Mass Effect Returns, Just Not in the Way Anyone Expected

Regardless of who you ask, Mass Effect is widely seen as one of the greatest RPG trilogies in history, with Mass Effect 2 arguably one of the best games of all time. Before Andromeda came out and spoiled everything, it was one of the most unblemished intellectual properties out there, so it's fairly astounding that we haven't seen another game since.

It has been eight and a half years and, whilst we know there is a new game in development at Bioware, we won't be getting to play it until at least early 2027, by even the most optimistic estimates.

Fortunately, there is another project that's scheduled for release next year which could well evoke all of the same feelings that made the original Mass Effect games feel so special.

Exodus is a sci-fi action-adventure RPG, in development at Archetype Entertainment, a studio founded by ex-BioWare devs James Ohlen, Chad Robertson, and Drew Karpyshyn.

In the developer's own words, "Step forward and become the Traveler – leading humanity’s fight for survival against the Celestials. In this epic sci-fi action-adventure RPG, face our evolution 40,000 years into our future, explore extraordinary worlds, and confront time itself to shape the fate of generations."

If you are a Mass Effect enjoyer, you likely would have spotted the immediate similarity posed by the existential threat of the Reapers, and the Celestials featured in Exodus.

The story follows the player-character Jun Aslan, who the story team describe as a "renegade," as you search for mysterious objects (or possibly energy, it's difficult to tell at this juncture), known as Celestial Remnants. These are your best hope of taking on the Celestials when they do arrive.

From a mechanical perspective, the game is going to give us a one-of-a-kind gauntlet that grants additional devastating powers, which look somewhat biotic in nature. You unlock new powers by fusing alien remnants into your gauntlet, but it's unclear how these would be swapped in and out in practice.

It also promises that we'll have a crew to command, though how space flight will work and whether we'll actually be able to pilot our ship, remains unclear.

Go over the official website for the game and it quickly becomes difficult to not get excited as a Mass Effect fan. If the team of veteran devs can replicate at least some of the best features those games had, then we could have one of the standout games of 2026 already.