A launch trailer has been revealed for Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. The expansion was revealed last December during the Game Awards, promising to revolutionize the long-running space simulator by allowing players to leave their ships and explore the surface of planets. This function is a hotly anticipated addition to the game, which has already given fans an impressively immersive 1:1 simulation of the Milky Way to explore freely.
The Odyssey expansion seems a natural extension to a decision made in October last year, when the Horizons expansion was made free for all players of the game. That DLC, originally released in 2015, brought a large amount of new content to the title, including the ability to land on planets. Making this experience freely available to everyone is a good prelude to letting players step out of their ships and explore the wider world around them.
Following an Alpha period earlier this year, Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is now set to release on March 19th. To get commanders excited for this new frontier, developer Frontier Developments has released a new launch trailer. Frontier has promised that Elite Dangerous: Odyssey will integrate seamlessly with the already robust experience from the base game, allowing players unrestrained freedom to traverse solar systems and wander planets to their hearts' delight. And planetary exploration clearly isn't meant to be an inclusion for novelty's sake alone, either; Frontier has promised specialized space suits and gear that will suit commanders regardless of the role they wish to play in the unfolding story of the galaxy.
Elite Dangerous has been entertaining spacefarers for almost a decade now, but it's not the only game in town when it comes to space exploration. The infamous No Man's Sky has recovered from a very ignominious launch in 2016, and constant updates and DLC have expanded it into a robust space exploration experience which has managed to accumulate a steady fan base. Its most recent expansion, Expeditions, expanded on the game's multiplayer offerings, which is another feature the game has in common with Elite Dangerous. With the debut of Odyssey, Elite Dangerous is likely hoping to compete more readily with this surprise underdog in the space exploration genre.
The promise of freely exploring any planet in the Milky Way, lovingly rendered in lifelike detail, is sure to be a tantalizing one for many players. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign eight years ago, Elite Dangerous has had years to build up a loyal fanbase some 12 million players strong. With the release of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey on May 19th, those fans will finally get the chance to take their first steps into the galaxy around them.
Source: Elite Dangerous