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Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the closest overall game to The Expanse: Osiris Reborn if you want cinematic science-fiction, a recruited crew, dialogue choices, romance and third-person action-RPG combat. Choose Star Wars Outlaws for third-person movement and starship travel, Starfield for a much larger space-RPG sandbox, No Man’s Sky for unrestricted exploration, or The Outer Worlds for compact quests, factions and dialogue-heavy role-playing.
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is not available yet. Owlcat has announced a spring 2027 release for PC through Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5; Owlcat also says it will be included in Xbox Game Pass on day one. That makes any recommendation a matter of matching the experience you want, not finding a mechanically identical replacement.
Owlcat describes the game as a third-person, story-driven sci-fi action RPG. You play a Pinkwater Security mercenary whose shore leave on asteroid Eros turns into a larger crisis. Its announced design combines reactive firefights with tactical scanning, zero-gravity encounters, grenades fitted with small engines, deployable drones, new companions and skill-driven combat. The final game has not shipped, so comparisons below describe the closest established experiences and their differences rather than promising that any title reproduces Osiris Reborn exactly.
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| Game | Best match for | What it does differently | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mass Effect Legendary Edition | Cinematic squad drama, consequential choices and third-person sci-fi RPG combat | A completed trilogy rather than one upcoming game; its combat and setting follow their own conventions | You want the nearest overall story-and-companions substitute |
| Star Wars Outlaws | Third-person action, a named companion, reputation and travel between planets and space | More of an open-world adventure than a party-based RPG | You value outlaw atmosphere and free-roaming traversal |
| Starfield | Character builds, ships, many locations and self-directed science-fiction travel | Less tightly authored companion drama and less focused tactical third-person combat | You want breadth and a large space sandbox |
| No Man’s Sky | Flying, landing, discovering planets, gathering resources and building an ongoing personal story | Not a substitute for an authored mercenary plot, companion scenes or tactical firefights | Exploration matters more to you than scripted drama |
| The Outer Worlds | Faction politics, dialogue checks, compact quests and a crew-based space-western tone | A different perspective and a deliberately satirical voice | Writing and role-playing choices are your priority |
What Osiris Reborn is promising
A story-led mercenary adventure
The announced premise starts with a Pinkwater Security mercenary taking shore leave on Eros. The personal break becomes a crisis that drives the campaign, giving the game a focused protagonist and an authored plot rather than a purely procedural universe. That setup is important when choosing an alternative: a game can offer spaceships and planets yet still feel completely different if its story is mostly emergent.
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- Visit a multitude of exotic planets across levels filled with traps testing your skills to the limit. With Cobra’s superhuman abilities, you will need to relentlessly run, jump and climb, and make sure you use all the means at your disposal to take out your enemies.
- Master Cobra’s iconic weapons, such as the awesome psychogun and the Colt Python 77, to destroy the opponents on your heels, as well as his famous gadgets like the cigar and the grappling hook. You will need all of your arsenal to defeat the powerful bosses standing in your way.
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Reactive, tactical third-person combat
The official preview points to combat that rewards decisions under pressure instead of simple run-and-gun play. Tactical scanning, grenades with small engines, deployable drones and zero-gravity encounters suggest that positioning, information and equipment choice will matter alongside weapon accuracy. The announced skill system also implies that character development should affect how you approach fights.
Companions and relationships
Owlcat has announced new companions, which puts a crew at the center of the experience. The available information does not establish the final number of companions, romance options or the exact consequences of relationships. Treat those details as unknown rather than assuming that every game listed here will provide the same party structure.
Release and access timing
The current window is spring 2027. The announced platforms are PC (Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG), Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, with Xbox Game Pass availability from day one according to Owlcat. Release windows, platform plans and subscription inclusion can change, so verify the store listing near launch.
1. Mass Effect Legendary Edition: the closest overall substitute
Why it matches
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the strongest recommendation for readers who picture Osiris Reborn as a cinematic, crew-centered space RPG. EA’s edition includes the single-player content from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, along with more than 40 DLC items. Decisions made in one game carry into the next, so the trilogy builds a continuous relationship between your choices, your crew and the political state of its galaxy.
Its appeal is the combination of authored space-opera storytelling and playable third-person combat. You recruit specialists, talk with them between missions, resolve personal conflicts and make choices that can alter later events. Romance is part of the relationship system, while dialogue decisions let you define the protagonist’s priorities rather than merely selecting cosmetic responses.
