After the bumpy conclusion to Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead series and subsequent reformation under LCG Entertainment, the long-running developers of some of the greatest stories told in our industry have finally returned to tell a story within the epic, science-fiction drama—The Expanse. While the team has taken some bumps and bruises following the heights of playing in the world of Game of Thrones, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Batman, they’ve certainly made a case that they’re back and here to stay with The Expanse: A Telltale Series.
Set in the futuristic, space-faring world of The Expanse (which features a written series of novels by James S. A. Corey, as well as a TV series that had a six-season run), The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a prequel to the show following Camina Drummer’s life (with Cara Gee reprising her role from the show) – with the events of The Expanse: A Telltale Series taking place before season one begins. While the setting means newcomers won’t need to visit the source material to jump in and enjoy themselves, it’s definitely the sort of property that yearns for those who’ve either read the books or watched the show in order to get the full effect.
You assume the role of Camina Drummer, the Executive Officer aboard the Artemis—a ship that serves as your home away from home. After coming across a mysterious wreck, you must direct your crew towards the possibility of valuables, as you make your way across the solar system trying to earn money any way you can. As you might expect from a game with the Telltale branding, a decision-driven system is utilized to allow the player to make decisions across the episodes—with the repercussions of each decision sticking around as the story unfolds. This adds weight to each choice, making every decision paramount to how things play out, which makes the story both thrilling and anxiety-inducing (while also allowing for repeat playthroughs to see it all).
One of the biggest issues the previous Telltale games titles had was the aging engine used in the development, which lead to several bugs and rough launches towards the end of the original Telltale Games’ lifespan. Whether the new investments have allowed for some new tech, or the partnership with Deck Nine Games (Life is Strange: True Colors, Life is Strange: Before The Storm) lead to some new ideas, it’s clear that those issues are, for the most part, a thing of the past, as The Expanse: A Telltale Series is gorgeous—while still utilizing that classic Telltale Games art style, to an extent.
“The Expanse: A Telltale Series is gorgeous—while still utilizing that classic Telltale Games art style, to an extent.”
While this review is only for the first three of five episodes, it’s clear so far that for those who are fans of Telltale Games and have missed their releases that they’re back in striking fashion, and I, for one, cannot wait to see what comes next (reportedly The Wolf Among Us 2 is on the way, which is something I cannot wait for as well). Even though The Expanse: A Telltale Series still has some of the issues with diversity in gameplay, monotony when outside of dialogue, and pacing that most Telltale titles were criticized for, anyone that was a fan, will want to be a fan again of this new-look Telltale Games.
Fans of The Expanse, whether that be the books or TV show, will want to pick this game up and give it a go, as Telltale has always been impeccable at throwing players into more of the worlds that fans love. It’s also easy to recommend The Expanse: A Telltale Series to any superfans of narrative-driven adventure games like you’d find from Telltale Games or Don’t Nod. On the other hand, if those sorts of games were never your cup of tea, don’t expect The Expanse: A Telltale Series to be a major change from the tried-and-true formula these companies are known for.
