With The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, developer Owlcat is taking its first leap out of the isometric RPG genre it's claimed a foothold in with games like Pathfinder: Kingmaker and into something more inspired by the glory days of Mass Effect. Heading into a hands-on preview of the game, my big question is: can the studio really pull that off?
The mission I get to play feels like a direct answer to that question—an hour of third-person combat and visual spectacle, the perfect taster of whether Owlcat has the technical know-how and design expertise for such a major genre shift. The result? I'm feeling much more confident in what the studio has cooking, even if I don't get to see much of the RPG part of this action-RPG.
