Team Rez and Valkyrie Initiative are working on a third-person, sci-fi shooter inspired by James Corey’s The Expanse and BioWare’s Mass Effect (before it went off the rails into SJW territory). The upcoming game, Orange Cast, was featured in Steam’s Game Festival Summer Edition, and a free demo was also made available over on the Steam store page.

Unlike a lot of the other games featured in the Game Festival, Orange Cast doesn’t have a far off release date or some Early Access run scheduled to take place, in stead the game will release next month on July 23rd, 2020 on PC. So once you get your fill in of the demo you’ll only have to wait a month before getting a chance to play the full thing.

To help give you an idea of what the visuals and gameplay are like, there’s a trailer you can check out below.

I’ll be honest, it was impossible to get an idea of what’s really going on in the game based on the trailer alone. A lot of that has to do with the fact that the visuals and gameplay are disconnected from any sort of coherent storytelling being broadcast through the promotional material.

That gripe aside, the actual gameplay looks solid based on what’s featured in the trailer, and so long as the controls aren’t stiff or wonky then the third-person, over-the-shoulder combat could be a satisfying mechanic of the game.

The general description of Orange Cast is that you’re an elite soldier exploring the galaxy, looking for new places to colonize, and interacting with some of the inhabitants. It sounds like there are multiple planets to visit, and various biomes to experience, much like what BioWare had planned to do with Mass Effect: Andromeda but ended up culling that feature because their diversity hires weren’t experienced enough nor talented enough to re-purpose the Frostbite for expansive galactic travel.

You can check out the demo right now or wait for the game to release on July 23rd. For more info feel free to visit the Steam store page.