Owlcat Games’ upcoming The Expanse: Osiris Reborn seems to be shaping up quite nicely, which is something that many Mass Effect fans are surely receiving with glee. Personally, although I remain cautiously optimistic about BioWare’s upcoming Mass Effect revival, games like Osiris Reborn are what’s keeping that sci-fi drive alive inside me, as I’m looking forward to seeing what non-BioWare developers can do with the squad-based, choice-centric action-RPG-in-space template.
Although developer Owlcat Games has been clear about The Expanse: Osiris Reborn being different from Mass Effect in key ways (something that’s confirmed by many Osiris Reborn previewers), the similarities are admittedly hard to ignore. Osiris Reborn is a third-person RPG with squad-based cover shooter combat, dialog choices, character bonds, and so on—it’s not exactly beating the “BioWare-like” allegations. But Owlcat still aims to expand and improve upon the foundation set by its progenitors, and it looks like the companion system, a key ingredient in the BioWare formula, is one area being especially targeted for improvement.
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn’s Companion Mechanics Are a Natural Progression From Mass Effect’s
Much like classic Mass Effect, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn will see players departing on various missions with a maximum of two squadmates for support. And again, in typical Mass Effect fashion, a sizable chunk of the campaign seems to be dedicated to finding and recruiting new squad members and allies, growing your ragtag team as you go along. In Mass Effect, you then go on to bond with these NPCs during missions, or back on the Normandy.
Things seem much the same in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, but with some key differences. First of all, there’s something called the exploit system, which allows the player to command allies to engage with specific environmental hazards on the battlefield. This is a small touch, but it’s also an elegant step forward from Mass Effect‘s tactical, team-based cover shooting, which extensively rewards micromanaging companions.
Osiris Reborn Grants More Complete Use of Your Team
More interesting than exploits are the capabilities of your benched companions. In Mass Effect (as in so many other squad-based RPGs—the recent Star Wars Zero Company features this quirk as well), you’ll sortie with a finite number of companions, with several more just relaxing on the ship in the meantime. I’ve always wondered why Commander Shepard would only bring two teammates with them, leaving several other, immeasurably valuable, assets back at home base to twiddle their thumbs.
Of course, I know why this is done: bringing your entire beefed-up Mass Effect crew with you on a mission would break the game and destroy BioWare’s carefully crafted combat balance. But nevertheless, this design choice can undermine immersion at points, as you can see the developer’s hand, so to speak. It can also undermine the core narrative and RPG elements that Mass Effect relies on, forcing the player to unnaturally compartmentalize their relationships with NPCs while simultaneously encouraging participation in a quasi-social sim.
First of all, there’s something called the exploit system, which allows the player to command allies to engage with specific environmental hazards on the battlefield.
This is where The Expanse: Osiris Reborn hopes to pick up some slack. Owlcat has devised the game’s combat RPG sandbox as such that, while on a mission, the player may have an opportunity to call upon a non-deployed squad member for tactical assistance. This assistance could take the form of disabling certain technologies, distracting enemies, or otherwise scraping together an advantage. PC Gamer’s recent Osiris Reborn preview offers one example of this:
“When I needed to get into a crate, for instance, I failed to persuade a Protogen employee that it didn’t matter that I had no paperwork. My persuasion skill wasn’t high enough. But I was able to download some documents from a terminal, which one of my pals onboard my ship used to create a forgery.”
To put this in Mass Effect terms, imagine launching a mission to the Citadel with Wrex and Ashley. Once you get there, though, you realize that a terminal needs to be hacked to get past a certain door. But you’ve already recruited tech expert Tali, who can hack the terminal from the comfort of the Normandy, thereby contributing to the mission without actually being part of the onsite trio.
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn’s Approach to Companions Could Be the Shakeup the “Mass Effect-Like” Needs
There are a few Mass Effect-inspired games on the horizon, which I’m quite excited about, but I’m also not sure how they will turn out. Osiris Reborn is a cinematic action-RPG coming from a studio best-known for top-down CRPGs, Exodus will be Archetype Entertainment’s debut, and BioWare itself hasn’t exactly established the best track record in the lead-up to Mass Effect 5. This is to say that all of these releases need to bring their A-game if they want to live up to their Mass Effect inspirations.
Owlcat has devised the game’s combat RPG sandbox as such that, while on a mission, the player may have an opportunity to call upon a non-deployed squad member for tactical assistance.
After learning about Osiris Reborn‘s take on companions, I’m definitely feeling more optimistic than cautious, though. On the mechanical level, expanding what team members can do during combat and making non-deployed allies more useful makes for better gameplay. This is a win in and of itself. But on the narrative level, players are better positioned to bond with and appreciate their team members, deepening their emotional connection to the narrative, and in turn making for a better overall RPG experience.
That, ultimately, is what makes video game storytelling unique. It’s not just about what happens in the cutscenes, but what’s communicated by the gameplay. If a game is telling a story about a tightly-knit band of misfits bonding while working towards a goal, but its gameplay shies away from consistent interaction with said misfits, the story can become less effective. If The Expanse: Osiris Reborn‘s gameplay can cash the check that its story (not to mention its source material) has written, then it has a better chance of sticking the landing overall.
- Developer(s)
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Owlcat Games
- Publisher(s)
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Owlcat Games
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
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Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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Unknown
