Elite Dangerous: Odyssey lands and disembarks on May 19

Odyssey is the much anticipated ‘boots on the ground’ expansion for Elite Dangerous. You’ll no longer just be trucking around space or roaming planets in planetary vehicles: you’ll get to use your legs, too. And what’s a videogame with legs without the ability to also shoot weapons—you’ll be shooting weapons, too, even in 24-player deathmatch. If Elite Dangerous with legs doesn’t appeal, Odyssey also expands the galaxy.

It’s all very exciting and it looks set to dramatically change the pace of the game, for those after a change of pace. After a series of tests and a pandemic-prompted delay, Elite Dangerous Odyssey will officially release for PC on May 19, after a final testing phase.

“Your feedback during the alpha period has been invaluable and made this release date possible,” Frontier writes. “We'll continue collecting your feedback throughout the upcoming alpha phase 4 and beyond launch as we work on further improvements and content updates.”

Andy Kelly has played Odyssey and felt a bit conflicted by the addition of NPCs. “It feels less like a bustling starport, and more like one of those 3D chat rooms that were all the rage in the early 2000s,” he wrote in his preview. Meanwhile, Natalie has a bone to pick with the expansion’s “delightfully rubbish” taxi service. Not the most ringing endorsements, but I’m looking forward to diving in on May 19.