At The Game Awards 2023, actor Matthew McConaughey premiered Exodus, an upcoming sci-fi action-adventure role-playing game. Exodus marks the debut game from James Ohlen’s new studio, Archetype Entertainment. Ohlen previously worked at BioWare for 22 years, eventually serving as Senior Creative Director. Given Ohlen’s background, the world premiere trailer of Exodus unsurprisingly has Mass Effect vibes.
Exodus, in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, is a third-person shooter. Its narrative is driven by player choices and the significant impact of Time Dilation. In the game, humanity has fled a dying Earth and has found a new home in a hostile galaxy. Players take on the role of The Traveler, humanity’s last hope, with the goal of stealing alien weapons and technology from the Celestials, the most powerful beings in the universe.
However, Time Dilation causes days for the Travelers on interstellar missions to translate into decades back at home. Upon returning, players must confront the consequences of their actions, with outcomes that affect generations.
“EXODUS introduces an innovative new sci-fi world that forces players to face the consequences of their choices over time,” said James Ohlen, Co-Founder, Studio Head, and Executive Creative Director at Archetype Entertainment. “We introduce the player, as the Traveler, to an original sci-fi universe, a world created with an incredible level of detail in collaboration with award-winning sci-fi authors. The gameplay setting and story we created is built around the impact of Time Dilation, a concept I’ve been fascinated with since I was 12 years-old. We use Time Dilation as a catalyst impacting the choices you make in-game that sets in motion events affecting your relationships with your loved ones, and your entire civilization, for generations.”
