Seven years ago, former BioWare veteran James Ohlen founded Archetype Entertainment in Austin, Texas, later revealing the studio's first game, EXODUS™.
James Ohlen left Archetype Studios for personal reasons, but interest in EXODUS™ remains high, especially among Mass Effect fans. The game's inspirations are obvious; Archetype even hired Drew Karpyshyn, the famous writer of the original trilogy, to write the game's story. Furthermore, the entire studio put great effort into the game's setting, even inviting Peter F. Hamilton to publish two novels and preparing a game manual and other related items for tabletop RPG enthusiasts.
Finally, at Gamescom 2026, we (WCCF) had the opportunity to experience the game firsthand. At that time, publisher Wizards of the Coast and its studio Archetype Entertainment provided a demo lasting over an hour, which we were able to record.
The current first impression is "Mass Effect": third-person cover shooting, companion command, skill combinations, character relationships, and moral choices all have a strong BioWare flavor; the combat and choice systems in the demo performed well, but the core "Time Dilation" mechanic was not fully demonstrated, and the game currently has some frame rate and optimization issues.
Demo Summary:
1. The demo mission is not a true "EXODUS™"
This mission is not an interstellar expedition spanning several light-years.
Jun and the team merely traveled from their home planet, Lidon, to the space station Khonsu orbiting it.
Khonsu's shield protects Lidon from meteors and space debris, giving it significant strategic importance.
2. The plot revolves around Gideon controlling the space station
The male protagonist Jun's half-sibling Gideon controls Khonsu.
He also imprisoned the local Awakened race, the Kay, and forced them to work for him.
Players need to resolve the crisis on the space station while facing subordinates left behind by Gideon.
3. Strong Mass Effect vibes
Third-person perspective + cover shooting.
Players can engage in direct combat or use Jun's special abilities.
Teammates have independent skills that can be commanded by the player during combat.
The author frequently compared it to BioWare's Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
4. Male protagonist Jun possesses unique "Celestial" powers
Jun possesses special Traveler genes that allow him to interact with Celestial relics.
New abilities can be obtained by exploring Celestial ruins.
For example, "Petrify" can turn enemies to stone and can also be used for exploration and puzzle-solving.
The gauntlet used early on can also fire powerful projectiles and grant new abilities.
5. The companion system has certain tactical depth
Elise focuses purely on firepower output and has missile-type skills.
Suliman is more suited for stealth, using Shadowstep to teleport behind enemies and assassinate them.
Players need to strategically arrange companion skills based on combat situations, rather than just shooting themselves.
6. The choice system is a highlight of the demo
Players encounter an injured enemy Zealot and can choose to save him by using a medkit or let him die.
Choosing to pay 500 Marks to a construct granted 25 Paladin points.
This directly proves that the game has a morality/faction system similar to Mass Effect.
Some choices also affect Jun's relationship with his teammates.
7. The Kay race is a key element of the story
The Awakened Kay "42C" encountered in the demo has a very humorous personality.
He voluntarily follows the player and helps the squad.
Ultimately, players must decide whether to let the Kay remain independent or allow Suliman's faction to control the station's beacon.
This choice also affects the relationship between Suliman and Jun.
8. Boss battles and combat design are quite rich
In the demo, we faced Zoeller, Lusinchi, and finally the boss-level enemy Irina Bruin.
Some enemies require special abilities and environmental mechanics to be effectively dealt with.
For example, Irina Bruin is immune to normal ammunition and needs to be lured into crashing into electrified pillars before concentrating fire on her.
9. "Time Dilation" is not yet fully showcased
Time Dilation is one of the core features of EXODUS™.
However, due to the limited scale of the demo mission, the author could not determine how much impact this mechanic would have in the full game.
This is also one of the most important unknowns about the game right now.
10. The biggest issue is technical performance
The demo currently has noticeable frame rate issues.
The author believes there is room for improvement in the game's technical polish.
However, no image reconstruction technology was enabled during the demo, so the author hopes the final version will significantly improve performance.
WCCF Preview
The mission we were sent on was not an "EXODUS™"; that is, due to the game's "Time Dilation" mechanic, the team did not need to travel light-years to reach a distant location, avoiding a series of related issues. In fact, this mission was simply traveling from Lidon to Khonsu—a space station orbiting Lidon, which is the home planet of the protagonist, Jun Aslan.
The cause of this operation was that the villain, Jun's half-sibling Gideon, had taken control of the space station and imprisoned the local Kay—a species of awakened frog-like creatures—to work for him.
Khonsu's strategic position is also very important, as its shield protects Lidon from impacts by meteors and other space debris, making resolving the crisis here a top priority.
Suliman is the squad's contact within the Raven faction and a playable companion participating in the mission alongside Elise. He has already obtained authorization codes for one of the supply docks, allowing us to land silently on Khonsu. However, Khonsu's automated security constructs, "Ghosts," soon attacked the squad, giving us our first real taste of the game's combat system.
It is here that the similarities between EXODUS™ and Mass Effect become more apparent: this is a third-person, cover-shooter-focused game, and the protagonist Jun has some special abilities. In this demo, he used a gauntlet originating from the Celestials, which could equip different abilities; at the start of the demo, it could fire a spear-like projectile, causing considerable damage to enemies.
