A demon prepares to swallow the kingdom. An alien plague infects entire star systems. A mad tyrant threatens to unleash nuclear Armageddon. It doesn’t matter which plot you choose or which genre you pick: there’s one final defense. You are humanity’s last hope. It’s one of fiction’s favorite tropes, appearing in some of the greatest sci-fi games of all time. Think Mass Effect and Halo. With a dev team including veterans from Naughty Dog, 343, BioWare, and Electronic Arts, this plot’s appearance in Exodus is no surprise. Yet Archetype Entertainment’s focus on time-dilation as a central mechanic could rekindle the flames of this aging star.
Humanity’s Last Hope in Exodus
“Humanity’s Eternal Warriors,” a new short story by Archetype Entertainment, expands the lore of Exodus in both predictable and surprising directions. The Travelers (Exodus‘s heroic protagonists) sacrifice the lives they once knew by mounting a ceaseless battle against the Celestials, humanity’s strongest and strangest rival. Thanks to time-dilation, days of the Travelers’ journey could equal decades or millennia on earth. Every decision the Travelers make ripples through space-time, altering the course of history for their descendants and their world. Smash this premise into the kind of consequential, decision-based storytelling that Mass Effect defined, and you can see why Exodus is exciting.
Good stories about humanity’s last hope make for incredible games. Bad ones, however, can tank otherwise interesting projects. “Humanity’s Eternal Warriors” shares few concrete details of Exodus, keeping most of the game’s story under wraps. It’s therefore hard to say how bold the narrative’s direction will be. Considering time-dilation could play a role in everything from character abilities and combat to travel and relationships, however, Archetype has a big opportunity. If Exodus can realize its ambitions and tell a new kind of last-hope story, it could sit beside Commander Shepard’s adventures in the Halls of Sci-fi Excellence.
