The Expanse: Osiris Reborn might have the chops to fill the Mass Effect-sized hole in your life

It's undeniable that there's been a Mass Effect-shaped hole in video games for nearly a decade now, with few sci-fi RPGs scratching the same itch as BioWare's beloved space opera. And while I don't want to relegate The Expanse: Osiris Reborn to just "Mass Effect in The Expanse universe," it's hard not to make at least a surface-level comparison.

It's got third-person power-based combat, complex companions you can romance, and even your very own ship you use to travel around the galaxy. In fact, Owlcat explicitly states that Mass Effect was an inspiration to the development team. However, Osiris Reborn has seemingly also found the most important ingredient of BioWare's formula, feeling. Let me explain. 

Countless games have tried to follow in Mass Effect's formula over the years in some way, including AA Eurojank cult classics like The Technomancer to big-budget darlings like Baldur's Gate 3. Mass Effect has proven to be one of the most influential RPG franchises of all time. But what really made Mass Effect special, in my mind, was that its world, and everything in it, had a sense of purpose - an evocative feeling.  It's perhaps the quintessential example of a world you simply love to exist in, learning about the culture of alien species or someone's favorite otherworldly snack. BioWare's golden era games feel like grounded living worlds, despite all their fantastical mumbo jumbo. 

I've played the new closed beta demo for Osiris Reborn three times, seeing all the different choices and routes through the roughly one-hour story segment it offers. And while there's absolutely room for improvement, especially with combat, I came away excited by the feeling Osiris Reborn left me with. That same intoxicating urge to explore every nook and cranny of this universe, with a character that feels like a part of the world, not a world that revolves around them. 

If you're unfamiliar with The Expanse, it's a grand sci-fi series of novels, adapted into a six-season prestige TV series for Sci-Fi Channel, and then Amazon later on. Taking place 300-400 years in the future, humanity has populated the solar system and is now separated into, largely, three distinct territories: Earth, Mars, and The Belt. Heavy on politics, The Expanse is a rich tapestry of the politics between these three burgeoning nations, and how those get strained even further when humanity discovers it's not alone. 

The caveat here, of course, is that I'm approaching Osiris Reborn as someone quite familiar with The Expanse already. But within that framework, I think the game does a masterful job of really leaning into what makes the series special — a superb mix of fantastical dynamism and real, grounded science. 

In Osiris Reborn, you play as a member of Pinkwater Security, a mercenary who gets hired out for various odd jobs - alongside your twin brother or sister. The demo picks up clearly after the opening, with the protagonist returning to a Pinkwater station after an incident on the space station Eros, where you had a run-in with another mercenary company called Protogen, inadvertently ending with you stealing their ship. 

Split into two halves, the demo lets you explore the station and engage in some riveting gossip and idle chatter, before battling Protogen forces that are none too happy with your thievery. I'll say from the jump that choice seems to be a major focus of Osirirs Reborn, as outside of multiple paths through the demo, there are even multiple endings — one of which ends with the entire thing getting nuked out of existence. 

That's not a huge surprise, based on Owlcat's work with both Warhammer 40K and Pathfinder, but what really impressed me with Osiriris Reborn is how well the studio has managed to capture the look and vibe of The Expanse, translating that into something that feels bristling for exploration. 

Poking around the station, I stumbled upon a few datalogs that revealed the mundanity of daily life for Pinkwater employees, from thoughts on cafeteria food to an Earther employee distraught that he can't take his Belter fiancée to meet his parents on Earth. I even spent a whole ten minutes talking to the local merchant about the gossip people say about my character and their twin. 

There's a phenomenal sense of place even to just this little snippet of the game, and that applies to the visual aesthetics too. Much like The Expanse show, there's a kind of chunkiness to the technical design of the Pinkwater Station, mixed with industrialist design. 

But after a bit of exploration, the bulk of the demo focuses on trying to escape Protogen forces and stalking through the station to reach your ship. Based on the decisions you make, you'll be faced with different paths, dangers, and opportunities. 

While combat feels overall fine, it's the aspect that I feel the game needs to improve upon the most with the beta test — there are good ideas, but they're unrefined. There's a sense of imprecision or floatiness to the overall controls, with the third-person shooting playing a lot like Gears of War. You can issue commands to allies mid-battle, having them focus on specific enemies or use a skill. But the element that really stands out is the environmental interaction.

You might be able to see a pipe sticking out of the station's side, order your ally to shoot it, and then send an explosive shockwave along a whole section, tearing the ground and enemies into pieces. In another scene, a party member activates a turret on your ship, letting you eviscerate an entire squad with a hail of bullets, while you fight off another squad. These interactable elements are smartly woven into environments to make them feel like dynamic set pieces, rather than simple gimmicks. 

And even though combat feels a bit clunky right now, it does thematically fit The Expanse universe in that regard, especially when fighting in Zero Gravity. You aren't wearing Halo's Spartan suits, you're waddling around in big spaceman outfits. The audio design in the Zero G segments is also superbly done, filtering noise, including gunshots, through a waterlogged filter. It sometimes even makes it hard to figure out where enemy shots are coming from, forcing you to rely solely on sight and not audio cues. 

It's that dedication to adapting the ideas of The Expanse that ultimately has me excited for Osiris Reborn — and I don't even mean sticking to the "canon" or established events. I mean, really, truly, translating The Expanse into a video game format, and "gamifying" the unique elements of the franchise. 

Owlcat has clearly taken cues from some of the genre's greats, but the studio clearly wants to put its own stamp on things at the same time, not just be an imitator. Like with any RPG of this ilk, the truth is ultimately going to be in the quality of writing and how compelling progression feels. But I can at least say that Osiris Reborn makes a strong first impression — especially for anyone hungry for a specific kind of sci-fi roleplaying experience.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is set to release in 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam, Epic, GOG). The closed beta is available now to those who have pre-purchased the Miller’s Pack or the Collector’s Edition.