Exodus: The Ultimate Guide for the Dedicated Sci-Fi Aficionado.
For a distinct breed of science-fiction enthusiast, the announcement of Exodus stood as the most significant reveal from a recent gaming awards ceremony. Interestingly, those very fans may not have grasped its full importance during the initial showcase.
Exodus, the first project from a recently established studio populated with former talent from a famous RPG developer, was originally unveiled a couple of years prior. At the latest event, the development team provided an early release window of 2027, accompanied by a action-packed trailer. Prior to this reveal, the studio's leadership elaborated on some of the authentic scientific concepts that serve as the basis for the game's universe: relativistic time effects, human augmentation, and interstellar colonization. These are all suitably complex ideas, which are notoriously difficult to convey in a brief, marketing-driven trailer.
“I would have preferred some of those intriguing and new ideas were highlighted in the trailer. What I perceived was ‘stereotypical man in space,’” wrote one commenter. Another responded, “All I got was ‘we have a well-known space opera RPG at home.’” Feedback in fan hubs were equally mixed.
The trailer's approach undoubtedly is logical from a marketing perspective. When attempting to make an impact during a marathon deluge of game announcements, what is more marketable: A group debating the finer points of theoretical science? Or enormous robots exploding while more giant robots emit lasers from their visors? However, in prioritizing visual bombast, the developers omitted to include the more nuanced details that make Exodus one of the more exciting hard sci-fi games coming soon. Let's delve deeper.
The Question of Humanity
Does Exodus include aliens? Perhaps. The answer is nuanced. Recall that scene near the beginning of the trailer, depicting a humanoid with gray-blue skin and metal components merged into their form. That was surely an alien, yes? The truth hinges on your perspective regarding one of the game's central existential inquiries: If you applied Ship of Theseus philosophy to the human biology, is what results still human?
“We want the Celestials... for a player not intending to invest large amounts of time into learning the lore, to still understand the core concept that they're evolved humans, recognize that they’re an foe you have to confront... But also, importantly, make sure it's engaging and that they're impressive and that they function effectively to challenge,” explained the studio's lead executive.
Grasping how these otherworldly beings aren't strictly aliens requires understanding enormous expanses of both the galaxy and temporal progression. Time dilation — the Einsteinian theory that time moves at a reduced rate for faster-moving objects — is an fundamental scientific basis of Exodus’ science-fiction trappings. Here are the basics: Humanity abandons a desiccated Earth in the 23rd century for a distant corner of the Milky Way. Due to time dilation, some human colonists arrive ages before others. Those pioneers radically altered their biology and took on the “Celestial” name.
“There’s different levels of evolution. The people who reached the Centauri cluster first... had tens of thousands of years of evolution into the Celestials... They really see standard humans as essentially unevolved, beneath them, not really suitable for the upper echelons of society,” stated the game's narrative director.
Exodus is set about 40,000 years in the future. Consider that immensity — that's effectively all of human civilization repeated ten times over. Now think about what humans would look like if they spent ten entire human histories pushing the boundaries of biotech. You would absolutely not perceive the end product as human. You might even believe you're observing an alien. The most fearsome strain of Celestial, known as the Mara-Yama, can take various forms. Some possess fangs and claws and stand nine feet tall. Others are protected in exoskeletons. According to expanded universe lore, when Mara-Yama travel between stars, their physical forms can break down into little more than a mass of tissue attached to a head.
Building a Sci-Fi Canon
Among the explosions, energy weapons, and battle bears, you might have noticed snippets of advanced technology in the trailer. The protagonist, Jun Aslan, interacts with a shiny machine that radiates a purple glow. A spaceship jets into a portal and vanishes at incredible speed. This all seems outside human comprehension, the kind of tech linked to a highly advanced civilization. Yet, these are further examples of wonders that seem alien but are firmly grounded in our species' own ascension.
Beyond the core development team, the Exodus canon is being expanded by what the narrative lead called a duo of “renowned authors.” One bestselling author has already published a lengthy novel set in the universe, with another planned, while another esteemed writer has written a series of short stories. Enlisting such legendary science-fiction writers into the world years before the game's release has permitted the studio to develop a rich fictional universe as a framework for the game.
“It was really a joint venture. We had set some parameters, and working with him, he would have ideas... and we would work to see how they all integrated... With someone as established, you don't want to constrain him. You want to give him room to explore,” the narrative director said of the collaboration.
One notable scene shows Jun seemingly manipulate the ground beneath him, fashioning stone into a temporary bridge. This material, called livestone, is controlled by neural commands from Celestials or Uranic humans — descendants of later human arrivals who were allowed certain technologies by the Celestials. Since Jun exhibits this ability, one might wonder about his status.
“Jun's not technically a Uranic human... Jun is sort of a modified version, for want of a better term,” clarified the writer, noting that the ability to interface with Celestial technology is a “important element of the game.”
The immense scale of the Exodus setting — both in the galaxy and the timeline — means there is ample room for various stories to coexist, using the same universe without risking contradiction.
Stories Within the Void
Although Exodus has been on the radar for a couple of years and won't arrive, several stories have already been told within its universe. The first major novel delves into the connection between a Uranic human and a woman whose ship arrived an aeon later than planned, making Celestials totally alien to her experience. An episode of a sci-fi anthology recounts a poignant story about a father searching for his daughter across star systems, with time dilation causing devastating effects on their family; by the time he finds her, she has lived decades.
The game itself is centered on “Jun’s story,” set on the planet Lidon — a world mostly abdicated by Celestials that has become a refuge. A consuming plague known as “the Rot” has begun destroying everything, including essential life support systems, and Jun must master his unusual powers to {find a solution|stop