Exodus’ Hands-On Preview Pairs Weighty Gunplay With Talking Frogs

A mission several hours into the game showcased the shape-changing Recycler, Celestial powers, and companions with sharply different combat roles.

0 10 2 minutes read

Two armed Exodus characters face a large armored bear inside a futuristic station.

Exodus is building its space opera around a strange combination of cover-based shooting, cooldown-powered abilities, companion tactics, and talking animals that can be the size of a small car. A gamescom 2026 hands-on session covered a rescue mission several hours into the single-player action RPG, and the mix is less familiar than its sci-fi influences might suggest.

A hands-on preview from Xbox Wire followed Jun Aslan as the mission moved toward a space station staffed by highly intelligent frogs. An invading force had taken over the station, leaving Jun and companions Suliman and Elise to handle the rescue. The situation soon expanded from freeing a talking frog engineer to dealing with a hostile war-bear after its human friend was killed.

That oddity sits alongside a serious far-future story built around celestial powers, ancient locations, and the consequences of interstellar travel. Exodus clearly wants room for cosmic scale and strange creatures in the same adventure, rather than treating either side as a brief detour.

Jun’s weapons keep combat flexible

Combat gives Jun more options than a standard third-person shooter. The Recycler can change form between weapons such as a burst-fire battle rifle and an energy weapon built to tear through shields. Early encounters combine cover shooting with special abilities, giving the gunplay a central role instead of using it as filler between story scenes.

Crafted and scavenged equipment adds another layer. Jun can deploy hovering, drone-like grenades, while Celestial powers work like combat spells with cooldowns. One ability sends energy erupting beneath enemies from across the arena, and another can petrify targets so companions can finish the job.

Jun and companions fight a towering armored enemy with energy weapons

Suliman and Elise reward different approaches

Companion selection is tied to combat style. The squad handles fights on its own, but Jun can activate each member’s abilities during an encounter and call on powerful ultimate-style attacks when a battle turns dangerous.

Suliman favors stealth and close-range strikes. Suliman can phase behind enemies for a melee takedown or hit several targets in one attack. Elise is much louder, using rocket salvos to deal heavy area damage across a group of enemies.

Those roles give the pair clear uses before and during a fight. Suliman is suited to thinning enemy numbers before combat fully begins, while Elise can help recover when an encounter becomes difficult and retreat is the better option. Their personalities also add the familiar relationship side of a party-driven RPG, but the tactical reason to bring a companion is just as important.

Traveler Oaths make morality more personal

Exodus also moves beyond a simple good-or-evil choice. Traveler Oaths divide the broad Paladin and Immortal paths into more precise expressions of Jun’s personality, giving decisions a more personal direction than a straightforward morality meter.

Companions react differently to those Oaths, so Jun’s chosen outlook can affect how the crew responds. Players will have to balance their preferred path with the relationships they want to maintain, adding another consideration to decisions outside combat.

Underneath those systems is Exodus’ time-dilation premise. Faster-than-light travel can send years forward for the people left behind, allowing Jun’s decisions to affect the crew, missions, and homeworld across generations. The upcoming RPG now has an April 7, 2027 launch date for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. Xbox Play Anywhere will let players access the game on Xbox and PC at no additional cost.

Tell us what you think of Exodus in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

Exodus is an epic new sci-fi action-adventure RPG franchise developed by the team at Archetype Entertainment. The story is fueled by the consequences of player choices due to the impact of Time Dilation and how they change the lives of those we love most.