The Expanse: Osiris Reborn devs Owlcat Games welcome all the Mass Effect comparisons

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

Osiris Reborn creative director Alexander Mishulin knows Owlcat has some seriously big shoes to fill, he welcomes those comparisons.

"First of all, [we feel] humbled [by the comparisons]," Mishulin told Polygon in a recent interview. "Mass Effect is a great inspiration for us because it's an iconic game for [the] Xbox 360 generation, and a lot of [Owlcat] team members played it in their youth. We're inspired by it. Some [people] get into the industry of making games because they saw [Mass Effect] and were inspired and decided for themselves they want to do something similar, or just make games, as a living. So it would be impossible to deny that Mass Effect has [had] a lot of impact on us as game developers."

Still, Osiris Reborn is far from a Mass Effect clone with an Expanse coat of paint. Mishulin says that he and the Owlcat Games team are taking a different approach, especially when it comes to the game's storyline.

"On the other hand, it's an Owlcat Games game and it's different [from Mass Effect] in many ways," Mishulin explained. "First of all, we make our story a little bit differently. We're making more choices and consequences, and we want to make sure that this game still has a lot of them provided with a lot of agency."

Mishulin indicated that players won't simply be stuck with binary choices that force them to play either a goody two-shoes or a total sociopath. Nuance is important to the Owlcat team, and the choices players make in Osiris Reborn will have varying effects, especially with regard to companion characters. For instance, the background players choose for their character (Belter, Earther, or Martian) will affect the way they're treated by both companion characters and other NPCs.

"If you happen to be playing a character of Mars origin or Earth origin — and you will be able to select your origin from the start — you will not be very welcomed on Ceres because of those events," Mishulin said, referencing the destruction of the Canterbury ship, a major plot point in both the TV show and the books. "But if you will be playing [a character of] Belter origin, you will be much more welcomed, and you will have more opportunities, more places to visit, probably some new side quests and everything. But on the other hand, if you [are] of another origin, there will be other opportunities and other places for you [to explore]."

Osiris Reborn — which takes place during the first two and a half seasons of The Expanse TV show — allows players to create their own character who will serve as their ship's captain. The player-character's twin sibling will also be on board, and they may or may not agree with the choices made by the player (not unlike Ryder's twin sibling in Mass Effect: Andromeda, you might note). And in case you were worried, yes, there are multiple romanceable companion characters among the ships' crew.

But despite the emphasis on narrative choices, companion relationships, and third-person combat, Owlcat isn't trying to replicate Mass Effect. Osiris Reborn's developers say they're hoping to learn from and improve upon it.

"Mass Effect is a game that was released quite a long [time] ago, and the games industry now is a little bit different," Mishulin told Polygon. "Other systems were introduced, players [are] now accustomed to a lot more convenient user interfaces, convenient approaches to the gameplay, and we are doing that and not, like, modernizing Mass Effect, but just making a game in the same genre but with all the modern trappings." [/QUOTE][/time]
 
Mi just want kowmang sasa. Any Inyalowda talkin bad bout dis game. Dey na beratna, na copeng ke? Expanse Effect only for true Beltalowda!

the expanse dancing GIF by SYFY

...All seriousness, idk what to expect from the game, seems promising enough at least. Hopefully they stick the landing right since another good Mass Effect story would be unlikely if Andromeda and Veilguard are the only expectations we have.
 
Saw the first season. Couldn't stand any of the characters. Don't get the hype must be one of those internet hive mind things like the wire.
 
Hoping we get a bit of Camina Drummer in this game.

re: the TV series - man, everything is so weird with it. First three seasons were on Netflix, then cancelled, and moved to Amazon. Amazon then make the next three seasons, bringing the total to 6. Then they're hit by the same weird licensing / legal shit that affected Netflix, and now they've had to yank seasons 1-3. Makes absolutely no sense, at all.
 
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