It was two weeks ago when Owlcat Games first showcased The Expanse: Osiris Reborn at the Future Games Show and that teaser trailer for a third-person action RPG might seem like a good opening for FGS, but it represented a dramatic shift to their tried-and-tested formula and, quite frankly, their whole company.
If you’re ever familiar with any of the games produced by this studio, all of them are cRPGs. In fact, if you’re going to search for Owlcat Games right now, what you’d see is their tagline “We create cRPGs” next to their company name.
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It was a shock because for a studio that is known exclusively forcomplex cRPGslikePathfinder: KingmakerandWarhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader,this marks a bold evolution into third-person action RPG territory saturated by other AAA titles powered by Unreal Engine 5.
What is The Expanse?
The Expanse is a TV show which originally aired on Syfy before Amazon picked it up.It’s based on a series of books by James S. A. Corey (which is a pen name for two authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck).It’s got drama, politics, mystery, space battles, space lasagna, and pretty much everything you’d want and love in a sci-fi TV show.
If you haven’t seen or read it yet, let me give you a little bit of context. The Expanse is set in a future where humans have colonized the solar system. The Earth is an old superpower, it’s overpopulated, and in decline, Mars is an independent world with technological advancements in science and military but still working to transform the red planet into a lush garden, and then you have the people living in the asteroid belt, called “Belters,” who live dangerous lives on the frontiers of space like the wild west.
At the start of the story, scientists find amysterious alienvirus called the “Protomolecule” which eventually becomes the very thing that the Earth, Mars, and the Belters get into conflict with, by trying to gain control and possession over it. The show has 6 seasons under its belt, and it’s not the first time that The Expanse has been turned into a video game. The Expanse: A Telltale Series, which is an episodic adventure game developed byTelltale GamesandDeck Nine, has been released back in 2023.
Where Will The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Take Place?
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn will operate within the well-known tradition of spin-off stories that run parallel to the main events of the series. The game takes place during the first two seasons of the TV show and the first two books of The Expanse universe.
You begin as a Pinkwater Security merc taking a well-deserved shore leave at Eros Station when your vacation is cut short and chaos erupts because the Protomolecule has been weaponized and released within the confines of the station.
For the gameplay, according to what we’ve seen in the trailer, the game has some Mass Effect elements with over-the-shoulder shooting, cover mechanics, and tactical abilities. That said, what I’m looking forward to is how the game will incorporate zero-gravity situations and how it will balance realism with action and gunfights inside a fragile space station.
“You will be having your own adventure with your own goals, choices, consequences in the same universe [with] all the major events unfolding in this universe alongside your story,” - Alexander Mishulin, Creative Director of Owlcat Games
Another good thing about this game is that Owlcat Games has been given the green light to forge your own path within The Expanse universe.
Apart from being able to choose your own goals and choices, you will also be able to choose a backstory during character creation and eventually side with different factions which carry a different weight, because that would mean that all of your actions in the game will have serious consequences.
A More Open RPG System
It’s not the only thing that would be new to Owlcat’s second space venture, since they’re developing the game with an open RPG system. Meaning that you will be allowed to build whatever character you like with no traditional classes that will constrain your player choice. If you’re intimidated by Pathfinder’s incredibly complex skill trees, fear not, because this game might just be for you.
Aside from that, what I find most intriguing is that Alexander Mishulin, Creative Director for Owlcat Games, has also confirmed that they’re taking something from the likes ofPersona 5in their approach to developing characters, who’d be front and center, and what happens to other characters who isn’t involved in the action.
The answer is that crew members who won’t join your missions will never remain idle. Instead, they can embark on their own missions elsewhere, which adds another layer of complexity and strategy to your overall gameplay experience
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is confirmed for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|Salthough no release date has been announced yet, pre-purchases are now available on The Expanse: Osiris Reborn’s official website, starting with the Standard Pack priced at $49.99 all theway to the Collector’s Edition, priced at $289 which includes the game, a ship model, medallion, physical artbook, patches, stickers and more.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series
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