Exo One blurs the boundaries between game and art project. An innovative experience for which you have to be in the right mood.
The pre-Christmas period is traditionally dominated by big game releases. This year is no exception. But as you’ve probably noticed, virtually every major release is struggling with its own problems right now: The GTA Trilogy is an absolute flop, the new Battlefield 2042 is one of the worst-rated games on Steam and Halo: Infinite leaves its fans in despair because of a completely outdated progression system.
But luckily there are still those little Steam gems that stand out positively among all the failures – and Exo One is one of them. A full 93 per cent of all Steam users give the sci-fi game a positive rating. There must be more to it than grandiose graphics!
What is Exo One about?
Exo One is not easy to explain without giving too much away. Basically, everything here revolves around an interplanetary journey through space. You control a kind of alien spaceship and explore extraterrestrial landscapes. The goal is always the same: to reach a portal that can be seen from far away and that will catapult you to the next planet.
This sounds very simple at first, but the big highlight is the movement system: Your vehicle can change its shape to reach its destination as quickly, efficiently and stylishly as possible. In sphere mode, you can increase the gravity of your ship tenfold.
If you use this while rolling down hills or slopes, you will accelerate to murderous speeds. You can then use the bumps in the landscape as a ramp to soar high into the air with a perfectly timed jump and sail across the magnificent planets in Frisbee form in glide mode.
This way of moving around takes some getting used to in the first few minutes of the game, as I roll a bit awkwardly over the dusty dunes of the first desert planet at first. However, I quickly develop a feeling for when I need to press the only three buttons – gravity, jump and glide – to build up momentum. And then Exo One becomes a truly satisfying experience: flying through the varied worlds at crazy speeds, so that breaking the sound barrier results in a noticeable bang, provides a thrill despite the actually simple game mechanics.
Why Exo One is so good
Although the innovative movement alone can be motivating enough to play through Exo One: The true strength of the game lies in its incredibly dense atmosphere. However, this does not stem from an epochal story.
Although there is a story about a failed Jupiter mission and lost astronauts, it is told in an eerily cryptic manner. Blurred images, audio snippets playing backwards, text passages slipping into the picture – the plot is confused, but definitely leaves room for interpretation and thus at least contributes to the surreal atmosphere.
If you really want to learn to love Exo One, you have to be in the right mood for it. Ideally, you should be in a dark room with a large monitor and soundproof headphones. Because then the game can almost become an audiovisual, almost meditative experience that won’t let you go until the end.
The nine worlds are incredibly varied and each has its own ambience. Early on in the game, for example, you land on a huge water planet where huge waves keep burying the ship. With a little practice and the right timing, however, you can also skim across the water like a powerfully thrown stone.
An excellent sound design perfects the experience: While I’m crashing down the slopes with my vehicle, I literally long to be able to take off again as quickly as possible and feel largely weightless due to the gentle gliding sounds.
You can already tell: Exo One is not a game for everyone. There are no fights, not even dangers – everything is exceedingly peaceful and everyone gets to the end here at some point. But while one person will play themselves into a relaxing trance, for another Exo One is a very lame game in which you can be very fast – or just pretentious and boring.
If you’re subscribed to PC Game Pass, however, you should definitely give Exo One a try as part of the offer. It might really surprise you. And if you like quieter games à la Journey or Abzu anyway, you won’t regret buying it on Steam and in the Microsoft Store for 16 euros. The only downside will be that the fun will be over after about two hours.
Editorial conclusion
I’m not really the target group for Exo One. When I play, it’s usually something where I can compete with others online in multiplayer – whether it’s Hearthstone, League of Legends or FIFA. That motivates me.
But somehow I played Exo One at just the right time, on an autumn Sunday when it never really got light. For days like that, when you don’t want to go out anyway, the game is perfect.
I can well imagine playing through the game one or two more times in the coming months. However, I would much rather not have to play the campaign for that, but instead there would be a free-fly mode in which I could simply visit my favourite planets again. The strange story fragments are a bit annoying.
