Exodus is an ambitious sci-fi RPG from Archetype Entertainment that shares some DNA with Mass Effect. It’s evident if you know the studio’s history (many of its higher-ranking developers used to work at BioWare), but you can also tell just by looking; it’s nearly impossible to make a story-driven sci-fi game without those comparisons being made. One of the easiest parallels comes with Exodus’ companions, and when I played the game at Archetype’s Austin offices, the dark-haired companion Suliman left quite an impression.
“Suliman is one of the leaders of the Tenjin Dynasty, which is a very powerful faction on Lidon,” Exodus narrative director Drew Karpyshyn told me. “The thing about the Tenjin Dynasty is they are very closely tied in with the Awakened. Suliman […] has a special relationship with them, and is basically a master assassin and spy who you need to ally with to help you.”
Awakened animals are essentially larger, smarter, longer-living versions of their standard Earth counterparts. Each has a translator chip so humans can understand them. Suliman is the human representative of a Dynasty that is mostly Awakened, and you need his help in an early mission. As such, he’s generally accompanied by ravens, who have a knack for spying and collecting sensitive information.
“Suliman was essentially – we don’t want to spoil too much of his backstory – raised by the ravens, because they saw him as a useful tool,” Karpyshyn said. “[Suliman] became sort of the face of the Dynasty to make it easier to work with humans. Him being smart and intelligent, he has learned to leverage his position to become more than just a figurehead and become an actual important player in the dynasty itself.”
Suliman is confident, with dark hair, a pretty-boy vibe (the developers mention they used some K-Pop celebrities as a reference), and a know-it-all attitude, probably because intel from his raven companions means he does know quite a bit. He speaks to everyone as if he’s the one in charge, unconcerned with the opinions of others and completely self-assured in his position. He’s not quite rude, though, and even though he’s not really my cup of tea, game director Chris King says they adjusted Suliman over time to be a little less abrasive.
“It’s [a] case where, especially with the Dynasty characters, we were experimenting with a little bit of like, you don’t necessarily want to like them right off the bat, and you’re kind of doing this just because of the job at hand,” King said. “At one point, he was kind of like a rich, spoiled kid that you were meant to hate. But we sort of softened that down a little bit, I would say. And still, he’s maybe a little off-putting when you first meet him. But I think as you get to develop that relationship with him further, people start to like him.”
Karpyshyn adds, “Yeah, He’s pretty self-important and arrogant. But then once you see him in a level and you see his abilities, you’re like, ‘Oh, okay, yeah, he walks the walk, doesn’t just talk the talk.'”
I had this exact experience in my demo. Suliman guides Jun, the protagonist, on a mission to Khonsu, a space station that orbits your homeworld, Lidon. It’s a dangerous situation, as the orbital platform is crawling with both enemy troops and Ghosts (essentially ancient security robots), but Suliman makes the whole ordeal much easier. And that’s especially true if you’re trying to move stealthily.
Combat in Exodus has you play as Jun to shoot enemies in third-person, but pressing one of the bumpers allows you to command your companions as well. Suliman’s basic ability, Shadow Step, has him turn invisible and essentially teleport behind an enemy to take them out. It reminds me of the recruits in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood and Revelations, where you can tap a button and summon an ally from a nearby bush to take out an opponent. Suliman spawns in, deals a bunch of damage, and retreats without being seen.
Meanwhile, his Ultimate Ability, Vendetta, has him deal damage to three enemies and apply a corrosive effect. You can use that to trigger a synergy, one of the main ways you interact with companions in combat, by throwing a thruster grenade and spreading the corrosion even farther.
“If you’re not into stealth, Suliman still comes in handy though,” King tells me. “All [of Suliman’s moves] are valid in normal, regular, action combat, but I think that’s sort of his area of expertise. […] If you like sneaking around, he can really get you some quick kills off the bat.”
I will likely not romance Suliman (though that is an option), but I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds his way into my regular adventuring party purely due to his cool combat abilities. I also can’t help but sympathize with his empathy for Awakened – it’s hard to side against a guy telling people not to point guns at giant frogs, my favorite faction in the game.
Exodus launches next year on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. For more exclusive interviews, hands-on impressions, and details on other companions (like Salt, the octopus in a mech suit), check out our coverage hub, which we’ll continue to update for the entire month.