Exodus is out early next year, and I think I’m finally on board with the general Mass Effect vibes of it all

Exodus is not beating the “boy, that sure looks like Mass Effect” charges, but the more I see of it, the more I mean that as a term of endearment. Archetype Entertainment shared another peek at its sci-fi RPG during this year’s Opening Night Live showcase, along with its April 7, 2027 release date.

The latest trailer offered a better introduction to Salt, one of Jun Aslan’s otherworldly companions. I’m sensing more of that BioWare companion magic with her reveal, and assuming she’s the part of the crew I’ll lovingly refer to as my child, à la Grunt.

Salt is an Awakened, humanity’s self-aware animal neighbors with their own organized societies, hailing from an ocean planet inhabited by an intelligent race of octopuses. She’s also a cutie patootie, sassy, and (seemingly) tragic. At the end of the trailer, my new octopus daughter is left sifting through what looks like dried-up ocean life.

Hell no, that’s not happening under my watch as Jun. Well, at least I hope it’s not.

While she’s the star of the show, Salt isn’t the only Exodus companion we see more of in the trailer. There’s also new footage of Emrys, another of Jun’s alien companions, but this one isn’t an Awakened. Emrys is a member of a Celestial species “defined by many consciousness,” the Deva. I reckon I don’t have to keep doing the “like xyz” from Mass Effect, but if you know, you know.

As much as I like what I see from Salt and the gang, I was already warming up to Exodus after flipping through a few recent YouTube uploads from Archetype. The studio’s latest preview was another track, Elegy for a Forgotten World, from the RPG’s score. It’s a chorus of ethereal chanting and otherworldly synth tied together by an appropriately dramatic orchestra. All the usual ingredients you need for sci-fi adventures.

Exodus is available to wishlist on Steam now ahead of its launch early next year on April 7.