Exodus, the space opera epic with trailers narrated by Matthew McConaughey, drops a trio of gameplay clips that still look a lot like Mass Effect

When Archetype Entertainment gave us our first look at Exodus gameplay in 2024, I was a little underwhelmed: My immediate and enduring thought was, boy, this sure looks like Mass Effect. Today the studio revealed a brief medley of new gameplay clips and, well, boy, it sure does look like Mass Effect.

The three-in one video begins with some gunplay as our hero Jun, flanked by two squaddies, moves from cover to cover while showing off a bit of his multi-function zorcher.

"This is the kind of fight where positioning matters and relying on your companions can mean the difference between survival and being part of the wreckage," Archetype wrote in the accompanying blog post. "When Elise lets loose with her missile barrage, you feel it. Early on, nothing comes easy. You hold the line because your squad holds it with you."

Then, it's a quick cut to a "space tower," where Jun shows off some traversal by way of his grappling hook—known in Exodus parlance as a "railclaw," which strikes me as a bit of wasted workshopping: Sorry, but everyone's going to call it a grappling hook and you could've saved some time and budget just rolling with it. After that, it's an "ancient shrine on Khonsu," where you'll likely pick up a power, weapon, bit of lore, or something, maybe after solving a puzzle.

I don't mean to come off as overly harsh here. My PC Gamer pal Jody MacGregor said it "looks fine," and I agree: There's nothing in any of this that makes me think, hoo boy, not good.

The problem is that "fine" seems rather wan when stacked up against Matthew McConaughey regaling us with tales about freaky flesh spaceships that want to eat our minds, or humanity's tendency to exploit the weak when the chips are down.

I know, I know. I should know better by now. But I saw those videos and others, and I let myself think, okay—okay—maybe they're really cooking here. Maybe this slow-burn narrative buildup means something, Maybe Exodus is going to be different.

And then I see Captain Wow and his merry band of diverse-but-dependent sidekicks and I think, well, yeah. That's fine.

I state again that I'm not writing off the entire enterprise here: Exodus is still a year-ish away, and we've still seen very little of the actual game. I remain curious and hopeful, and eager to learn more, which Archetype says will happen as new gameplay clips are shared over the summer, leading to a longer gameplay showcase featuring "continuous footage with moment-to-moment gameplay, including combat, conversations, in-mission choices, and more."

Deeper dives into specifics, like RPG mechanics and time dilation—the focus of another big-promises narrative teaser—will come in the months ahead of release.

A launch date for Exodus hasn't been announced at this point, but it's currently expected to be out in early 2027, and is up for wishlisting now on Steam.