Image credit: Archetype Entertainment.

The excitingly Mass Effect-like sci-fi role-playing game Exodus has a proper release date: 7th April 2027. It's coming to PC (Steam and Epic), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Exodus' release date was revealed this evening during the Gamescom Opening Night Live show, at the end of a trailer showcasing a close companion in the game, Salt - an octopus.

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But Salt isn't just any old octopus, she's an 'awakened' octopus - a state that many animals in the game's world share - and she pilots a mech suit. That means she can pummel enemies in more ways than simply wrapping around their faces like a squishy and slightly beaky mask.

Exodus in development at Wizards of the Coast studio Archetype Entertainment, itself made up of former BioWare developers, including writer Drew Karpyshyn, lead writer on the Mass Effect series. The similarities between the two sci-fi series are perhaps expected, then, and their space opera desires are broadly similar. They both involved companions, romances, morality and special powers. But there is an important difference: time dilation.

Time dilation allows Exodus to effectively press fast-forward on important decisions you make so it can show you the consequences of them. This revolves around 'exodus' missions, which are special long-distance tasks you'll need to travel near the speed of light to get to. And when you do, your experience of time changes relative to the people you leave back home. Minutes will pass for you but hours, weeks, months, and even years will pass for those you leave behind. It's a promising idea.

We hope to see more of Exodus at Gamescom this week. Stay tuned for our coverage.

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