Exo One review: a deliriously fun trip through sci-fi dreamscapes

Exo OneThis is about momentum.

It is fitting that the game only spends a couple of seconds explaining how it works. Control a highly-tech marble, which you can control in an endless desert of rolling dunes. The rhythm of the game comes from the marble’s ability to increase or decrease its relative gravity: high gravity down a slope to build speed, low gravity to rocket up the other side. To make it easier to cut through the air, you can keep the marble flattened or spherical.

Exo OneThe tutorials and exposition are not necessary. Instead it presumes that the pure joy and freedom experienced while traversing these terrains will suffice to draw the player in. It is right.

This helps to ensure that FeelYou can find almost everything here Exo OnePerfected. Your marble will fall down as quickly as a bowling ball dropped from a halfpipe. You can feel the breeze whipping through the marble as you propel backwards into the air. Fly high enough and your next descent may break the speed of sound, the marble’s sheer velocity outpacing its own sonic boom. The Physics of Exo One are forgiving enough that you never feel completely inept, but precise enough that you’re always determined to reach a higher speed, a more perfectly maintained momentum.

The worlds you’re given to speed through are similarly spectacular, a series of planets each made of a single, overwhelming aesthetic. In the end, the desert at the beginning level will be replaced with massive cliffs and rolling oceans. It is the art of dramatic design that makes the maps. Large storms often sweep across each biome and the sun hangs very low. Exo One’s levels feel ripped from the covers of paperback sci-fi novels, more concerned with tone and feeling than any practical ecosystem.

The planets may be beautiful but they can be difficult to travel. Some planets present unique obstacles, such as huge mountain ranges to climb or an electricity storm to harness power. These challenges can be frustrating. A planet covered almost entirely in water is more tedious than exciting to move through, and an asteroid field halts the game’s otherwise speedy momentum. More than once, I wished I could return to the first planet’s simple rolling dunes, which were the perfect match for the marble’s mechanics. The final level, while visually impressive, is a disappointment in this respect. It largely discards the physics to which I was so attached over the course.

Exo One’s rapid pace means that no frustration sticks around for too long, though; each level goes by in a matter of minutes, and I finished the entire game in under two hours. However, this brevity also means that the game’s story, hinted at through fleeting flashbacks and garbled dialogue, doesn’t have much chance to make an impression. Interesting to see lightning strike a storm extraterrestrially and then catch a glimpse of recognizable terrestrial photos. But the narrative’s vague delivery meant I never felt as emotionally engaged as I wanted to be. It’s not Bad, and it doesn’t get in the way; it just feels so tertiary to the experience Exo One offers.

These complaints are nothing compared to how much fun it is to soar down hills and through the atmospherics of every gorgeously designed planet. Exo OneAlthough it isn’t a deep or complex game in any way, the narratives are captivating and I look forward to returning many more times. The game pulls off a fantasy I’ve heretofore only approached in my dreams: to leave all remnants of Earthliness behind and skim the surface of an alien world, the desert as smooth as polished glass.

Exo One The game was available on Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X on November 18. PC reviewed the game. Vox Media is an affiliate partner. Although these partnerships do not impact editorial content, Vox Media could earn commissions on products sold via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.