We played the press version of The Expanse Osiris Reborn. Is Owlcat Games making their own Mass Effect?

While Bioware is going through a wave of layoffs and still can’t find a creative direction for the new Mass Effect (rumor has it the project is in early pre-production), many other studios are preparing to release their own space operas. Both indie teams and veterans from Bioware itself have joined this race. Their projects, without exaggeration, could overshadow the iconic series about Commander Shepard’s adventures. One of the main contenders is The Expanse: Osiris Reborn from the well-known studio Owlcat Games. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a beta version of the project, and we’re ready to tell you what this game is all about, how it plays, and what the developers still need to work on for their magnum opus to exceed all expectations at launch.

When the first Mass Effect was released back in 2007, one gaming magazine called it “RPG 2.0” for its successful reinvention of the established CRPG genre. We completely agree with this statement: the original Bioware team took the trendy cover-based action and enriched it with the best ideas from classic RPGs. Namely — nonlinear storytelling, polished dialogues, epic galactic-scale narrative, and skill progression thought out to the smallest detail. However, despite all the innovations, the RPG 2.0 model from 2007 never really caught on in the industry. Largely, this was Bioware’s own fault, as they turned the Mass Effect sequel into the genre we’re now used to: action with RPG elements. Fans of the genre are recommended to check out our publication's list of the best role-playing games for low-end PCs and laptops.

Because of these blurred genre lines, nowadays almost any project with progression, numbers popping out of enemies, and colorful loot is called an RPG. Often, this loot only creates the illusion of build variety. When Owlcat announced The Expanse Osiris Reborn and said that their main inspiration was Mass Effect, we felt a glimmer of hope. Hope for the return of that very RPG 2.0 that Bioware once invented. And after playing the beta, our expectations were fully met. But let’s take it step by step.

Unfortunately, the demo segment in the beta version was too short to reveal much about the plot and its twists. We were shown only a small level, which generally illustrates the game’s key features. But even based on what we saw, we can draw a preliminary conclusion: the lore (which, by the way, is based on popular books and the TV series), the atmosphere, and the dialogues are all in excellent shape.

The main character arrives at the bustling Pinkwater-4 station together with their twin brother (or sister — depending on the chosen class). They end up there after some unpleasant events, which we only briefly learn about through dialogues. The heroes also brought a ship, which, judging by later events, will play a key role in the main story. For now, the protagonists are in a safe zone and need to report the situation to the station chief. And, of course, right after the conversation, a squad of thugs arrives, intending to take the ship and eliminate our heroes, who, judging by the dialogues, have seen something they weren’t supposed to.

You can ask the station chief to help you: arm all the staff and take up a defensive position. Or you can try to reach the ship on your own, without putting innocent people in danger. This choice plays a key role in the playthrough — depending on your decision, not only the setting but the events themselves will change.

On our first playthrough, we asked the chief for help, not yet knowing what this would lead to. The staff really did take up arms and went to war with the mercenaries. The corridors filled with corpses, and some areas became blocked off. As we made our way through waves of enemies and solved fleeting tasks, we explored the environment and realized more and more clearly: innocent people were dying because of our actions. In the end, we managed to escape from the invaders. But all that was left of the station was space debris — thanks to a detonated warhead.

On the second playthrough, we chose a different path and asked the station chief not to get involved in the conflict. To our surprise, he agreed — and even went to negotiate with the invaders. Imagine our surprise when the subsequent story, the look of the locations, and even some routes completely changed compared to the first playthrough. For example, a previously looted room was now locked — with some hacking, we found a gun we hadn’t encountered before. And the ending was much more positive: the staff survived, the station remained intact, and this time the chief didn’t get a bullet to the head.

This small gameplay segment clearly demonstrates how much the experience of playing through the same location can differ depending on your choices. For example, in the head office we received a quest to deliver a gift. And if we had later chosen the violent path, the quest giver would have died in the explosion of the station — and who knows how that story would have ended. There are also places in the location that can be approached in different ways — depending on your decisions. In short, if the rest of the game turns out to be just as branching and variable, this is already at least a “killer feature” that will motivate multiple playthroughs.

Returning to the main story, I also want to separately praise the work done on the dialogues. Even in a short segment, we saw carefully crafted characters with unique personalities and detailed backstories. On top of that, every dialogue is excellently directed and voiced. The scale and painstaking work on every narrative aspect is immediately felt. It was interesting to talk to the local merchant Luciana, who loves to gossip, and if your hero has a high enough persuasion skill, you can get a lot of interesting details out of her.

Overall, as befits the genre, the game is full of various written materials — from e-books scattered around the station to different terminals. All this variety helps you quickly immerse yourself in the world of "The Expanse," and even this small segment was enough for us to get invested in the local lore. But again, these are mostly standard notes, which are generally read only by a small group of gamers.

The narrative part of The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is currently its strongest side, and is already reason enough to add the game to your wishlist. Considering that we weren’t really shown the inciting incident or the main conflict — just a small slice of a grand story—I want to believe that we’re in for something truly large-scale and epic, on par with the Mass Effect trilogy.

Judging by what we saw in the beta version, the gameplay side of The Expanse Osiris Reborn isn’t polished yet and needs serious refinement. This is especially true for the combat scenes, which raised a lot of questions for us. Since combat is the second most important gameplay element, the developers need to bring this aspect up to par — story and nonlinearity alone won’t be enough. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and look at each gameplay aspect in turn.