Rank #2
Where it differs
This is a finished trilogy, not a new single-game campaign. Its combat, interface and science-fiction setting were designed before Osiris Reborn, so it does not promise zero-gravity encounters, tactical scanning, engine-propelled grenades or deployable drones. It also asks for a much larger time commitment than a standalone adventure because the narrative continues across three games.
Best for
- Players who want the nearest combination of squad relationships, consequential dialogue and third-person shooting.
- Readers who want a complete story now instead of waiting for spring 2027.
- Anyone who values choices that persist across multiple campaigns.
2. Star Wars Outlaws: third-person travel and outlaw atmosphere
Why it matches
Star Wars Outlaws follows Kay Vess, who travels with the companion Nix while navigating criminal syndicates and reputation. Ubisoft presents it as an open-world, third-person adventure spanning multiple planets. You can ride a speeder, explore on foot, pilot the Trailblazer starship through space and let your actions improve or damage relationships with factions.
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That combination makes it a good fit if the fantasy you want is moving through a lived-in space setting as a capable independent operator. The named companion, reputation system and morally flexible underworld premise create some of the same personal and political tension that attracts players to a mercenary story.
Where it differs
Outlaws is primarily an open-world action adventure, not a party-based RPG built around assembling and directing a full combat squad. Nix is a prominent companion, but the game does not present the same established trilogy-style crew structure as Mass Effect. Its setting is the Star Wars universe and its tone is outlaw fiction, so readers seeking The Expanse’s harder-edged political science fiction may find the atmosphere less grounded.
Best for
- Players who want third-person movement across planetary environments.
- Readers who care about reputation, faction reactions and a companion who travels with them.
- Anyone who wants to switch between surface exploration, speeder travel and starship piloting.
3. Starfield: the broadest space-RPG sandbox
Why it matches
Starfield is the choice for scale. GamesRadar’s 2026 space-RPG guide describes a large science-fiction role-playing game in which character backgrounds and skills influence both spaceflight and planet-side exploration. You can build a character around different capabilities, customize and operate ships, visit many locations and decide which activities define your campaign.
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That breadth matches the feeling of choosing your own route through a space setting. Instead of following only one authored chain, you can divide your time among exploration, missions, faction activity, ship systems and character progression. For players who want to inhabit a science-fiction role rather than simply complete a linear plot, this freedom is the main attraction.
Where it differs
Starfield is a weaker match for the specific Osiris Reborn promise of a tightly focused mercenary crisis and reactive third-person tactical firefights. Its scale can dilute the sense of a small crew moving through one escalating story. Companion interactions and faction content exist, but the experience is built around a broad sandbox rather than a compact, authored squad drama.
Best for
- Players who want character backgrounds and skills to shape many kinds of activity.
- Readers who care about ships, planet-side travel and a large number of destinations.
- Anyone willing to trade narrative concentration for freedom and systemic variety.
4. No Man’s Sky: exploration without a fixed campaign path
Why it matches
No Man’s Sky is the clearest alternative when “space game” means flying to a planet, landing, seeing what is there and deciding what to do next. Its official product description says you can travel from deep space to planetary surfaces without loading screens and visit any planet you choose. The universe is presented as player-directed rather than organized around one fixed campaign route.
You can spend your time discovering worlds, gathering resources, improving equipment, establishing bases and creating a personal travel narrative. That loop gives a strong sense of scale and ownership: the memorable story is often the sequence of places you found and projects you completed rather than a chain of companion conversations.
Where it differs
No Man’s Sky is not a close replacement for a scripted mercenary plot. It does not target the same combination of authored companion scenes, dialogue consequences and tactical third-person firefights announced for Osiris Reborn. Its strength is freedom of movement and discovery, so choose it only if exploration is your primary requirement.
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Best for
- Players who want seamless movement between space and planetary surfaces.
- Readers who prefer choosing any destination instead of following a prescribed route.
- Anyone who enjoys resource gathering, discovery and building an ongoing personal objective.
5. The Outer Worlds: compact quests and faction choices
Why it matches
The Outer Worlds is a strong choice for readers who care more about writing and decisions than about realistic space travel. Space.com characterizes it as a satirical, hyper-corporate space RPG centered on exploring, meeting factions and solving problems through fighting or conversation. Party-based role-playing lets you travel with companions while your character’s skills influence available approaches.
