for universal approval. Like quality storytelling, it rewards commitment to a character concept and creates authentic relationships where NPCs react realistically, increasing narrative tension and ensuring different playthroughs feel genuinely distinct and memorable.
The case against
This design restricts player freedom by penalising experimentation with dialogue and relationship options, frustrating players who prefer experiencing different narrative branches or fear making unintended 'wrong' choices. By gatekeeping content behind permanent decisions, it may reduce enjoyment for those who value exploration and accessibility over consequence; not all players want to be locked into a character path or cut off from relationship possibilities.
Explained simply
The Expanse is a science-fiction franchise set in a future where people live across Earth, Mars and settlements in the asteroid belt. Its stories often involve political tensions and uneasy relationships between these groups, alongside life aboard spacecraft.
The role-playing game is based on that setting and is being developed by Owlcat Games. In games of this kind, players guide a main character through the story, and choices can affect how other characters respond; the developers say those decisions will shape the character and their relationships.