At Gamescom two weeks ago, I got the amazing opportunity to give The Expanse: Osiris Reborn another try, having previewed the game some months ago for the first time. It’s Owlcat’s first third-person, fully voice-acted RPG adapting the eponymous book series as well as elements of the popular TV show of the same name (well, except for the Osiris Reborn part).
And I loved every bit that I saw.
The preview, which lasted over an hour, let me deeply engage with the game’s level design by dropping me into a massive station on Ganymede. There were so many things to do in the place, from going for mandatory quests and objectives to collectibles hiding around every corner, as well as optional content to explore, people to talk to, and things to read to expand my knowledge of The Expanse and its wonderful universe.
The level design was very consistent, and the NPCs placed within this sprawling station added tremendous atmosphere and a sense of a living, breathing community to the game, which, on top of talking to so many of these characters, created a strong sense of realism.
But the developers did not focus on just providing a huge sandbox environment for you to play in. The station has many levels and is as big vertically as it is horizontally, meaning that there are places in the station that have been long abandoned by its denizens and are instead used for… nefarious purposes like smuggling.
You are allowed to explore these parts during one segment of the main quest, all the while being pursued by a strange monstrosity, which shifts the game from a traditional sci-fi RPG in the vein of Star Trek to a Dead Space-like horror game.
This variety in environments within a single comprehensive level urges the player to explore and actually want to experience everything each part of the game has to offer, and with those mentioned collectibles distracting you with their magnetizing shiny lights, you rarely tend to stay on the beaten path. The art style and sound design only add to the overall space vibes, and that is especially true whenever the game kicks things up to 11.
And that’s where we get to the core part of this article, to which the headline is tied: The Expanse: Osiris Reborn has absolutely incredible combat.
Many parts of this game can be compared to Mass Effect: the protagonist, i.e., you, the player, is called “Captain” all the time, party members constantly engage with the player as well as each other, there is a strong connection between characters on the ground and those that stayed in the ship, the dialogue system plays out in very similar ways, et cetera.
But the combat really stands out and is one of the best parts of this expansive (pun intended) RPG.
I got to play as a sort of technician class, who can use turrets and drones, combined with an SMG and a sniper rifle, to tackle enemies. Enemies are very smart. They try to use grenades to flush you out of cover, use their heavy armor if they have it to close distances and get up in your face, and so on. This forces you to also think on your feet and use everything at your disposal to take them out first.
Placing turrets down on good vantage points and throwing drones to deal with the most annoying enemies is almost mandatory, while grenades can come in handy for enemies hiding behind cover. But even so, the combat would be nothing if it weren’t for the incredible level of depth and realism in all the tools and guns that you use, since every bullet fired feels like it’d been fired.
There’s a lot of kick to the guns, the muzzle flash is awesome, and whenever you shoot someone in the head with a sniper rifle, they sure as hell feel it. Though it’s a numbers game, like any other RPG, I did not notice any bullet sponging on any of the enemies, which further pushes The Expanse: Osiris Reborn toward being a standout title among a sea of RPGs suffering from the same issue, Mass Effect included.
Mass Effect‘s combat was never that great, and by patching up this one flaw, The Expanse stands to be a true successor to that amazing series. And I’m all here for it.
