Fallen Signal Studios aims for the stars with a dual-campaign RPG inspired by Mass Effect and Tron, but our time with the demo was plagued by fatal crashes and sluggish combat.
The promise of a sprawling, narrative-driven sci-fi RPG is always an easy way to grab my attention. So, when I had the opportunity to meet with Theodore, the PR representative for Fallen Signal Studios, during GDC last week, my expectations were understandably high.
Sitting in the tranquil gardens across from the Moscone Center, listening to live jazz music, Theodore painted a picture of a massive new IP. The game, titled Sovereign Call: Origins, is pitching itself as a cinematic, tactical third-person RPG. The team was heavily inspired by the aesthetic of Tron: Legacy and the branching, companion-driven narrative of Mass Effect.
On paper, it sounds like exactly the kind of space opera the gaming community is hungry for. Unfortunately, after seeing the trailer and getting my hands on the demo later in the week on the Expo floor, it is clear this starship is currently struggling to get off the launchpad.
The Pitch: Dual Campaigns and Fractured Empires
To their credit, Fallen Signal Studios is attempting something incredibly ambitious for a small development team.
Sovereign Call: Origins features a dual-campaign structure. Players will take control of two opposing protagonists caught in a galactic struggle: Tarrik Walcur of the “Dominion” and Selene Veyne of the “Reformation.” The idea is to play both sides of an ideological war, encountering unique companions, moral crossroads, and narrative perspectives depending on which character you play.
Theodore was also eager to highlight the game’s sound design and voice acting. Even in the brief trailer shown at their booth, the audio work stood out as a clear highlight. The voice performances sounded genuinely passionate, bringing to life the heavy, atmospheric sci-fi aesthetic the team is building in Unreal Engine 5.
If the final game manages to deliver four distinct factions and meaningful branching narratives with real consequences, it could be a fascinating narrative experiment.
The Reality: Fatal Errors and Clunky Combat
A few days after my initial chat in the gardens, I stopped by the Fallen Signal Studios booth on the GDC Expo floor to actually play the game.
To put it bluntly: yikes.
Within the first few minutes of my hands-on session, I managed to completely crash the build. After killing my first enemy, I pressed the “E” key to loot the body—a standard action in any RPG—and the game instantly closed out with a fatal error. The developers rushed over, restarted the demo for me, and nervously asked me to “maybe not do that again” while I played.
Once I was back in the game (and carefully avoiding the loot button), the core gameplay loop failed to impress. The framerate felt sluggish, noticeably dipping below 30 FPS during basic movement. The combat, which bills itself as a “fluid” mix of energy blades and advanced firearms, felt incredibly stiff and basic. Slashing with the sword lacked weight, and the gunplay felt like a generic, early 2010s cover shooter.
It is very hard to appreciate a game’s narrative depth when simply walking from point A to point B, shooting an enemy, and stabbing a guard feels tedious and unpolished. My 20-minute session was marred by consistent bugs, making it nearly impossible to get a true feel for the world they are trying to build. Furthermore, the trailer they had running on a loop at the booth suffered from aggressive, almost nauseating motion blur.
Waiting for Polish
Sovereign Call: Origins is currently listed as “Coming Soon” on Steam, with the developers noting it will launch into Early Access for approximately one year.
I sincerely want to see this game succeed. The indie space needs more ambitious, story-driven sci-fi RPGs, and the dual-protagonist concept is fantastic. But before the team worries about branching dialogue trees and galactic ideologies, they desperately need to get the core game running smoothly. The combat needs a massive overhaul, the framerate needs stabilization, and players absolutely need to be able to loot an enemy without crashing to the desktop.
Fallen Signal Studios plans to release a public demo prior to the Early Access launch to help build community engagement. I will be keeping an eye out for it, hoping that with a few more months of optimization, Sovereign Call can finally live up to its lofty ambitions.
Wishlist Sovereign Call: Origins Demo on Steam: Store Page