The Expanse: A Telltale Series - First Three Episodes

I've been lucky enough to get hands-on with episodes 1-3 of Telltale's first game since its revival, a game based on the popular show The Expanse. That being said, I feel it's only fair to begin with a quick disclaimer. This is my first interaction, in any way, with The Expanse - its characters and setting are entirely unfamiliar to me. Therefore I won't be commenting on any similarities to the series, any possible inconsistencies or new characters, and will simply be taking the game at face value and talking about what I did and didn't like.

Unlike The Expanse, I am familiar with Telltale Games' previous work, primarily The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead, and I am a fan of these games. The Expanse holds firm to Telltale's tried and true strategy, pairing their comic book-esque art style with a deeply gripping story that forces the player to make some tough calls.

I think that the kind of low-tech, grim space-age setting of The Expanse really shines in Telltale's art style. Shady, heavy, dark environments such as are often found in the game are only enhanced. Exploration becomes eerie and tense as the voidlike corners of long-abandoned ships and space stations are broken solely by the flickering of emergency lights and nav beacons. "Something was here before, but is it still?" was the question on repeat in my mind throughout my playthrough.

Exploration in zero gravity - both within the aforementioned spaceships and outposts and in the cold vacuum of space - is a central mechanic in the game, and I think it's executed well. Environments feel expansive, and the character moves at just the right speed, slow enough to feel appropriate for drifting through space, but fast enough to not feel tedious. There are plenty of secrets to discover besides the main objectives of missions, and players will be rewarded for getting into the scavenger mindset and seeking out scraps where they can be found.

Most notably, there are a smattering of optional items that will help crew members to respond kindly to you as you take on the role of Camina Drummer, their former XO turned Captain who is seeking to build relationships with her crew and navigate their newfound power dynamic, all whilst doing the "right" thing, whether that choice is based on morality or survival.

These items, for me, are what the game is about, and provide some of its best moments. Finding a cigar that allows you to break through to the cranky old navigator Khan and finally see why she remains distant and closed off. Something as trivial as dried mushroom flakes makes a huge difference in the world of The Expanse, and was a motivating factor in the elusive ship doctor opening up to me about his tainted past.

This isn't a game to be completed on autopilot, by paying attention to characters' dialogue - in some cases even throwaway lines - and by being persistent in your pursuit of relationships with them, you will exponentially enrich the story being told. In essence, it feels as though you are genuinely rewarded for going out of your way to be a good captain, and this is something to balance against making the hard calls you'll sometimes need to make in order to keep your crew alive.

This is where I want to talk about Telltale's decision log - as ever a welcome feature in these games. Not to get into spoiler territory, but as often happens I came to regret some of my decisions, and The Expanse, as with many Telltale products, excels at kicking you when you're down (in the best way possible).

After each episode, I was confronted with all possible decisions from my playthrough, along with the percentages of other players' choices and other possible outcomes. There is nothing that makes a hard call feel worse than having it rubbed in your face with how much better it could have gone, and yet therein lies the magic of Telltale games - I didn't want to go back and redo things differently.

I'd made my decision, those decisions had consequences, and those consequences are what makes my playthrough, well, my playthrough. I wouldn't go back and change them for the world, and taking the victories and losses forwards into future chapters is what helps to shape the Camina Drummer that I'm playing as.

Speaking of moving forwards, the foreshadowing in this game has some real potential. Some of the best characters, especially enemies, are those whose presence is felt long before we ever meet them face to face. In The Expanse, I found myself with lingering thoughts of Captain Toussaint and Anderson Dawes from their presence inwardly and outwardly in the world, and the prospect of meeting these characters in future episodes is an exciting one.

The Expanse shines as an alternative to the sleek space-age dream of franchises such as Star Trek, with its scrappy, survival sci-fi setting pairing perfectly with the gritty art-style and choice-driven narrative of Telltale Games.

Camina Drummer is the perfect character to navigate this world; a flawed, haunted, and above all else hopeful individual. Perhaps most importantly, she does not start as the Captain, she is nobody's hero. Just as we the player are, she is simply trying to make the best decisions she can between doing the right thing and ensuring her crew live to see another day. That's the beauty of The Expanse: A Telltale Series, and I can't wait to see how the remaining episodes wrap up the story.