Archetype Entertainment has shed some light on their upcoming action RPG, Exodus.
As reported by MP1st, Archetype made an interesting choice that distinguishes their game to the franchise it’s frequently compared to Mass Effect. If Mass Effect’s antagonists, in the Reapers and the Collectors, can be understood in terms of their actions and motivations, Exodus’ big baddies aren’t going to be as easy to understand. Archetype’s developers refer to the Mara Yama as evil celestials, saying:
“They’re quite creepy and we did want a Celestial civilization that was just evil.”
Now, evil aliens are a common trope in fiction, but there aren’t that many that explore the idea of celestial evil aliens. One could argue that Lovecraft’s gods, if they are aliens, would fit in that category, but Lovecraft’s work and the fiction inspired by him generally stick to the idea that they are prehistoric beings, as opposed to extraterrestrial. On another level, when the most popular fiction explore the idea of celestial evil aliens, like Doctor Who or Firefly, they usually have to assign identifiably human characteristics to these beings, so that they can be relatable in some way.
Now, an example that we feel jumps out because it’s particularly well known is the 1997 Paul W.S. Anderson film Event Horizon. In an attempt to deliberately avoid comparisons to Alien, Anderson changed gears towards making it more of a haunted house story. One could argue that the Event Horizon ship was itself the antagonist, and one would have a solid argument for it being Weir, the ship’s designer who goes mad. But we’re told in the film that the Horizon opens a gateway to a particularly evil dimension, which is heavily implied to be Hell.
But there’s more. As it turns out, the first peek we got of the game from The Game Awards two years ago revealed a game mechanic and we just didn’t know it then. Exodus has a timeskip element that the player actually has some form of input on. As Archetype explains it, you can choose to go alone or bring a crew, and you can choose to leave family behind or bring them along. The twist is, when you return, it may only have taken a matter of weeks or months for you, but it can take years or decades for everyone else.
And we don’t know if this is a coincidence, but there is also a timeskip element in the plot of Event Horizon. Those who watched the movie will remember that when the vessel enters the Lewis and Clark, another spacefaring ship that had disappeared for seven years, it doesn’t look like it is seven years older.
Maybe we’re reading too much into this, but it would be fascinating if Archetype really used this cult classic film as inspiration. In the same way that Event Horizon deliberately stepped away from being too much like Alien, this may be what Archetype needs to do to distinguish Exodus from Mass Effect.