Its compact structure is an advantage if you want a campaign in which locations, factions and quests feel authored rather than endless. Corporate control, competing interests and morally compromised choices create a space-western framework that can appeal to readers looking for political tension and role-playing consequences.
Where it differs
The game uses a different perspective from Osiris Reborn’s announced third-person action format, and its writing is intentionally comic and satirical. It does not aim for The Expanse’s comparatively serious, hard-science-fiction atmosphere. The combat and travel systems are also not designed around zero-gravity encounters, tactical scanning or piloted spaceflight.
Best for
- Players who want dialogue checks and multiple solutions to problems.
- Readers interested in faction identity and the consequences of siding with competing groups.
- Anyone who prefers a shorter, authored space campaign with a strong comic voice.
Choose by the feature you care about most
If companions and relationship choices matter most
Start with Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Its trilogy structure makes the crew relationship system the central thread, and choices carry forward between games. The Outer Worlds is the next choice if you want a smaller party-based campaign with dialogue and faction decisions. Star Wars Outlaws offers a named companion and reputation, but it is not organized around the same full-squad RPG structure.
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If third-person combat matters most
Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Star Wars Outlaws are the clearest current fits. Mass Effect emphasizes squad-based science-fiction action RPG combat, while Outlaws emphasizes third-person movement, stealth, traversal and open-world encounters. Neither should be treated as proof of how Osiris Reborn will play: Owlcat’s announced tactical scanning, zero-gravity situations, drones and engine-propelled grenades remain specific to the upcoming game until it ships.
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If you want the largest sense of space
Choose Starfield for a role-playing sandbox built around ships, skills and many locations. Choose No Man’s Sky if seamless travel, visiting any planet and creating your own exploration goals matter more than authored missions. Starfield is more character- and quest-oriented; No Man’s Sky is more discovery- and systems-oriented.
If dialogue and factions are your priority
The Outer Worlds is the most focused option. Its faction conflicts, conversation choices and party structure put role-playing decisions ahead of realistic travel. Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the better choice when you want those decisions embedded in a larger cinematic saga with a continuing crew.
If you want to play before 2027
All five recommendations are established games rather than waiting-list suggestions. Mass Effect Legendary Edition provides the closest complete squad-RPG experience; Star Wars Outlaws provides the closest third-person roaming-and-starship blend; Starfield and No Man’s Sky provide progressively more freedom; and The Outer Worlds provides the most concentrated dialogue-and-faction campaign.
How to avoid choosing the wrong substitute
- Decide whether you want a story or a sandbox. A fixed, authored campaign points toward Mass Effect Legendary Edition or The Outer Worlds. A self-directed route points toward Starfield or No Man’s Sky.
- Separate “third-person” from “party RPG.” Star Wars Outlaws offers third-person traversal and a companion, but that does not make it equivalent to a squad-based RPG. Mass Effect is the stronger match for managing relationships and consequences across a crew.
- Rank atmosphere separately from mechanics. The Outer Worlds can satisfy a reader who wants space politics and dialogue even though its perspective and comedy differ. No Man’s Sky can satisfy the desire to roam through space even though it lacks an authored mercenary drama.
- Check access on your platform. Osiris Reborn is announced for PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, with day-one Xbox Game Pass availability stated by Owlcat. The alternatives have their own platform, edition and subscription arrangements, which can change; check the current store page before buying.
- Do not infer unreleased features. The announced Osiris Reborn systems are a useful guide to what Owlcat is targeting, not a guarantee that every feature, companion interaction or combat scenario will ship unchanged.
Bottom line
For one recommendation, play Mass Effect Legendary Edition: it most closely combines cinematic space-opera storytelling, a meaningful crew, persistent choices, romance and third-person RPG combat. Pick Star Wars Outlaws when physical traversal and outlaw atmosphere matter more than party management. Pick Starfield for broad role-playing freedom, No Man’s Sky for unrestricted exploration, and The Outer Worlds for compact faction politics and dialogue-driven decisions. When The Expanse: Osiris Reborn launches in its announced spring 2027 window, its actual balance of tactical combat, companions and exploration will determine which of these comparisons remains the closest.
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