Exodus: A Deep Dive for the Dedicated Futurism Fanatic.

For a particular breed of science-fiction fan, the revelation of Exodus stood as the biggest news from a prestigious gaming awards ceremony. It's worth noting, those very fans may not have grasped its full importance during the initial showcase.

Exodus, the first project from a freshly formed studio filled with veteran talent from a legendary RPG developer, was first announced a couple of years prior. At the latest event, the development team provided an projected release window of 2027, accompanied by a action-packed trailer. Prior to this presentation, the studio's leadership discussed some of the real scientific theories that underpin for the game's universe: relativistic time effects, genetic alteration, and galactic expansion. These are all suitably heady ideas, which are inherently tough to convey in a brief, showy trailer.

“I would have preferred some of those intriguing and novel ideas were highlighted in the trailer. My takeaway was ‘standard man in space,’” wrote one observer. Another quipped, “The vibe I got was ‘this is like a well-known space opera RPG at home.’” Reactions in community spaces were correspondingly mixed.

The trailer's approach certainly is understandable from a commercial angle. When striving to stand out during a marathon deluge of game announcements, what sells better: Scientists discussing the finer points of theoretical science? Or enormous robots combusting while other war machines fire lasers from their visors? However, in choosing visual bombast, the developers omitted to include the quieter concepts that make Exodus one of the more intriguing scientifically rigorous games coming soon. Let's delve deeper.

The Question of Humanity

Does Exodus contain aliens? Perhaps. It depends. Look at that scene near the start of the trailer, showing a being with ashen skin and technological components fused into their form. That was definitely an alien, correct? Ultimately hinges on your stance regarding one of the game's core philosophical questions: If you applied incremental change logic to the human DNA, is what remains still human?

“We want the Celestials... for a player not intending to invest significant amounts of time into learning the backstory, to still comprehend the core concept that they're evolved humans, understand that they’re an antagonist you have to face... But also, importantly, make sure it's enjoyable and that they're cool and that they function effectively to encounter,” explained the studio's head.

Comprehending how these otherworldly beings aren't strictly aliens requires understanding immense expanses of both the galaxy and time. Time dilation — the Einsteinian theory that time moves differently for rapidly traveling objects — is an fundamental scientific basis of Exodus’ fictional framework. Here are the essentials: Humanity abandons a dying Earth in the 23rd century for a distant corner of the Milky Way. Due to time dilation, some human voyagers arrive centuries before others. Those early arrivals extensively engineered their DNA and assumed the “Celestial” moniker.

“There’s various stages of evolution. The people who reached the Centauri cluster first... had many thousands of years of evolution into the Celestials... They really see standard humans as sort of unevolved, lesser, not really suitable for the upper echelons of society,” stated the game's lead writer.

Exodus is set about 40,000 years in the future. Ponder that immensity — that's the equivalent of all of recorded human history multiplied ten times over. Now think about what humans would evolve into if they spent ten entire human histories advancing the limits of genetic manipulation. You would never identify the end product as human. You might certainly believe you're seeing an alien. The most fearsome lineage of Celestial, known as the Mara-Yama, can take diverse forms. Some possess talons and appendages and stand enormously tall. Others are covered in armored plating. According to expanded universe lore, when Mara-Yama travel between stars, their physical forms can break down into little more than a fleshy blob attached to a head.

Technology and Lore

Between the pyrotechnics, beam attacks, and battle bears, you might have caught snippets of otherworldly technology in the trailer. The protagonist, Jun Aslan, uses a shiny machine that produces a purple glow. A spaceship flies into a portal and disappears at near-light speed. This all seems outside human comprehension, the kind of tech linked to a Type 3 civilization. Yet, these are further examples of concepts that appear alien but are deeply rooted in humanity's own evolution.

Beyond the core development team, the Exodus universe is being authored by what the narrative lead called a duo of “renowned authors.” One bestselling author has already published a massive novel set in the universe, with another planned, while another prolific writer has penned a series of short stories. Bringing such respected science-fiction writers into the world years before the game's release has allowed the studio to develop a dense fictional universe as a foundation for the game.

“It was really a joint venture. We had set some parameters, and working with him, he would have ideas... and we would work to see how they all integrated... With someone as established, you don't want to handcuff him. You want to give him creative freedom,” the narrative director said of the collaboration.

One interesting scene shows Jun appearing to manipulate the ground beneath him, creating stone into a makeshift bridge. This material, called livestone, reacts to mental impulses from Celestials or Uranic humans — descendants of later human arrivals who were allowed specific technologies by the Celestials. Since Jun shows this ability, speculation arises about his nature.

“Jun's not technically a Uranic human... Jun is sort of a hacked version, for want of a better term,” clarified the writer, noting that the ability to use Celestial technology is a “important element of the game.”

The immense scale of the Exodus setting — both in the galaxy and historical time — means there is abundant room for various stories to be told, drawing from the same core lore without risking interference.

Stories Within the Void

Although Exodus has been on the radar for a couple of years and won't arrive, several stories have already told within its universe. The first major novel examines the connection between a Uranic human and a woman whose ship arrived an aeon later than planned, making Celestials totally alien to her experience. An episode of a streaming show recounts a poignant story about a father pursuing his daughter across star systems, with time dilation resulting in life-altering effects on their family; by the time he finds her, she has experienced many years.

The game itself is centered on “Jun’s story,” set on the planet Lidon — a world primarily abandoned by Celestials that has become a refuge. A corrupting influence known as “the Rot” has begun destroying everything, including critical life support systems, and Jun must harness his Celestial-like powers to {find a solution|stop