Recently, Archetype Entertainment, where BioWare veterans work, published a new blog revealing some details about the Exodus project. In particular, they spoke about "character customization."
Some Mass Effect fans expected a full character editor in Exodus, but it won't be available. The developers explained that players will only be able to change some parameters, such as tattoos or hair, but overall, the protagonist named June will have a "formed" appearance:
Character customization has been actively discussed since our announcement [...] It's been a long journey, and in the process, we made a creative decision to make the character more defined. The set of customization options focuses on pre-selected options, rather than a full editor with many sliders. This means that June will have a more formed appearance, with the ability to choose hairstyles, facial hair, hair color, eye color, makeup, and tattoos.
According to some players, like SensualPen, this is a huge flop:
No character editor? That's a huge flop. The whole point of RPGs is to create your own character. For me, this really kills replayability.
However, not everyone shares this opinion. For example, Mehnus commented:
There's a certain logic to it. It's like complaining that we can't change Geralt from The Witcher or Henry from Kingdom Come: Deliverance. At this stage, just having the option to choose the character's gender is a big achievement.
You can add Exodus to your Steam wishlist by following this link. The developers have not yet announced an exact release date, but the release window is known to be 2027.