In the month since Archetype Entertainment gave us our first look at its sci-fi RPG Exodus, there's been a drip-feed of teasers showcasing gunfights, the exploration of alien worlds, stealth and a man looking out of his balcony. The main takeaway from these teasers is that, yep, this sure looks like Mass Effect. Which isn't surprising—Archetype describes itself as being "led by industry veterans from BioWare, 343, Electronic Arts, Naughty Dog, and other leading AAA studios" (emphasis mine), with a cohort that included former BioWare design director James Ohlen.
I'm using the past tense here because Ohlen left his role as the head of Archetype late last year. "At this stage, James felt his work on the game was complete and that the polishing and tuning were in great hands with the team," Hasbro vice president of corporate communications Abby Hodes told Bloomberg at the time. Exodus is being published by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro.
This is pretty weird! Exodus isn't due out until next year. There's clearly a lot of work still to be done. A studio boss's work isn't complete when the game isn't remotely finished.
But whatever is going on at Archetype, it's still acting as if it's business as usual. On top of the teasers we've been seeing over the last month, an extended look at the RPG is expected this summer. It's uncanny just how much it looks like Mass Effect though.
Not just "inspired" by Mass Effect. Aesthetically and mechanically, from what we've seen so far, it looks like it could be Mass Effect 5. Though it's clearly not just copying Mass Effect and calling it a day.
The stealth system showcased last week is new, for instance. Granted, it doesn't look especially novel or any different from the shoe-horned stealth that so many action games deploy. But it's not something Shepard ever did.
This week's teaser is not particularly thrilling. It's just a dude looking at a generic sci-fi cityscape on a balcony, accompanied by ambient music that you'll swear you heard in Mass Effect's Citadel. Mass Effect codex fans might be excited by one of the advances on display, though—you can look at things and get on-screen codex pop-ups instead of needing to view them in a separate menu.
This is the future, folks! I probably sound more cynical than you'd expect from someone who genuinely loves Mass Effect and is keen for more big budget sci-fi RPGs, but nothing we've seen so far has set my heart pounding. It all looks OK.
A bit stiff, a bit too much like some games I played years and years ago, but certainly not dreadful. But I'm still waiting for the reveal of something that could actually get me excited. Fingers crossed for the extended showcase this summer, I guess!
And hey, if this doesn't work out, we've also got The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, along with the latest official Mass Effect entry. Though regarding the latter, I still think it's a terrible idea. 2026 games: All the upcoming gamesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together