Combat and Gameplay
EXODUS's third-person cover-based combat: the shapeshifting Recycler, gauntlet abilities like the Lance, the Railclaw grappling tool, stealth takedowns, squad commands, and branching conversation choices.
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EXODUS plays as a third-person, cover-based action-adventure RPG. Moment to moment, the player moves Jun Aslan in and out of cover, swaps the Recycler between configurations to match range and enemy type, triggers gauntlet abilities, and directs companions to flank or focus targets. Stealth, dialogue, and traversal are first-class systems alongside gunplay, and missions are designed to be solvable through more than one of them.
The skeleton of a typical firefight in EXODUS is:
Enter a contested space and assess the cover layout and the enemy mix.
Pick a Recycler configuration suited to range: precision rifle for snipers, repeater for mid-range mobile threats, spread shot for close packs, a bomber mode that lobs explosives at grouped targets. The Recycler swaps modes on the fly.
Drop into cover, suppress key threats, and use gauntlet abilities (for example the Lance, a livestone javelin that hits for heavy single-target damage) to break stalemates.
Direct companions: tell them to suppress one flank, focus a Changeling shock unit, or pop a special ability for synergy.
Reposition with the Railclaw if the cover layout no longer favors the squad: it pulls Jun up to ledges and across gaps quickly.
Combat is described by the developers as "hard and unrelenting". The Traveler is consistently outnumbered, so positioning, ability timing, and stealth setup matter as much as raw damage.
Most encounters can be opened (or sometimes resolved entirely) through stealth. The toolkit includes:
Spectre Recycler mode. A single-shot stealth configuration of the main weapon for quiet ranged kills.
Gauntlet takedowns. Silent close-quarters eliminations using the same wrist hardware that runs the Lance.
Environmental setups. Tampering with lights, locks, and patrol routes before triggering a fight.
Movement options. The Railclaw and the cover system together allow Jun to relocate without being detected.
Stealth is presented as a viable approach to entire sections, not just an opener. Players who lean on it can still trigger combat when it suits them.
Companions are not autonomous loadouts. The player can pause-or-direct in real time to call specific abilities at specific times. Suggested patterns in marketing include:
Triggering Tom Vargas's marksman shot to silence a long-range threat while Jun closes distance.
Sending Elise Charroux up a flank with a shotgun-class Recycler analog to flush units out of cover.
Letting Salt's mech suit absorb suppressive fire while Jun repositions with the Railclaw.
See Companions and Crew for the full party.
Outside combat, EXODUS uses a branching dialogue wheel with tone indicators (friendly, blunt, manipulative, and so on). The April 2026 community update provided the first detailed look at this UI, including the role companions play in conversations: their reactions can lock or unlock options, and their presence at certain pivotal moments shapes which storylines are still available later.
Choice is reinforced by the Time Dilation framework. Decisions made in dialogue propagate forward through years or centuries of objective time, so a small concession during a conversation can mature into a galaxy-scale outcome by the next Exodus.
Choices in EXODUS feed a two-path morality system. The Traveler commits to one of two alignments: Paladin, the path of virtue, where the player prioritizes others even at a personal cost; or Immortal, the path of ambition, where the player seizes power and opportunity when it serves their goals. The alignment is not just narrative flavor: it influences how non-player characters react, shapes which story and quest branches stay open, and ties directly into progression by changing which abilities can be upgraded and how the Traveler’s powers evolve.
The choice is woven into the same systems described above. A Paladin decision in a high-stakes conversation and an Immortal one can send a mission, a companion relationship, or a faction outcome in different directions, and Time Dilation then carries that outcome forward across years or centuries of objective time.
The Railclaw grappling tool is the headline traversal mechanic. It pulls Jun rapidly up to high ledges, across canyon gaps, and onto otherwise inaccessible vantage points. Outside combat it is presented as a freeform mobility option: the developers describe it as a tool that makes obstacles "part of how you move through the world". In combat it is a fast reposition that can also be used to close gaps to specific enemies.
In addition to the Lance, several other gauntlet abilities have been confirmed in 2026 community updates. Eruption shapes livestone in the environment: in combat it launches enemies airborne, breaking up groups holding a chokepoint and opening short windows for follow-up Recycler shots. Precognition is a scanning ability that marks enemy positions through walls, surfaces tripwire mines, and reads patrol routes; it is the primary intelligence-gathering tool before stealth approaches. Gauntlet takedowns are silent close-range finishers, and the livestone glove is a hardened-fist melee strike for in-the-clinch encounters. The full ability roster, including how each fits into a fight, lives on Gauntlet Abilities.
Companion abilities are not generic damage modifiers. Each crew member's active power is a distinct piece of the squad's combat vocabulary. The May 2026 Ghost City demo showed two such abilities being called in succession by the player:
Elise's Knockdown Missile: a heavy-ordnance burst fired from her mech suit. Smashes through livestone walls and is the squad's reliable area-of-effect opener.
Salt's Ink Mortar: an indirect-fire ability that disrupts enemies holding higher ground. Useful in vertical encounters where the squad cannot easily flush a position with direct fire.
Other companions have their own confirmed abilities and combat archetypes. See Companions and Crew for the full roster and Gauntlet Abilities for the player-side abilities those squad calls combo with.
The May 2026 Ghost City reveal also introduced the Waystation, a lightweight deployable that lets the player resupply mid-mission and acquire upgrades without backtracking to the ship. The Waystation is the first publicly shown checkpoint mechanic in EXODUS. Its exact cost, recharge, and placement constraints have not been disclosed.
Confirmed hostile groups across the April and May 2026 demos include the Zealots, an invading human faction occupying Celestial chambers in the stealth demonstration, and Celestial-made Changelings including the Gath seen in the deeper underground sites. Reinforcements arrive on detection in patrolled areas, which is the primary reason the stealth toolkit and Precognition are headlined as much as the Recycler is. For the faction picture, see Celestials and Factions.
EXODUS supports full controller input and is positioned as a story-first single-player game with adjustable difficulty. Final accessibility options have not yet been published in detail; expect them closer to the Early 2027 launch window. The Release and Platforms article tracks supported languages and platform availability.