{"id":32751,"date":"2026-04-25T05:33:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/?p=32751"},"modified":"2026-04-25T05:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:33:22","slug":"the-expanse-1-hour-demo-indicates-promise-for-a-mass-effect-successor-in-upcoming-rpg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/?p=32751","title":{"rendered":"The Expanse: 1-Hour Demo Indicates Promise for a Mass Effect Successor in Upcoming RPG"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

During an initial skirmish in *The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* beta, I halted time, pinpointed an adversary, and instructed my combat associate to bombard them with a fire grenade. At that moment, it became evident to me that *The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* genuinely aims to serve as a spiritual successor to *Mass Effect*. After experiencing the hour-long beta of the forthcoming *Expanse* game, I believe the developers at Owlcat Games are on a promising path to provide the game that *Mass Effect* enthusiasts have long desired.<\/p>\n

The *The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* beta was made available earlier this week for individuals who pre-ordered the pricier editions of the upcoming third-person action-oriented space RPG. It draws inspiration from the sci-fi novels and television series and will reportedly feature some cast members from the show reprising their roles.<\/p>\n

As someone completely unfamiliar with *The Expanse* and its literature, I was uncertain if the beta would engage me. However, the demo cleverly hones in on your main character, your twin sibling, and a small ensemble of characters on a space station as they navigate the violent consequences of a botched mission. By the conclusion of the single quest offered in the demo, I had developed an interest in discovering more about the pivotal players and factions in this universe and was eager to see what unfolds next. In fact, I might even be inclined to watch the show now. Synergy!<\/p>\n

The activities I engaged in during that hour or so of the demo will feel quite familiar and comforting to anyone who has experienced *Mass Effect*. I wandered around a space station, interacted with some individuals, made several dialogue selections, assisted a few people with minor issues, opened a few crates, and ultimately found myself in cover-based firefights where I could employ various abilities and partner commands to level the playing field. At one point, I leveled up and allocated a skill point within a skill tree.<\/p>\n

All of this feels and functions similarly to *Mass Effect*, in a favorable manner. As previously noted, you can directly pause time and issue commands just like in *Mass Effect*. It’s not the most innovative sci-fi RPG I’ve encountered, but many fans excited about this title aren’t seeking something novel. Instead, they crave that dish they often enjoyed before it was removed from the menu.<\/p>\n

This is a beta, so I’m reluctant to critique *The Expanse*’s inconsistent performance on PS5, but the framerate fluctuated significantly. I also noticed the quality of the cutscenes varied greatly. Some were impressive, while others appeared unfinished and lacked vitality. This is likely due to their incomplete state.<\/p>\n

*The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* does not reinvent the wheel. Rather, it is a clear endeavor by a studio to create a space RPG that fills the *Mass Effect*-shaped gap that EA and BioWare have been unable or unwilling to address in recent years. If the complete game matches the quality of this demo and provides more choices with enhanced performance, *Osiris Reborn* could be the comfort food that *Mass Effect* fans, like myself, have been longing for. Additionally, if the developers succeed, fans of *Expanse* will be rewarded with a fantastic RPG. Let’s hope everything goes well and *The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* lands successfully when it debuts in 2027. However, I still have concerns about the studio’s use of genAI and will be curious about how that impacts its final version as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n

During an initial skirmish in *The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* beta, I halted time, pinpointed an adversary, and instructed my combat associate to bombard them with a fire grenade. At that moment, it became evident to me that *The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* genuinely aims to serve as a spiritual successor to *Mass Effect*. After experiencing the hour-long beta of the forthcoming *Expanse* game, I believe the developers at Owlcat Games are on a promising path to provide the game that *Mass Effect* enthusiasts have long desired.<\/p>\n

The *The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* beta was made available earlier this week for individuals who pre-ordered the pricier editions of the upcoming third-person action-oriented space RPG. It draws inspiration from the sci-fi novels and television series and will reportedly feature some cast members from the show reprising their roles.<\/p>\n

As someone completely unfamiliar with *The Expanse* and its literature, I was uncertain if the beta would engage me. However, the demo cleverly hones in on your main character, your twin sibling, and a small ensemble of characters on a space station as they navigate the violent consequences of a botched mission. By the conclusion of the single quest offered in the demo, I had developed an interest in discovering more about the pivotal players and factions in this universe and was eager to see what unfolds next. In fact, I might even be inclined to watch the show now. Synergy!<\/p>\n

The activities I engaged in during that hour or so of the demo will feel quite familiar and comforting to anyone who has experienced *Mass Effect*. I wandered around a space station, interacted with some individuals, made several dialogue selections, assisted a few people with minor issues, opened a few crates, and ultimately found myself in cover-based firefights where I could employ various abilities and partner commands to level the playing field. At one point, I leveled up and allocated a skill point within a skill tree.<\/p>\n

All of this feels and functions similarly to *Mass Effect*, in a favorable manner. As previously noted, you can directly pause time and issue commands just like in *Mass Effect*. It’s not the most innovative sci-fi RPG I’ve encountered, but many fans excited about this title aren’t seeking something novel. Instead, they crave that dish they often enjoyed before it was removed from the menu.<\/p>\n

This is a beta, so I’m reluctant to critique *The Expanse*’s inconsistent performance on PS5, but the framerate fluctuated significantly. I also noticed the quality of the cutscenes varied greatly. Some were impressive, while others appeared unfinished and lacked vitality. This is likely due to their incomplete state.<\/p>\n

*The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* does not reinvent the wheel. Rather, it is a clear endeavor by a studio to create a space RPG that fills the *Mass Effect*-shaped gap that EA and BioWare have been unable or unwilling to address in recent years. If the complete game matches the quality of this demo and provides more choices with enhanced performance, *Osiris Reborn* could be the comfort food that *Mass Effect* fans, like myself, have been longing for. Additionally, if the developers succeed, fans of *Expanse* will be rewarded with a fantastic RPG. Let’s hope everything goes well and *The Expanse: Osiris Reborn* lands successfully when it debuts in 2027. However, I still have concerns about the studio’s use of genAI and will be curious about how that impacts its final version as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}