Ever since its revival in 2019, Telltale Games aspired to continue its predecessor’s venture into the episodic adventure genre. Its first original title is The Expanse: A Telltale Series, which is a prequel to the television series of the same name. While more information has been released to the public, Telltale offered an exclusive preview to the press a couple weeks ago.
On May 17th, we were given the opportunity to play The Expanse: A Telltale Series at Telltale’s special preview event in Los Angeles. We were offered an in-depth look into The Expanse‘s development along with a hands-on preview of the game itself. The preview consisted of an hour-long pre-release build of The Expanse after a developer presentation. Below is our playthrough from the event:
The Expanse maintains Telltale’s story-driven focus by emphasizing character more than gameplay. Centered around Camina Drummer, a fan-favorite from The Expanse television series, players make choices that affect Drummer’s story and her relationships with other characters. The Expanse adopts Telltale’s dialogue tree mechanic but makes some distinctive changes; for starters, players can only select from two dialogue options rather than four. Unlike previous Telltale releases, players cannot opt for silence but have unlimited response windows for most choices. However, some dialogue responses have a time limit (e.g. comm chatter while exploring shipwrecks).
As for non-story-related elements, The Expanse offers an immersive experience. The game expands on Telltale’s exploration mechanics through its cosmic genre; for instance, players can hover in space using Zero-G thrusters and walk on walls with mag boots. They can also find items they can give to other characters, which could affect relationships and story. The Expanse‘s action sequences solely consist of quick-time events (QTE), much like other Telltale games.
The developers shared additional details about The Expanse during the presentation. Attendees were shown exclusive trailers and interviews; Cara Gee, who portrays Drummer in the television series, made a special appearance as well. On The Expanse‘s branching narrative, the developers commented that writing multiple endings and making them a challenge was difficult as all characters but one can live or die. Since this is Telltale’s first new game in four years, they were anxious during The Expanse‘s development. Nonetheless, they’re enthusiastic about their upcoming project.
The event itself was especially immersive. Off the jump, attendees were shown space suits and other props from The Expanse television show, which was sensational for The Expanse fans and sci-fi admirers alike. So far, the game seems to be a wonderful addition to the Telltale mythos. However, The Expanse’s gameplay isn’t as innovative as The Walking Dead: The Final Season or Minecraft: Story Mode; it follows the standard Telltale formula of conversation trees and QTE-laden action. At the same time, The Expanse‘s sci-fi setting lends the game uniqueness in both exploration and story.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series Episode 1 will launch on July 27th for all modern platforms. The following episodes will be released biweekly following the game’s premiere.