Telltale Games returns with The Expanse: A Telltale Series, its first new property since being acquired by LCG Entertainment. Developed by Deck Nine Games, the team behind the hugely successful Life is Strange franchise, The Expanse: A Telltale Series - Episode 1, titled Archer's Paradox, quickly gets to work emotionally investing players in its world and unique characters. Telltale's latest effort re-introduces many of the elements that fans loved in the past, but quickly stands out from the studio's prior work, as its acting, storytelling, and core mechanics mark a significant evolution of Telltale's tried-and-true formula. These improvements, along with a truly gripping narrative, make The Expanse - Episode 1 a must-play for fans of both Telltale and James S.A. Corey’s hit book and television series.
In The Expanse: A Telltale Series, players take on the role of Camina Drummer, voiced by returning actress Cara Gee, in a story set long before the events of the television series. Episode 1 sees Drummer acting as XO of The Artemis, a scavenging ship under Captain Garrison Cox, as its crew searches the wreckage of an Earther ship, belonging to the United Nations Navy (UNN). The Expanse: A Telltale Series acts as both an on-ramp for those unfamiliar with its universe and a unique origin story for longtime fans. As players discover the episode's deeper mysteries and build relationships with each member of the crew, The Expanse: A Telltale Series prepares to answer crucial questions about what shapes Drummer into the character fans know and love today.
Graphically, The Expanse is Telltale's best-looking game, to date. Whether Drummer is walking down a tight corridor, or floating through space, The Expanse's environments boast an incredible amount of detail, while balancing Telltale's trademark art style. Deck Nine Games injects Episode 1's locations with a mixture of visuals both beautiful and haunting, as the rich and otherworldly color palette of space clashes with the elegant, blood-covered design of the UNN wreckage. The Expanse's facial animations are a significant improvement, allowing characters to react realistically to dialogue and actions. This, in turn, makes The Expanse's characters far more dynamic, with the impact of Drummer's dialogue choices, and those of the crew, much easier to determine within relationships.
Near the midway point of The Expanse - Episode 1, the narrative turns dark, as the Artemis' crew discovers more than they bargained for aboard the Earther ship. Discovering the dismantled corpses of the ship's crew, and signs of a pirate attack, the crew splits up to accomplish their respective tasks as quickly as possible. It is at this point that The Expanse introduces its core gameplay mechanics, as Drummer must navigate the collapsing internal compartments of the ship for salvage, some of which are free-floating in space. Players are tasked with utilizing various methods of exploration and problem-solving to make their way through each compartment safely, with nearly all salvageable materials able to be missed.
Immediately, the evolution of Telltale's gameplay mechanics begins to shine through, as the clunky, and often restrictive movement of past titles is replaced with freeform traversal in a massive space. Walking and running as Drummer is smooth, allowing players the freedom to quickly complete tasks or take their time exploring for hidden collectibles and secrets. Most notably, The Expanse introduces zero-G traversal, allowing players to walk or float through almost every open space, with the option to land Drummer on a compartment's floor, ceiling, and walls. Zero-G traversal opens the title up for thorough exploration, with various hidden areas rewarding players with unique crew interactions or salvageable materials.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series - Episode 1's relationship and choice mechanics have gone through a similar evolution. Rather than boil down the story to three or four major dialogue options, The Expanse leverages exploration to create a system in which Drummer's words, environmental interactions, and the optional items she finds or doesn’t find combine to determine crew members' fates. While Drummer's fate is never in question, every other character's is determined by player choice in these areas. The Expanse - Episode 1 still features two major decisions, but the story's biggest outcomes appear to be determined by episode-spanning exploration segments and personal interactions.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series - Episode 1 puts the intersection of its evolved mechanics front and center, with Drummer's very first tutorial conversation impacting a relationship. While exploring the Earther ship, later on, Drummer can discover a hidden item that she believes this character would like. Players then have the choice to mention this item on a call with the character, who replies harshly, leading to another relationship-impacting dialogue choice. Episode 1 leaves the topic there, but the choice to give the item to the character is reflected in a trophy/achievement for Episode 2, denoting its impact on the story.
While the combination of The Expanse's exploration and relationships is a welcome addition to Telltale's formula, its implementation could lead to frustrations down the road. In Episode 1, players are able to collect salvage from a number of sources, with many leading to dialogue between Drummer and her crew. However, players are given no guidance as to where the salvage is located, nor how many pieces of salvage exist. Many pieces of salvage can be completely missed as players follow a directional marker to the next objective. In order to get all crew interactions, players must interact with various areas of the environment, call the crew for feedback, and utilize their blowtorch on hidden locations spanning the wreckage's many floating pieces. Not until the credits roll will players know if they found all collectibles, and therefore experienced all crew interactions.
The gameplay mechanics of The Expanse: A Telltale Series are an integral part of Episode 1's story, which tasks fans with piecing together a gripping mystery. While searching the Earther wreck, Drummer discovers it belongs to the United Nations Navy, prompting questions as to how and why the ship has been completely obliterated. Using items and body parts from among the ship's officers, Drummer discovers a mysterious data drive within a hidden safe. While the ramifications of this discovery are only briefly touched upon in Episode 1's final scenes, leading to its first life-or-death decision, its importance to Drummer's story and impact on the wider Expanse universe see The Expanse: A Telltale Series - Episode 1 establish one of Telltale's most compelling narratives.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series - Episode 1 is a triumphant return for Telltale Games, as it delivers one of the studio's strongest single episodes alongside vastly improved mechanics and an intense introduction to The Expanse universe. The Expanse does an excellent job of engrossing fans new and old in both its source material and Telltale's trademark storytelling. While the impact of players' decisions in The Expanse has yet to be fully revealed, Episode 1 presents players with a greater sense of agency than ever before. By delivering a strong kick-off to Camina Drummer's origin story, and compelling evidence for the studio's return, The Expanse: A Telltale Series is shaping up to be one of Telltale's best experiences yet.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series
A prequel to Amazon Prime's sci-fi show, which is based on James S. A. Corey's novel series, The Expanse: A Telltale Series follows a young Camina Drummer as she explores the dangerous Belt. Consisting of five episodes, Telltale's game is designed to be accessible regardless of someone's familiarity with The Expanse.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series - Episode 1 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided a PS5 code for this review.