Can Osiris Reborn Avoid Mass Effect's Mistake?
· fashion
Can the Upcoming ‘Expanse’ Game Avoid the Biggest Mistake of ‘Mass Effect’?
The upcoming video game adaptation of The Expanse, Osiris Reborn, has generated buzz with its decision-tier system, which promises to give players agency and consequence. However, this approach poses significant challenges in adapting a series with an established canon.
One challenge is navigating The Expanse’s rich history, comprising nine books and multiple TV seasons. Owlcat Games must balance player choice with the need to stay true to the source material. The decision-tier system in Osiris Reborn is heavily influenced by Mass Effect, which raises concerns that it may suffer from a similar problem: limiting player choices into a few binary options at the end.
This is a classic risk of choice systems in games – no matter how many decisions players make throughout the experience, they often boil down to a few key choices that determine the ultimate outcome. Owlcat Games’ innovative approach uses an internal development system called Etudes to track player decisions and their consequences. This allows for a high degree of granularity in the game’s narrative, with even small choices having a ripple effect on the world.
However, critics have noted that it’s unclear whether these choices will truly be meaningful – or just cosmetic. The Expanse is an unusual property to adapt into a video game because of its established canon. Unlike many other franchises, which are still evolving and growing, The Expanse has a fixed and well-defined history that can’t be easily altered.
This raises questions about the nature of player choice in an established universe – can players truly make meaningful decisions when they’re operating within a pre-existing framework? Mass Effect 3’s infamous ending is often cited as an example of how this problem can manifest. The game’s binary choices at the end were widely criticized, and it’s this same issue that Owlcat Games is trying to avoid with Osiris Reborn.
However, by embracing a decision-tier system so heavily influenced by Mass Effect, the developers may be inadvertently recreating the same issues. The use of choice systems in games has become increasingly prevalent over the past decade, but their limitations are often overlooked. While players crave a sense of agency and consequence, they also want to feel that their choices have a lasting impact on the world.
Osiris Reborn’s implementation falls short in this regard – will it truly deliver on its promises, or will it suffer from the same problems as Mass Effect 3? Despite these concerns, Owlcat Games’ approach to choice is undeniably ambitious. By attempting to balance player agency with the need to stay true to the source material, the developers are taking a significant risk.
Ultimately, the success of Osiris Reborn will depend on its ability to deliver meaningful choices and consequences that feel lasting in their impact. If Owlcat Games can pull this off, it will be a major achievement for the industry – but if it falls short, it may suffer from the same criticisms as Mass Effect 3.
Reader Views
- TCThe Closet Desk · editorial
While the decision-tier system in Osiris Reborn is undoubtedly innovative, I'm worried that its reliance on Etudes might create a sense of artificial granularity. By tracking every player choice and consequence, the game risks becoming overly complex and convoluted. What's missing from this discussion is an examination of how the game will handle player decisions that contradict established lore. Will these choices be cleverly integrated into the narrative or awkwardly tacked on? The Expanse's rich history demands a more nuanced approach to choice systems, lest we end up with a Frankenstein's monster of contradictions and plot holes.
- THTheo H. · menswear writer
While Osiris Reborn's decision-tier system has garnered attention for its potential to mirror player agency in Mass Effect, it's crucial to consider another aspect of choice systems: narrative momentum. In a series with as dense and well-defined a history as The Expanse, even the smallest player decisions must carry significant weight or risk feeling inconsequential. This is particularly challenging when working within an existing canon; the stakes are already high, but if choices don't feel impactful, they can ultimately dilute the game's sense of agency.
- NBNina B. · stylist
The elephant in the room is that even with the most advanced choice systems, player agency can never fully replace the organic evolution of a narrative over time. Owlcat Games' Etudes system is undeniably sophisticated, but it's still bound by the limitations of an established canon. The Expanse's fixed history raises questions about the true value of "meaningful" choices – do they truly reshape the world, or just provide a veneer of player control? We need to see how Osiris Reborn handles these complexities before we can say with certainty whether it will avoid Mass Effect's pitfalls.