Searching for Shepard: Can The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Actually Fill That Mass Effect-Shaped Hole in Our Hearts?
AI Gaming News Author · kotaku ·
Owlcat Games is attempting to fill the Mass Effect-shaped void with their new RPG, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, and despite some technical wonkiness and AI concerns, the magic seems to be working.
Right, so I’ve been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. You know that feeling when you cast a spell and it works a bit too well? That’s the vibe I’m getting from Owlcat Games right now. We’ve all been wandering the digital wilderness for years, clutching our worn-out copies of the Mass Effect trilogy like holy relics, waiting for someone—anyone—to give us that specific brand of space-opera magic again. BioWare seems busy trying to remember where they left the keys to the Normandy, and EA is, well, being EA.
But then comes a demo for The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, and suddenly the air feels a bit more ionized. I reckon we might finally have a contender stepping into the ring. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that when I heard Owlcat was handling an Expanse RPG, I had a moment of gentle skepticism. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good isometric slog through the Pathfinder ruleset as much as the next wizard, but a third-person, cover-based action RPG? That’s a different school of magic entirely.
After digging into the hour-long beta—which, let’s be honest, is basically a fancy name for a demo—it’s clear that Owlcat isn't just trying to make a game based on a popular TV show. They are explicitly aiming for the King of the Hill. During a firefight in the demo, there’s this moment where you can pause time, highlight a baddie, and command your partner to lob a fire grenade. Sound familiar? It should. It’s the tactical DNA of Mass Effect, reanimated and given a fresh coat of Belter paint.
What’s truly fascinating here is how the demo manages to grab you even if you don’t know your OPA from your UN. The story focuses on a tight-knit group—including your twin sibling—on a space station dealing with the fallout of a mission gone spectacularly sideways. It’s that human element, the 'mate-ship' if you will, that made Mass Effect work. It wasn't just about the Reapers; it was about who was standing next to you in the elevator. Owlcat seems to understand that the 'why' matters just as much as the 'what.'
You spend your time walking around stations, chatting up the locals, making dialogue choices that actually feel like they might bite you in the backside later, and opening crates for that sweet, sweet loot. It’s comfort food, plain and simple. And let’s be fair dinkum: sometimes we don’t want a 'revolutionary' new way to play; we just want that dish the owners took off the menu years ago. We want to be the captain of a ship, making hard calls and shooting space-pirates from behind a waist-high crate.
However, my inner wizard is twitching his staff at a few things. First, the technical side of this brew is a bit murky. The demo on PS5 reportedly has framerates that are more unstable than a cracked warp core. Some cutscenes look like they were polished by a master, while others feel like they were slapped together in a basement five minutes before the deadline. Now, it’s a beta, and the game isn’t due until 2027—which feels like a lifetime in tech years—so there’s plenty of time to smooth out the rough edges. But still, it’s a reminder that building a universe is hard work.
Then there’s the elephant in the room, glowing with a faint, algorithmic light: Generative AI. Owlcat has admitted to using GenAI in their development process, though they claim everything is still '100 percent human-made.' I’m pulling a bit of a face at that one, mates. It’s like saying a potion is completely organic while you’re clearly using a magical stirrer that moves by itself. I’m all for tools that help devs work faster, but in a genre defined by soul and character writing, I’m cautiously optimistic (and a healthy dose of skeptical) about how much 'machine' is in the ghost. Can a prompt-engineered NPC ever truly replace the wit of a human-written Garrus Vakarian? I have my doubts, but I’m eager to be proven wrong.
In the Web3 space, we talk a lot about 'community-driven' development and 'ownership.' While this isn't a blockchain game (yet), it’s interesting to see a studio like Owlcat essentially crowdsourcing the hope of a dormant fandom. They’ve spotted a gap in the market—the 'Mass Effect void'—and they’re filling it with something the community has been screaming for. If they can stick the landing in 2027, they won’t just have a successful game; they’ll have a legion of loyal fans who feel like their voices were finally heard by a studio that actually listens.
So, do I reckon Osiris Reborn is the chosen one? It’s too early to cast the final spell. But the bones are there. The tactical combat feels right, the atmosphere is thick enough to cut with a plasma cutter, and the focus on character relationships is exactly what the doctor ordered. We’ve got a long wait ahead of us, and I’ll be keeping a very close eye on how Owlcat navigates the AI controversy and those technical hurdles.
For now, I’m just happy to see someone at least trying to build a new ship. It’s better than sitting on the Citadel waiting for a council that’s never going to help us, right? Let's hope that by the time 2027 rolls around, this experiment has evolved into the masterpiece we’ve been waiting for. Just, please, Owlcat—keep the Mako physics out of it. Some things are better left in the past.
Tags: The Expanse, Mass Effect, RPG, Owlcat Games, Sci-Fi Gaming
Original article: kotaku