Then, the demo presented my first meaningful choice. A Zealot, severely wounded and battered by the "Ghosts," begged us for a medkit. Suliman immediately objected, arguing that we shouldn't waste resources on enemy soldiers, not even a single medkit. However, the Zealot's plight eventually moved me, and I chose to help him. He was from Lioness and had joined the army in his youth due to what he considered "patriotic duty" and good career prospects, completely unaware that he would ultimately be sent to suppress a race he held no hostility towards. He blamed all of this on the lieutenant—who saw the casualty reports yet still sent them in. At least at that moment, watching him bleed to death alone was clearly not the right choice. Whether this decision will bring actual rewards in the future remains unknown due to the limited content of the demo.
Soon after, I met the first Awakened Kay, who was quite a character. He named himself "42C," clearly a young man enthusiastic about listening to the radio, and because of this, he had already heard of Jun. Although he couldn't tell the squad where the Zealot leader was, he voluntarily offered to help—mainly because he just wanted to see the battle firsthand. Subsequently, he followed the squad along the space station's water pipes.
Before long, the gauntlet gained another combat ability. Of course, it also has uses outside of combat, such as summoning stone pillars to allow Jun to reach previously inaccessible areas. Due to Jun's unique Traveler genes, he can interact with Celestial relics and absorb their magic-like powers. The Celestial temple of Khonsu granted Jun the "Petrify" ability, which can turn enemies to stone—this can also be used on other objects, making it very useful during exploration.
This ability played a huge role in the subsequent boss battle against Sergeant Zoeller. Zoeller is one of Gideon's strongest subordinates left at Khonsu to guard his control. He wears armor similar to a mech and has extremely high damage resistance, while "Petrify" greatly aids in combat, especially when combined with companion skills like Elise's "Knockdown Missile."
In fact, the companion system seems to have considerable tactical depth. Elise focuses entirely on firepower output, with another active skill being "Micro-Missile Barrage"; while Suliman is ideal for prioritizing stealth strategies, his "Shadowstep" allows him to teleport behind targets, potentially killing them instantly if their health is low. This once again reminded me of BioWare's Mass Effect and Dragon Age—players act as battlefield commanders, not only dealing damage personally but also commanding teammates to use abilities at the right moments.
Shortly after ending the boss fight with Zoeller, I encountered a non-hostile construct. It seemed to have developed its own consciousness due to surrounding radiation. This construct told the squad that there was an impregnable armory nearby and that it could help us enter, but requested payment of 500 Marks, obviously the in-game currency. Suliman pointed out that the construct had no way to use Marks, but it remained unmoved and offered another choice: pay 500 Marks, or kill it and take the access card from its mechanical corpse. I chose the former, and Elise jokingly told Jun that he had been ripped off by a construct. However, this choice granted me 25 "Paladin" points, revealing that EXODUS™ indeed has a morality system similar to Mass Effect.
Subsequently, we needed to complete an environmental puzzle to rescue the irritable Kay engineer 13A. However, halfway through the puzzle, another of Gideon's henchmen appeared—Sergeant Lusinchi. He also wore armor similar to a mech, so we had to fight him in a manner similar to how we dealt with Zoeller.
By this stage of the demo, I had acquired some new gear, though I didn't pay much attention to it. My goal was to complete the demo and confront Naomi, Gideon's lieutenant stationed at Khonsu. Naomi had planted explosives on the beacon; she didn't care about the fate of the Kay, nor did she care that destroying Khonsu would put Lidon in extreme danger. She was even willing to risk Everythinggj to strike against Suliman's faction. I tried to persuade her, but failed. Just as she was about to blow up the entire station, Suliman shot her in the head with his pistol.
Obviously, this scene angered her partner—an Awakened bear named Captain Irina Bruin. This was the toughest battle in the entire demo, especially since normal ammunition couldn't harm her. The best strategy was to lure her into charging at one of the four electrified pillars, then unleash full firepower on her while using companion skills.
Eventually, the bear was defeated. At this point, the EXODUS™ demo at Gamescom 2026 presented the final choice. Surprisingly, Suliman made an offer on behalf of his faction: they would take over the beacon, ensuring that all future generations of Kay on the station remained loyal. This way, they could indeed protect the Kay from future threats like Gideon, but it sounded equally hypocritical, and Suliman himself knew this. When I suggested that the Kay should remain independent, his personal relationship with Jun actually improved, indicating that he himself did not fully agree with the proposal.
Overall, this was a quite promising first experience. EXODUS™ feels heavily inspired by Mass Effect from start to finish, which is not a bad thing—after all, there aren't many games of this type these days. As for the game's biggest feature, "Time Dilation," it was impossible to truly judge what kind of experience it would offer in the demo environment.
The combat part is very interesting, although sometimes it does seem relatively simple. What worries me more at present is the game's technical completeness; there is still a long way to go before it is truly polished. As shown in the video, the current frame rate performance is not ideal, but I quickly confirmed in the settings menu that no image reconstruction technology was enabled at the time. Considering this and the time remaining until the official release, I hope the final version will have significantly better performance.
I also hope the final version will provide a sufficiently vast environment to satisfy players who enjoy exploration. However, this can only be determined after the game's official release. Nevertheless, my subsequent communication with Archetype Entertainment made me even more eager to experience the full game myself.
EXODUS™ will be released on April 7, 2027, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S|X.