The Expanse: Osiris Reborn preview — Filling a Mass Effect-shaped void

Having played so many of Owlcat's games, I never could have anticipated what I would get with The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. I barely have any clue about this universe and wholeheartedly anticipated yet another isometric, text-based RPG. However, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mass Effect's legacy lives on and that it has been reincarnated as Owlcat's title. As the title of the game suggests, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is set in The Expanse universe invented by James S.A. Corey for his eponymous series of novels. The game puts you in the shoes of a Pinkwater Security employee who survived a viral outbreak while working on Eros Station. It turns out the outbreak was started by a strange group known as Protegen, whom the player fights throughout the campaign. While it shares a universe with the books and TV show, it's an isolated story that doesn't overlap much with them. Skills are essential to the gameplay, as you'll often run into various checks where your abilities will determine the outcome (or lack thereof). Image via Owlcat Games Right off the bat, the game surprised me: it was made on Unreal Engine 5, since Owlcat is primarily known for working with Unity to make its RPGs. The game makes liberal use of cutscenes, no doubt due to the UE5's strong support for them, and really lets us "zoom in" on what is going on. Instead of a top-down, isometric perspective, The Expanse is a third-person RPG that really puts you in medias res, allowing a more personal and upfront connection with the world around you. It controls much like Mass Effect, with over-the-shoulder camera angles and dialogues where the speaking character is focused on. Each character, also unlike other Owlcat games, is voiced, and the reliance on heavy text boxes is almost entirely gone. There are loads of options to choose from in each dialogue, with the consequences echoing either immediately or somewhere down the line. Of course, skill checks and other strong RPG elements are there, too. The overall atmosphere and vibes also reminded me heavily of Mass Effect, even though there was no apparent mix of galactic species like in BioWare's series. The story seems a lot more focused and grounded than ME, but the "generic but not really" science fiction aesthetic in Osiris Reborn constantly told me I needed to go back to finish the ME trilogy. There is a strong emphasis on speech and dialogue, as there should be in a proper RPG. Image via Owlcat Games Add to that the combat, which is real-time with no pausing, and you've got yourself a real spiritual successor to Mass Effect, perhaps the first one that really can be considered as such. It's a cover shooter like any other, but it makes heavy use of the companion system, where you have to order your allies to take cover, shoot particular enemies, and so on. It's very reminiscent of recent Obsidian RPGs in that regard as well, complete with satisfying gunplay, a good kick on the weapons, and strong feedback that truly makes you feel like you're handling a weapon. Unfortunately, my experience was marred by extensive technical issues that prevented me from fully enjoying what Owlcat has done here. However, that's all fine since the game is at least a year away from release, meaning that most of those problems will be ironed out in time. Unreal Engine 5 is very demanding, and Owlcat didn't sacrifice any of its visual capabilities for this game. Every texture looks realistic, and each reflection is immensely detailed. No part of this game looks bad whatsoever, and the graphics really help the art style come together and "pop" more than in some other games by the studio. That comes at a cost, and driver issues and crashes were very frequent, I'm sorry to say. At any rate, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is something to look forward to. The writing isn't that great or as good as, say, Pathfinder titles, but I'm willing to hold my breath until the title comes out in full and lets us see what Owlcat Games has made. I'm confident it's going to be a blast, and if the beta is anything to go by, it'll finally give us the opportunity to experience Mass Effect again for the first time, even if it isn't exactly the same. The post The Expanse: Osiris Reborn preview — Filling a Mass Effect-shaped void appeared first on Destructoid.

Apr 23, 2026 - 01:33

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn preview — Filling a Mass Effect-shaped void

Having played so many of Owlcat's games, I never could have anticipated what I would get with The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. I barely have any clue about this universe and wholeheartedly anticipated yet another isometric, text-based RPG. However, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mass Effect's legacy lives on and that it has been reincarnated as Owlcat's title.

As the title of the game suggests, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is set in The Expanse universe invented by James S.A. Corey for his eponymous series of novels. The game puts you in the shoes of a Pinkwater Security employee who survived a viral outbreak while working on Eros Station. It turns out the outbreak was started by a strange group known as Protegen, whom the player fights throughout the campaign. While it shares a universe with the books and TV show, it's an isolated story that doesn't overlap much with them.

Skills are essential to the gameplay, as you'll often run into various checks where your abilities will determine the outcome (or lack thereof). Image via Owlcat Games Right off the bat, the game surprised me: it was made on Unreal Engine 5, since Owlcat is primarily known for working with Unity to make its RPGs. The game makes liberal use of cutscenes, no doubt due to the UE5's strong support for them, and really lets us "zoom in" on what is going on. Instead of a top-down, isometric perspective, The Expanse is a third-person RPG that really puts you in medias res, allowing a more personal and upfront connection with the world around you.

It controls much like Mass Effect, with over-the-shoulder camera angles and dialogues where the speaking character is focused on. Each character, also unlike other Owlcat games, is voiced, and the reliance on heavy text boxes is almost entirely gone. There are loads of options to choose from in each dialogue, with the consequences echoing either immediately or somewhere down the line. Of course, skill checks and other strong RPG elements are there, too.

The overall atmosphere and vibes also reminded me heavily of Mass Effect, even though there was no apparent mix of galactic species like in BioWare's series. The story seems a lot more focused and grounded than ME, but the "generic but not really" science fiction aesthetic in Osiris Reborn constantly told me I needed to go back to finish the ME trilogy.

There is a strong emphasis on speech and dialogue, as there should be in a proper RPG. Image via Owlcat Games Add to that the combat, which is real-time with no pausing, and you've got yourself a real spiritual successor to Mass Effect, perhaps the first one that really can be considered as such. It's a cover shooter like any other, but it makes heavy use of the companion system, where you have to order your allies to take cover, shoot particular enemies, and so on. It's very reminiscent of recent Obsidian RPGs in that regard as well, complete with satisfying gunplay, a good kick on the weapons, and strong feedback that truly makes you feel like you're handling a weapon.

Unfortunately, my experience was marred by extensive technical issues that prevented me from fully enjoying what Owlcat has done here. However, that's all fine since the game is at least a year away from release, meaning that most of those problems will be ironed out in time. Unreal Engine 5 is very demanding, and Owlcat didn't sacrifice any of its visual capabilities for this game.

Every texture looks realistic, and each reflection is immensely detailed. No part of this game looks bad whatsoever, and the graphics really help the art style come together and "pop" more than in some other games by the studio. That comes at a cost, and driver issues and crashes were very frequent, I'm sorry to say.

At any rate, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is something to look forward to. The writing isn't that great or as good as, say, Pathfinder titles, but I'm willing to hold my breath until the title comes out in full and lets us see what Owlcat Games has made. I'm confident it's going to be a blast, and if the beta is anything to go by, it'll finally give us the opportunity to experience Mass Effect again for the first time, even if it isn't exactly the same.

The post The Expanse: Osiris Reborn preview — Filling a Mass Effect-shaped void appeared first on Destructoid.

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