I tried to come up with a witty or informative way to start off my review of Exo One, now available on Playstation 5, but I could only think of one thing: man, what a pretentious little game. This game had every single ingredient to make me want to dislike it: a vague story I simply did not care about, a very simplistic gameplay loop, a beyond short runtime, no replayability whatsoever, and the feeling it was trying to be artsy first, an interesting piece of interactive entertainment second. And yet, I did not dislike it. Exo One still managed to entertain me for a while, despite some glaring issues and annoying design choices.

In this game, you control an alien starship which is completely powered by kinetic energy. In order to go from point A to point B, and traverse literal hundreds of kilometers in order to reach the end of a level, you can only use the power of gravity and physics to make your orb-shaped startship move around. You have the ability to control the gravity surrounding your orb, making it fall down and gain momentum, as well as speed, on a sope, for instance. You are even able to break the sound barrier if you activate this at a high altitude.

You’re also able to shapeshift into a saucer-like thingy, which is able to glide, as well as perform the occasional double jump. This is where the fun in Exo One lies: you have a literal hundred miles to traverse, and a handful of physics-based effects and transformations you can use to gain momentum, height, and/or speed. The game is nothing more than a gigantic stretch towards an end goal, with no combat and very few collectibles, but I have to admit that the gameplay is actually quite cool. I loved breaking sound barriers and covering immense stretches of land in an instant with a well-thought-out physics combo.

The fact that Exo One is downright gorgeous also helps. With the occasion of a handful of odd particle effects (especially during the water level) and the occasional framerate hitch, this game completely knocks it out of the park in its graphical department. I also loved the transition scenes from one level to another; they are clearly inspired by the ultra-trippy (and still impressive, almost 60 years later) visual effects used on the last scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The things I did not like that much were the soundtrack, which was incredibly forgettable, the pretentious and ignorable story (in no moment did I ever feel like giving a crap about it), and, well, the game’s short runtime. With the exception of maybe two planets which featured sections which vaguely resembled a puzzle, Exo One is stupidly linear and straightforward. You can earn a trophy if you’re able to beat the game in less than an hour. If you master its physics-based tools, you can easily do that. Sadly, I never felt like replaying the game after my first playthrough. In no moment did I feel motivated to do so.

I have to commend Exo One for giving me a control scheme and a physics system which were entertaining enough to keep me engaged, despite its pretentious nature and boring plot. Can’t say I cared about its plot, characters, or twists. I was having a lot of fun with its gameplay, and was also constantly wowed by its absolutely gorgeous visuals. Recommending it is a completely different story, though. I don’t know exactly who this game is for. Fans of Journey and Flower might have enjoy Exo One more than the rest of the public, and I guess this is a neat pick for fans of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you can find it for a cheap pricetag, this is worth a single playthrough. At least for the visuals. And being able to constantly break the sound barrier, of course.

Graphics: 8.5 With the occasion of a handful of odd particle effects (especially during the water level) and the occasional framerate hitch, this is, without a doubt, a gorgeous game.	Gameplay: 8.0 An odd game in which you control a spaceship with the power of physics and gravity. It doesn’t make a lot of sense at first, but it’s actually pretty intuitive. The camera controls aren’t good, though.
Sound: 6.5 I really liked the sound effect blasted through the speakers whenever I’d break the sound barrier, but I can’t say I care much for the soundtrack.	Fun Factor: 7.0 A painfully pretentious game with very little replayability, but somewhat fun while it lasts. Mind you, I was having fun while messing with the physics-based mechanics, not the story itself. I did not care at all about it.
Final Verdict: 7.5

Exo One is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X and PC

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of Exo One was provided by the publisher.