The Expanse: A Telltale Series Review

The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a prequel to the beloved Amazon Prime show. It follows Camina Drummer and her crew as they go scavenging around the Belt in search of fortune — that is until they uncover more than they were bargaining for. The game follows Telltale’s usual formula of bi-weekly chapter releases, five in total, each being roughly an hour and a half long. As with most Telltale games, action and gameplay are not at the forefront or even the point of The Expanse. Its main strength is the story it's trying to tell and the decisions the player makes. If anything, if you squint, it could be pushed into the visual novel category.

I mentioned in my previous article that I’ve only watched an episode or two of the show and was going into this game pretty naive. My overall takeaway was that Telltale did a good job making this approachable to people who are unfamiliar with the franchise while still catering to fans. It’s a tricky balance, but Telltale managed to pull it off throughout all the currently released episodes.

That said, if I hadn't been reviewing this, I probably wouldn't purchase it. That’s not to say it’s a bad game — quite the contrary.  What I mean by that is, at the heart of it, the main draw to Telltale games is the IP. As stated earlier, the formula for each game stays relatively the same, but what changes is the thing it's about. For example, The Expanse might not stand out to me personally, and certainly not for £31.69 (39.99 USD), but there are other titles that would be something I dropped the money for. One of the major strengths of The Expanse and its sibling games is the immersion, and if you’re not hooked into a certain universe, why would you want to immerse yourself in it?

As with all the Telltale games I've played, the graphics are pretty, the voice acting is great, and I'm always on my toes trying to figure out what happens next. Most of the gameplay comes down to picking certain lines of dialogue on a timer and seeing how the character you’re speaking to responds. Characters can remember what you said to them, which can affect their later actions. What you think might be the best choice of dialogue in a certain situation can actually be the wrong one, given that every member of your crew is going to want to hear something different. This can create a cacophony of regret as the story goes on if you don’t play your cards right. For example, in Episode 1, Drummer has the choice to save a vault full of valuables and rip off their crew member’s leg in the process or let the vault go and save their friend’s limb. This decision will determine who will have loyalty towards you when everything goes to hell at the climax of the episode.

The coolest mechanic in this game (to me, anyway) is flying around using Zero-G thrusters. This allows you to transverse outer space at certain parts of the story and explore abandoned, blown-up ships and snoop around them. Yes, it’s a pretty basic function, but it reminds me of a cleaned-up version of a few Mass Effect 3 missions. Continuing on with the lack of intricacy, there are also some “major” moments where Drummer has to think fast. Your part in this? Just press a button on your keyboard at the right time. That’s it. That’s what will keep Drummer from falling off a ladder into the empty, cold depths of space. You and your “f” key. What a hero you are. The simplicity of this system can be a benefit or a negative, depending on what you’re looking for. If you’re the type of person who always puts games on “easy” or “story mode,” you’re likely to enjoy the non-stressful situations and the non-threatening mechanics. If you enjoy heavy combat and building characters to suit your needs, you’re going to find this game format boring and repetitive.

Overall, you’ll have a lot of fun with The Expanse: A Telltale Series if you want a few hours to be a part of that particular universe. If you don’t and just want to play a sci-fi game, it’s still an entertaining and enjoyable experience, but I’d recommend going through Telltale’s other titles to see if there’s not an IP you like better. There’s plenty on offer.