Just like in Mass Effect, all gameplay in The Expanse is divided into three segments: action, exploration, and interaction with characters. Let’s start with the latter. The dialogue system in the game is similar to recent Bioware titles in terms of narrative design, but the visual implementation is strikingly different — and, frankly, not for the better. If you remember, Mass Effect uses a dialogue wheel with convenient colored and symbolic cues. It’s simple, intuitive, and clear. In The Expanse, however, dialogue options are displayed on two sides of the last speaker’s line. There’s no clear hierarchy in how the options are arranged, so key quest phrases are mixed together with minor ones that usually just provide extra information. Because of this, we were always afraid to click on dialogue options too quickly, worried we might accidentally close the conversation or say something unintended.

For a standard CRPG, this approach to narrative design is normal, since the entire phrase is usually shown on screen and the player knows exactly what their character will say. But in next-gen RPGs, the dialogue interface only gives a shortened version, hinting at the meaning of the response rather than the full text. That’s why it’s so important to always provide players with visual cues in the dialogue window, so they can quickly navigate conversations with NPCs. Even Fallout 4, which borrowed its narrative design from Mass Effect, had a clear structure in the dialogue window, and when an important story check was happening, the text color would change. We hope the developers of The Expanse will improve this aspect.

The exploration segment is done to a very high standard, and there’s little to criticize here. The Pinkwater-4 station is full of interesting details that motivate you to explore every nook and cranny. For example, you can hack a power circuit (if your skill level is high enough) and follow the conduits to a locked door hiding something useful. Some doors are sealed with a code lock, and the key might be hidden in a note somewhere. There are characters everywhere — some just want to chat, while others offer additional quests. The reward system for exploration is very generous. In addition to extra experience points, we received a couple of interesting guns, armor attachments, and other gadgets.

It’s also worth noting that the beta version allowed us to try out gameplay in open space. The experience felt reminiscent of Dead Space: slow movement, muffled sounds during combat sections, and the ability to walk on walls using gravity boots. It all looks impressive, but it’s missing a special feature that would make open space truly exciting from a game design perspective. For example, in Starfield, the lack of gravity pushed the character backward with weapon exhaust, and enemies would amusingly fly off in different directions. We’d love to see something similar in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. We’d love to see something similar in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. By the way, if you enjoy sci-fi games, be sure to check out our list of the best space games on PC: RPGs, horror, puzzles, and strategy titles.

The action segment in The Expanse Osiris Reborn is, in our opinion, the most controversial and unpolished. The core of the combat system is roughly the same as in Mass Effect — shootouts with cover, abilities, party member skills, and tactical pause. And yes, all these elements work well. But the fights themselves turned out to be clunky and boring. Not long ago, we replayed Mass Effect: Andromeda, and its action segments still feel lively and fun (the game itself is so-so, but the gameplay is good).

The battles in The Expanse really lack dynamism. The stiff enemy animations stand out too much against the rest of the game’s graphics. Enemies move around the arena like wooden soldiers, reluctantly shuffling and preferring to just die from stray bullets — instead of using cover and positioning like in Gears of War. Shielded and melee enemies are supposed to be formidable opponents, forcing players to move around the arena, but in reality, they're just punching bags that hobble after the protagonist and die faster than a regular guy with a gun. Huge juggernauts with grenade launchers and drones just stand rooted to the spot and don’t even try to think tactically. Even snipers don’t bother looking for advantageous positions or interfering with the player as they fight regular enemies. In short, the AI problems are obvious.

The arenas where battles take place look decent: there are plenty of explosive objects and conveniently placed cover. On the other hand, they don’t offer any real challenge or, frankly, “combat puzzles.” The kind where you need to use abilities wisely, make use of tactical pause, and plan every move. Instead, we just ran from cover to cover, shooting at anything that moved. The only thing the local AI can do to win is overwhelm you with numbers. Once, after a scripted scene, we didn’t have time to get to cover, and a huge horde filled the hero with lead from every direction. Fortunately, the twin was able to revive him, and we didn’t have to redo the whole fight.

Overall, the battles in The Expanse Osiris Reborn lack dynamism and adaptive enemy animations. Compared to the rest of the content in the beta version, it was very strange to see battles at a PlayStation 2 level. For now, this is the weakest aspect of the project and definitely needs more polish.

We didn’t get to fully experience the role-playing system. The segment provided by the developers was too short to really develop progression, but judging by the perks and skill trees, we’re in for something similar to the first Mass Effect. There are separate trees for improving weapon skills, increasing armor durability, and reducing ability cooldowns. There are also two separate branches for improving persuasion and technical skills, which are used in social and exploration segments. It looks promising, but we’d like to try the RPG system in practice to really put it to the test. Be sure to check out the most anticipated RPGs of 2026.

There are no complaints about the visuals of The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. By modern standards, the game looks stylish and technologically advanced. The location design is top-notch: vibrant visuals, sharp textures, and an abundance of small details. This applies to both the station interiors and open space. Character design, facial animations, and cutscene direction are all done at a very high level. Yes, there are issues with enemy animations, but we've already mentioned that.

However, the appearance of the weapons didn’t impress. The guns we encountered lacked any special flair or memorable design—nothing that made us really want to use them.

It’s too early to talk about the technical side. In the beta version, performance was not the best: there were FPS drops and occasional stuttering. On the plus side, we didn’t encounter any critical bugs—except for NPCs occasionally changing height, turning into either dwarfs or giants. Otherwise, the segment we saw was fairly polished.

After thoroughly exploring the beta of The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, we were left with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s a beautiful, spectacular, and impressively directed space opera with striking nonlinearity, interesting characters, and excellent dialogues. On the other hand, it’s a rather raw game in terms of gameplay, with outdated combat design, odd AI behavior, and weak dynamics in the action segments. If Owlcat Games focuses all their efforts on improving these aspects and makes enemy encounters truly interesting and challenging, there’s every chance they could outshine not only Mass Effect but all the competition. At the very least, the narrative elements are outstanding. After getting to know the beta, we’re now looking forward to the release of The Expanse Osiris Reborn even more — and we recommend you do the same.