It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I personally can't stop thinking about The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. I'm not a fan of The Expanse—not that I couldn't ever be—and maybe that's ultimately what caused me to enjoy the beta as much as I did, because I didn't have this constant nagging in the back of my head telling me this or that wasn't as "good" as the books or the show. But more than anything else, playing through that exceedingly brief preview of Osiris Reborn brought me back to what I and many others consider to be gaming's greatest trilogy, and it's still just as excellent now as it was then.
At this point, it almost goes without saying that The Expanse: Osiris Reborn has BioWare's original Mass Effect trilogy written all over it, and that's why I've recently revisited the Mass Effect Legendary Edition despite having completed all three games multiple times over the last two decades. In the end, the purpose of this return is twofold. Firstly, I've been wanting to get back into it anyway since the remastered trilogy launched in 2021, and I've been feeling that sci-fi RPG itch that not much else can scratch. But secondly, the Mass Effect Legendary Edition is now acting as a placeholder for The Expanse: Osiris Reborn until it arrives next year. Now, if you're like me, and you're looking forward to Owlcat Games' interactive adventure into the universe of The Expanse, I strongly recommend you revisit (or play for the first time) the original Mass Effect trilogy.
Do You Need to Watch The Expanse Before Osiris Reborn Comes Out?
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn may be rooted in a massive sci-fi saga, but its opening suggests players can step in without knowing the source material.
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Is the Closest Thing to Mass Effect Since Mass Effect
Since I finished Mass Effect 3 after its launch in 2012, I have been waiting for a gaming experience similar to that trilogy, and sadly, there hasn't been one. Mass Effect Andromeda was obviously the closest thing that ever came to it in 2017, but it felt so bloated and unfocused that I never even finished my first playthrough. After a while, I just got burnt out by doing the exact same gameplay loop repeatedly, regardless of what planet I was on, and it wasn't until a year later that I started a second playthrough and finally saw it through to the end. But apart from that less-than-memorable experience, Mass Effect has been a thing of the past—until now.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
To put it plainly, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is the closest thing to Mass Effect since Mass Effect. It feels similar, sounds similar, looks similar, even plays similar, and as one-note as all of that might make it sound, it's actually, in my opinion, its greatest strength. I don't think I'm alone when I say that I just want something new that makes me feel the way Mass Effect once did, and if that means something has to unashamedly mimic it, then bring it on. Where Andromeda tried to evolve the formula, it failed in its execution, so Osiris Reborn bringing things back to basics, with a touch of polish, might be the best move anyway.
As I said in my preview of the game, "What stands out almost immediately is how The Expanse: Osiris Reborn manages to feel so much like Mass Effect without actually being Mass Effect." Somehow, based on my roughly 90 minutes with the sci-fi RPG, Osiris Reborn feels more like the original Mass Effect trilogy than even Andromeda did, laying my concerns that no one but BioWare would ever be able to create an experience like it to rest. Sure, maybe I only got to play a very small portion of Osiris Reborn, and it could be that the final product really will have me eating crow, but I'm confident this is the game Mass Effect fans have been waiting for.
Where Andromeda tried to evolve the formula, it failed in its execution, so Osiris Reborn bringing things back to basics, with a touch of polish, might be the best move anyway.
The atmosphere, the worldbuilding, the combat, the characters—all of it feels like Mass Effect if it were made in the 2020s. The ambient noises of a distant news broadcast or a couple of individuals having a heated conversation about a recent incident all help establish the same "in-space" vibe the original Mass Effect trilogy did. The lore tidbits that find their way into dialogue exchanges between Osiris Reborn's protagonist and its various characters are all deeply immersive and interesting in the same way. The combat is simple, but Mass Effect's combat was as well, and it was never the heart and soul of the experience anyway. At the very least, it's a bit more difficult.
But Osiris Reborn's greatest strength is, in my opinion, its characters—the one thing it really needed to nail if it hoped to follow Mass Effect's legacy. The majority of the characters I encountered during my preview of the game weren't even companions, and yet I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with each one and learning more about them. I've actually found it quite confusing that some players think the voice acting in Osiris Reborn isn't all that great. If that's the case, then Mass Effect's voice acting is poor as well, because the cadence, tone, and delivery of the voices behind Osiris Reborn's characters sound like they came straight from actors performing in a BioWare recording booth.
Why the Mass Effect Trilogy Is Worth a Replay Today
But none of this is designed to make you want to play The Expanse: Osiris Reborn if you're a fan of Mass Effect. Rather, it's intended to draw you back to BioWare's Mass Effect trilogy, whether it's the original releases or the Mass Effect Legendary Edition remaster. This is a trilogy that is still very much worth playing today, because no technological advancement or modernization of gameplay could ever replace what BioWare accomplished with Shepard's story. Sure, the first game is clunky in a way that is impossible to ignore now, and even Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 have gameplay that show its age in places. But the reason the trilogy still holds up is that it understands the value of its characters, its world, and the player's place within both.
That's what so many games have struggled to replicate since Mass Effect 3 launched in 2012. Plenty of RPGs have had bigger worlds, better combat, deeper customization, and more impressive technology, but very few have managed to make a party, a ship, and a galaxy feel as personal as Mass Effect did. The Normandy became memorable because of the people inside it, and those people mattered because BioWare took the time to make them feel like more than quest-givers with backstories attached. Garrus, Tali, Liara, Wrex, Joker, Anderson, Mordin, Legion, and so many others became the reason the trilogy worked as well as it did.
That's also why the Mass Effect trilogy is still so easy to return to. Its best qualities have little to do with its visuals, its combat, or its size. Instead, it's about how the game makes you feel like you're part of a legitimate crew filled with individuals you actually want to be around. Even knowing how certain choices play out, there is still something compelling about starting over, rebuilding those relationships, and watching the consequences stack up across three games. That kind of continuity is still rare, and it is one of the biggest reasons Mass Effect has been so difficult for other sci-fi RPGs to follow.
No technological advancement or modernization of gameplay could ever replace what BioWare accomplished with Shepard's story.
So, while The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is what pushed me back toward the Mass Effect trilogy, replaying it has reminded me why so many games are still measured against it. Mass Effect is special because it gives its galaxy scale without letting that scale swallow the people who make it matter. If Osiris Reborn can eventually capture even part of that same feeling, it could be something special in its own right. Until then, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is still the best way to remember why this trilogy earned its reputation, and why revisiting it now is one of the best ways to prepare for what's ahead.
- Developer(s)
- Owlcat Games
- Publisher(s)
- Owlcat Games
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
WHERE TO PLAY
