By Online Games VIP Editorial
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Game Informer’s Exodus coverage details Salt, an Awakened octopus in a custom mech whose mercenary past and homeworld story set her apart.
Game Informer’s latest Exodus cover story focuses on Salt, an Awakened octopus who pilots a custom mech suit and works as a bounty hunter. The report presents her as more than a visually unusual companion: she is a serious mercenary with unfinished business on a distant aquatic world.
According to Game Informer, Salt joins protagonist Jun Aslan during a mission to recover lost technology from the Traveler Launch Center. She is hired because Jun’s squad needs additional firepower, but the report makes clear that money is her immediate motivation. Her eventual relationship with Jun may become more personal, although the details of that development remain unconfirmed.
Game Informer also reports that Exodus is scheduled to launch next April on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The publisher’s source text does not specify the year attached to that April release window, so the exact launch date and year still need clarification.
Game Informer explains that the Awakened are sentient animals in the world of Exodus. They are larger and more intelligent than ordinary animals, and translator chips allow them to communicate with humans and participate in society. Salt belongs to that group, placing her within the setting’s broader social and technological framework rather than making her a one-off comic creature.
That distinction matters because Salt’s design could easily have been used only for visual comedy. Game Informer’s report instead describes a character who is focused, ruthless and capable of operating as a professional bounty hunter. Her humor is presented as dry and sharp, while her attitude toward missions is practical. The contrast between her unusual body and her disciplined personality is a central part of the coverage.
Salt’s background also gives her a personal conflict that reaches beyond Jun’s immediate mission. Game Informer reports that she comes from an aquatic world she cannot currently return to. Narrative director Drew Karpyshyn explained to the publication that time dilation, a major part of Exodus and its setting, has affected Salt’s connection to home. Although she has not aged significantly, decades have passed since her last visit.
That creates a problem the game appears to treat as more serious than a simple lost-home story. Game Informer reports that Salt expects her home world to be drastically different if she eventually returns. At the same time, she is trying to help Jun, build a working partnership and pursue her own needs. The source does not reveal why she cannot return or what she expects to find there, leaving that part of her arc open.
Game Informer reports that Salt’s mech is based on the human version of the armor used by characters such as Elise, another Exodus companion. The suit keeps a bipedal lower half, but it adds tentacle arms and a water tank to support Salt’s physiology. The source says the design remains mostly humanoid because Exodus is still a world dominated by humans, and bipedal equipment is more effective in that environment.
The adaptation is not only cosmetic. According to Game Informer, Salt uses her tentacles to solve environmental problems during the reported Traveler Launch Center mission. One sequence has her using them like makeshift roller chains to turn the gears of a damaged elevator. The report also describes her criticizing Jun’s human limbs during the mission, including a moment when Jun creates a large hand with a Celestial gauntlet to form a bridge.
These details suggest that Salt’s unusual anatomy can influence how she interacts with the world, not just how she looks during combat. That is an important distinction for players. A companion who changes the way a squad approaches obstacles can feel more integrated into the game than one whose difference exists only in dialogue or character art.
Game Informer says the mech also enables Salt to function on land without repeatedly returning to a tank. The publication describes her as an octopus who would otherwise be poorly suited to ordinary terrestrial environments. Her armor therefore serves as life support, mobility equipment and combat gear at the same time.
Game Informer’s account of the Traveler Launch Center mission provides the clearest available look at Salt’s behavior in action. Jun and the squad hire her for extra muscle while infiltrating the facility to reclaim lost technology. Her professional boundaries are clear from the beginning: if the team dies, she is prepared to abandon the contract.
The report characterizes Salt as a companion who may not begin with a personal commitment to Jun. She is there because the arrangement benefits her financially. That setup gives the relationship room to develop without assuming that Salt is immediately loyal or emotionally invested in the protagonist.
Game Informer also reports that Jun is familiar with Awakened animals. He has an adoptive wolf brother named Houston, so Salt’s intelligence and ability to communicate are not entirely new to him. Her appearance is still unusual from his perspective because he is more accustomed to Awakened animals that breathe air and walk on two legs.
That context can help Exodus avoid treating Salt as a discovery for the entire cast. Jun already understands that Awakened animals can be people with jobs, loyalties and complicated histories. The octopus form is surprising, but the more significant question is how Salt’s reputation and priorities fit into a group that may already have its own expectations of her.
Game Informer describes Salt as having a reputation as one of the most dangerous mercenaries on the planet before she joins Jun’s team. The report does not provide a complete record of her past contracts or explain how that reputation was earned. It does, however, establish that her combat identity is meant to be taken seriously even when her mech and physiology create moments of comedy.
Analysis: Salt’s strongest hook is the tension between an immediately strange premise and a grounded role in the party. An octopus inside a humanoid mech is an image designed to attract attention, but the reported details give that image practical consequences. She needs specialized equipment, approaches problems with tools humans do not have and carries a history shaped by the setting’s time-dilation rules.
For players, that combination may make Salt useful in two different ways. The first is mechanical. Her tentacle arms could support environmental interactions that are unavailable to human companions, although Game Informer’s source text confirms only the elevator example and does not establish a full list of abilities. Her water tank and custom armor also indicate that her movement and survival requirements are part of her design.
The second is narrative. Salt’s relationship with Jun is built around a contract rather than instant friendship. That can create meaningful pressure when personal objectives conflict with mission goals. Her return to an altered home world also gives the character a long-term question that is separate from the immediate plot. Whether Exodus turns those ideas into branching choices, companion conflicts or optional conversations has not been confirmed.
There is also a useful tonal balance in the way Game Informer presents her. Salt can make pointed observations about human limitations without becoming a collection of jokes about having tentacles. That approach could let the game use her unusual perspective to comment on human institutions, equipment and assumptions while preserving her credibility as a dangerous professional.
What remains unknown about Exodus and Salt
Game Informer’s report is based on a cover story visit to Archetype Entertainment and a demo of the mission featuring Salt. It is not an OnlineGamesVIP hands-on verdict, and the article does not establish how Salt performs across the full game. The source says more information about her combat utility will appear in future coverage, so her complete gameplay role remains unknown.
The report also does not confirm how long Salt remains in Jun’s squad, whether she can leave permanently, or how many of her story outcomes depend on player choices. Her motivation to earn money is established, but the source does not explain what she needs financially or how that goal connects to her home world.
Her species is another area where the available evidence is limited. Game Informer explains the general nature of the Awakened and identifies Salt as coming from an aquatic world, but it does not describe the political or cultural structure of that world. It is also unconfirmed whether other Awakened aquatic characters appear in Exodus or whether Salt is uniquely adapted to life outside the water.
The game’s release information needs further precision as well. Game Informer reports a launch next April for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, but the supplied report does not give an exact date or clarify the year. Players should also watch for future evidence about the platforms’ feature parity, the scope of companion interactions and whether Salt’s tentacle-based problem-solving appears outside the reported mission.
The next useful information will be evidence showing how Salt functions over several missions rather than a single introduction. Details about her upgrade path, combat abilities, companion dialogue and reactions to Jun’s decisions would help establish whether her unusual design has lasting gameplay consequences.
Her personal story is equally important. Game Informer confirms that Salt has been separated from her home world for decades because of time dilation, but the publication deliberately leaves much of that history unexplained. Future coverage may clarify what she hopes to recover, who she has left behind and whether returning home is realistic.
For now, Salt stands out because Exodus connects her appearance to her equipment, her movement and her place in the setting. Game Informer’s reporting confirms an Awakened octopus, a specialized mech, a mercenary contract and a difficult journey home. The remaining question is whether the finished game can give those ideas the same weight across the full companion story.