Archetype Entertainment has finally released the first gameplay trailer for its debut title EXODUS, and it’s fair to say that it’s very reminiscent of Mass Effect. Not that we expected anything less from a studio founded by key BioWare veterans like creative director James Ohlen and lead writer Drew Karpyshyn.

In the trailer, we saw several brief dialogues between protagonist Juno and some of her companions, not to mention gunfire, a grappling hook used in a fight with an armored bear, and even stealth (which was largely absent from Mass Effect). The trailer was first released on a stream hosted by CohhCarnage, where Ohlen and Archetype CEO Chad Robertson answered several questions about the game.

EXODUS will not be an open-world game, but will instead focus on curated missions like in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect. However, there will be room for exploration and optional content.

It is described as an action role-playing game and offers players a lot of choices. The twist is that they can see how they have influenced their own homeworld over decades and even centuries. The game’s central theme is that travelers like Juno embark on perilous journeys to distant planets in a desperate attempt to recover long-lost technology that could help humanity fight the Celestials.

In this regard, Ohlen described Juno (who can be a man or a woman depending on the player’s preference) as a cross between Indiana Jones and Dune’s Paul Atreides. On the one hand, they are explorers who venture into forgotten crypts and lost worlds to discover valuable artifacts; On the other hand, they are also leaders of their civilization and make crucial decisions for the development of humanity.

The above-mentioned journeys are carried out at almost the speed of light. While the journeys for Juno and her team can last days or weeks (by the way, they can only take two with them at a time, like in Mass Effect), years or even decades can have passed for those who are back on the home planet, making for an interesting storyline should lead.

As one would expect from a game developed by BioWare veterans, EXODUS will feature deep relationships with the player character’s companions, some of which will be romantic. There may also be power struggles between them, and it’s up to Juno to deal with the possible consequences.

We also received some information about the so-called Lifestone, a mixture of minerals and living vegetation that Juno can use in combat and exploration. It definitely sounds like this game’s version of magical powers.

EXODUS is co-developed with the help of Indeed Affinity and will be released on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X. No date was given, but the developers teased that it won’t be long before we see more gameplay. In the meantime, you can either read the novel published earlier this year or watch the special 15-minute episode of Blur Studio’s Secret Level, which is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.