When it comes to narrative driven video games there are many game companies that come to mind such as Sony with studios like Naughty Dog which does their best to focus on both storytelling and fun gameplay. However one studio that wasn’t restricted by console exclusivity that managed to tell compelling interactive stories was Telltale Games. A studio that developed many hits from The Wolf Among Us, Minecraft Story Mode, and of course their most well known title The Walking Dead which was the game that brought them into the light until their unfortunate shutdown on October 11, 2018. Most people including myself believed that was the end of Telltale Studios until it was revealed that LCG Entertainment acquired several key assets and became the new operating studio for Telltale Studios. This lead to many big announcements for the studio such as; Wolf Among us season 2 and of course their newest series The Expanse.
The game of The Expanse is based off a book series and a tv series that ran from 2015 to 2022. The show had a total of 6 seasons and starred the same main character that players take control of in the Telltale series which takes place before the events of the show. The series creators helped collaborate with Telltale to create this game so that newcomers could enjoy this game without needing to watch the show.
The story of The Expanse is that Camina Drummer, an alien woman and crew member of the Artemis through unexpected events, becomes the new captain of the ship. After discovering information from a vessel ravaged by pirates that could lead to her crew’s biggest score yet and a scuffle with the original captain she is placed in a situation where she must plan out her and her crew’s actions very carefully otherwise she along with her crew will face dire consequences for her decisions in the dangerous and uncharted regions of The Belt.
The gameplay of The Expanse can seem simple but can become a bit complex as the game progresses especially with keyboard and mouse which is what I played this game using. 1.) move using the W,A,S, and D keys in order to walk around then toggle the shift key while holding W to sprint. 2.) look around and interact with the environment using the mouse. Dragging the mouse around moves the camera and can also move your character when they are a part of certain gameplay segments like cutting something open with their blowtorch. 3.) There are also moments with different dialogue or multiple interactions that can either be selected using the mouse scroll wheel or the 1 or 2 Keys.
When it comes to Telltale games one thing that sets them apart from other games is that they are episodic meaning that instead of having a full game with an open world it is episodic meaning that the game is comprised of different episodes that release every almost every month like it’s a streaming service that can be played. With each episode comes different choices that can change events that happen in the next episode and affect the overall narrative of the series. Even choices that seem pointless can have a big effect on the future like deciding if you should stop a fight or let it continue or even deciding if you should grab an item or leave it can affect the narrative later on. This style of gameplay and narrative changing influence sets their games apart from most games which usually have either good or bad endings based on the players choice, but in this game can have major narrative changes that impact players overall experiences with their playthroughs. The narrative changing aspects also make it so that players who play through the entire game will have different stories play out so it’s not as simple as choosing the good ending.
The visuals of The Expanse are definitely much smoother when compared to past Telltale games like The Walking Dead or The Wolf Among Us which usually are made to look more comic book like. The style of this game helps to set the darker tone of this world and its story.
Overall The Expanse does everything that makes most Telltale series popular and fun to play. While it isn’t as engaging to me as most of their past games I still couldn’t help but be intrigued with this world and it’s characters.
Score: 9 out of 10
Reviewed On: PC