The long-awaited space-faring action RPG Exodus has finally received a release date: April 7, 2027. Developer Archetype Entertainment announced the news during Gamescom's Opening Night Live event, showcasing an emotional trailer that offered a deeper look at the game's narrative and characters.
Exodus is set 40,000 years in the future and aims to fill the void left by the extended absence of the Mass Effect series. The game promises a third-person action-RPG experience steeped in science fiction concepts, featuring a compelling cast of party members and branching narrative paths. In the game's fiction, humanity is forced to leave a dying Earth, journeying towards a cluster of star systems located 40,000 light-years away. The narrative will explore the consequences of extreme time dilation, as different arkships arrive at their destinations on vastly different timescales. Those who arrived first have spent millennia advancing their technology, leading to a form of transhumanism and the emergence of a group known as the Celestials.
The trailer specifically highlighted Salt, an "Awakened" octopus who is part of protagonist Jun Aslan's combat party. These Awakened creatures are Earth animals that have been technologically augmented to achieve heightened consciousness and the ability to speak. Salt is depicted wearing a sophisticated mech suit, fighting with a ferocity compared to Mass Effect's Krogan. She also functions as an expert sniper and can deploy tactical smokescreens. Beyond her combat capabilities, the trailer also showcased Salt's intelligent and calm personality, hinting at the personal stakes involved in her journey, such as returning to a world that has transformed dramatically due to time dilation, potentially displacing loved ones.
Salt is one of five confirmed combat party members. The others include Tom Vargas, a Traveler who sacrifices personal life for relativistic travel; Elise Charroux, a human mercenary in a mech suit; Phaedra Nath, a blind archaeologist who utilizes drones for perception; and Suliman, a character about whom Archetype has shared limited information beyond his name and an image.
Exodus is slated for release on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.