A Mass Effect spiritual sequel set in the universe of The Expanse? Yes please!

With a sharp hiss of oxygen as the pressure equalizes, the heavy doors of Pinkwater 4 Station’s airlock swoosh open. To my left, bored-looking mercs tricked out in high-tech gear loiter, waiting for transport to the next job. A wall-mounted screen hosts a bewildering array of charts and numbers that presumably mean something to someone. To my right, a busted door displays a system error. A rusty stepladder, a length of loose cable, and a few hastily scattered traffic cones lie abandoned on the floor beneath it, hinting at a more pressing emergency elsewhere.

This is The Expanse as fans know it: hard science fiction with a down-to-earth, lived-in feel that grounds it in a recognizable reality. A future where humanity has colonized the entire Solar System, but a dodgy doorway on the blink and an overworked engineer pose an equal threat to enemy gunships or alien technology. More than six years after the novels and successfully adapted TV series ended, developer Owlcat Games is stepping back into the universe with The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. If nothing else, they’ve absolutely nailed the vibe.

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Owlcat has nailed the aesthetic of the Expanse, from the lived-in look of interiors

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to the industrial design of its architecture.

Exploring Pinkwater 4 Station

Owlcat is best known for the Pathfinder games and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader and has a reputation for building deep, complex, but fairly traditional isometric CRPGs. Osiris Reborn is a big departure: a cinematic, narrative-driven action RPG and third-person cover shooter, openly inspired by Mass Effect. Conversation around the game has been dominated by comparisons to BioWare’s classic series, and now a closed beta launching on April 22nd will give early supporters a chance to see how it compares and what sets it apart.

The beta drops you into an early-game story mission that offers a taste of the full gameplay loop and sets up the plot that runs parallel to the early events of the books and show. After escaping a catastrophic event on Eros Station in a stolen ship, your player character and their twin (both Pinkwater mercenaries) are on the run. Pursued by powerful enemies, they arrive at Pinkwater 4 Station to regroup and begin investigating the cause of the disaster.

You’ll explore the space station and chat with its inhabitants, engage in a handful of firefights, step outside for a bit of zero-G traversal and combat, and make a few key choices that impact how events play out. Exploration sees you scanning the station for useful items, reading scattered notes and terminals, and solving simple environmental puzzles - a locked door is breached by following a power line; another requires finding a keycode in an email. There are interesting lore nuggets tucked away for series fans to uncover, and deep NPC dialogue trees wring good mileage out of the lively, characterful writing.

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The combat will feel very familiar to Mass Effect fans

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but some explosive set pieces heighten the drama

Guns Blazing

Exploration is punctuated by stop-and-pop cover-shooting sequences, with a tactical pause to issue simple commands to companions. There’s nothing new or surprising here, but it works well. Weapons feel punchy, destructible environmental elements add a little dynamism, and downed enemies ragdoll appropriately like it’s 2007. Tightly scripted set-piece moments add further spice, with a mag-boot-powered spacewalk around the station’s hull a particular highlight, and a climactic battle delivers a gleefully destructive spectacle as a companion lays down covering fire from a gunship.

Character build feeds into all modes of play, with a choice of four starting classes determining initial stats, and separate skill trees for exploration and combat allowing for fine-tuning as you earn XP and gain skill points. Equipment loadouts add further customization, with a range of options even at this early stage. Gadgets like grenades or special ammo types provide active abilities for direct use in combat, while Subsystems grant passive buffs to increase damage or power up abilities. Outside of combat, Perception checks reveal items behind hidden panels, broken machinery requires Engineering skills to fix, opening new paths, and Persuasion unlocks dialogue options, convincing a local merchant to dish the dirt on the station’s inhabitants.

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Osiris Reborn runs in parallel to the books and TV show. Fans will spot plenty of references.

For Fans of The Expanse and Mass Effect

Osiris Reborn is shaping up nicely. The prospect of a Mass Effect-like set in the universe of The Expanse is a tantalizing one, and this early look suggests the developers are wise to lean into the comparisons. It’s a familiar, if slightly old-fashioned formula, but it fits the license like a glove. And even in this limited slice of gameplay, there’s a variety and pace that feels refreshing in this era of repeatable game loops and vast open worlds. There’s plenty for admirers of both series to get excited about, and if you happen to sit in the center of a Venn diagram of Mass Effect and The Expanse fans, this could be an orbital railgun strike straight to the heart of your interests.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn closed beta will be available for supporters who either purchase Miller’s Pack or the Collector’s Edition from April 22nd. The full game is currently targeting a spring 2027 release.