The Expanse: A Telltale Series Episode 1 review - A slightly shaky lift off

The first outing from the reborn Telltale Games, The Expanse, is finally here, as the studio teams up with Deck Nine Games to once again return to its classic format of adapting existing properties into spin-off choose-your-own-adventure games. 

As a popular science fiction, space-faring franchise, The Expanse initially started out as a series of books before jumping out onto the television screen for an acclaimed six-series run. While I've eagerly anticipated the title as a fan of The Expanse itself and of Telltale at their zenith, after the first episode however, I've been left with mixed feelings overall. 

Beltalowda

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Telltale's The Expanse is a prequel set in the same universe as the show, following one of its most popular characters, Camina Drummer (with returning actor Cara Gee), a badass Belter scavenger currently on the run from her home - the asteroid Ceres - and the OPA faction that holds plenty of sway there.

When we drop in, she's the second-in-command for a scavenging ship set for a job that's supposed to make everyone richer than they can imagine. The rules of storytelling dictate that things aren't allowed to be that simple, and so as conflict arises - and with your agency as the player - you get to have a say in how things pan out.

Right off the bat, it's clear that the pacing of this first episode is quick; it doesn't give you much time to really stop and interact with your crew, barring the brief introductions and snippets of radio dialogue.

It also ends just as the drama begins to swell and things get more interesting, with my playthrough coming in at under an hour and twenty minutes. I'm sure this choice is beneficial for getting players to come back for episode two, but it feels like half of an actual episode - akin to if Telltale's The Walking Dead Episode 1 ended just as those characters arrived at the pharmacy.

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A fresh coat of paint

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Fans of previous Telltale titles will be right at home here, as the tried-and-true Telltale gameplay formula is back with The Expanse - but it comes with some small changes and big improvements.

Firstly, Telltale has moved on from their proprietary engine in favour of Unreal Engine, making The Expanse the best-looking game they've made to date; gone are the washed-out, blurry colours and flat textures. It still retains the stylistic element though, opting for exaggerated, stylised proportions straight out of a cartoon alongside a matte colour palette. 

It's also the smoothest Telltale game performance-wise, with the constant hitches between every camera change now gone, massively improving the pacing of scenes, and positioning the game closer to the episodic TV show that Telltale seems to emulate.

This switch is also likely key to the more expansive gameplay than what we've seen in the past, with the new Zero G movement mechanic in the episode that lets you explore a destroyed ship in the vacuum of space.

One minor annoyance that did persist throughout my playthrough, however, was horizontal screen tearing in the middle of my monitor - and even when locking the game's frame rate to my monitor's own refresh rate, it did nothing to nullify this.

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Mixed bag

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While games from Telltale sell themselves on letting the player dictate large parts of the story's outcome, one of the things I noticed immediately with The Expanse was that there are fewer obvious choices than ever.

In older titles, four dialogue options were standard in a conversation, whereas here it's been decreased to two, which does feel like a disappointing step back in getting to characterise your protagonist, and reduces the potential reactions you would have to a situation (and even affecting replay value).

When choices are the main input by which you interact with the game, having fewer of them overall reduces the appeal of actually playing out your own story.

It's not all gloom on this front though, as there are now optional choices (presented as side quests or salvage items) during the more open gameplay sections. Instead of whisking you along on rails and making you select choice A or B, you have to go out of your way to explore if you want to complete the quests or collect salvage - and you even can outright ignore them. It's a welcome change from the usual formula, and makes the outcomes that stem from these more impactful and personal to you.

The big choice set pieces that are core to titles from Telltale are also back, signposted by slow motion and an A or B choice showing up on either side of the screen. Both the ones that show up in Episode 1 are tough moral choices that initially seem quite impactful on the surface - but it's hard to say how these pan out until more episodes release. 

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The Verdict

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Overall, while The Expanse: A Telltale Series Episode 1 doesn't get off to a great start, it shows enough promise and faithfulness to the franchise that has intrigued me as to what twists and turns it will inevitably take later on.

While some choices here feel like they kneecap the purpose of Telltale's choose-your-own-adventure formula, there are enough well-needed improvements that I can see the game opening up as time goes on. We'll have to wait and see how The Expanse shaped up with the release of the next episode.

3/5

Reviewed on PC. Code provided by the publisher.