The Expanse A Telltale Series Full Game Review

So here we are finally with the entirety of The Expanse A Telltale Series now available for you to play.

And what a hell of a ride it has been.

So let’s dive right in.

In The Expanse you play as Camina Drummer. Former OPA and right hand to the OPA leader Anderson Dawes. She witnessed just how far Dawes would push his regime, and then massacre at Anderson station at the hands of the United Nations marines. So enough was enough and Drummer decided to choose the quiet life of space salvage to get on by.

Little did she know this would be anything but quiet.

The game is set just before season 1 of the show and serves as a perfect prequel, introducing new and compelling characters while also initiating important arcs for the main characters of the show.

Drummer’s story takes her from the quiet life of salvaging derelict spaceships to being flung into an interstellar game of cat and mouse with space pirates and an out-of-this-world space treasure hunt.

Like most ‘Telltale’ games of the past, ‘The Expanse’ is split into episodes. 5 in total, spanning over an hour and a half in length depending on how you play. So waiting bi-weekly for each episode to come out felt like the days before streaming, where you would have to wait for the next episode and for that cliffhanger or character arc to be resolved.

‘Telltale’ has consistently pushed out great game after great game based on some of the best IPs out there! ‘The Walking Dead series is at the top of the league, however, you have the other greats like ‘The Batman Series’, ‘Tales from the Borderlands’, ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Back to the Future’. My favourite out of all of those is hands down ‘A Wolf Among Us’. It had the best story and gameplay, however ‘The Expanse’ has now taken that spotlight as number one.

There was a dark period though after the initial closure of ‘Telltale’ where it felt like we would never have games like these again. We did have ‘Don’t Nod’ and ‘Deck Nine’ with ‘Life is Strange’ to fill the void, however. But it seems like there is now a resurgence in 2023. ‘Dramatic Labs’ a studio made up by ex ‘Telltale’ employees recently released the brilliant ‘Star Trek Resurgence’ which brought back the feeling of the original ‘Telltale games’.

But it’s the official new ‘Telltale’ alongside ‘Deck Nine’ who have brought us ‘The Expanse’ which is certainly a vast improvement on the old style of ‘Telltale’ games, and quite frankly, the future.

The game is Cinematic!

And I mean that in every sense of the word. Each episode looks stunning. The music is composed beautifully. The set design is authentic to the show. The sound design, the writing, and the delivery of lines from the voice actors. Above all though, the character models.

I’m not 100% sure if this was mo-capped, but the performances certainly feel like they were. The facial animations are flawless and the best I have seen since the likes of ‘Mafia 1 Remastered’ and ‘Fort Solis’. It makes the characters all that more believable when the facial movements actually move and look authentic. It helps you connect to the characters and begin to feel and empathize with them.

Gameplay-wise this has to be the most fluid Telltale game ever. The point-and-click aspect of the old games is gone in favour of a more traditional 3rd person play style. That being said there are plenty of interactable objects to go up to and interact with which will cue up Drummer’s inner musings in the same way as previous games, but the new play style feels fresh and just what these styles of games needed to compete in the current market. It’s new while still retaining its core identity.

There is plenty of ‘bang for your buck’ with ‘The Expanse’. There is a lot of replay value with the choice system, allowing each playthrough to be unique. I certainly can’t wait to play my second playthrough and see how things turn out and which characters survive when the credits start to roll.

There are also plenty of logs and collectables littered throughout the episodes for your trophy and achievement hunters out there too!

Now I’m not going to run down the story of this game. I have individual reviews for each of the episodes for that if you want to know. But I do have to say that the story fits in beautifully into the world of the ‘Expanse’ books and most importantly the show. Having main actors reprising their roles really helps bring authenticity to the game that Telltale has created.

There were times that I truly lost myself in this game and forgot it was a game for a second and instead thought I was watching Season 0 of the show. This is down to the outstanding acting by Cara Gee who carry’s the game with her outstanding reprisal of Camina Drummer. The supporting cast and the crew of The Artemis also deserve special recognition for their performances in bringing their characters to life and really making you connect with them.

Other things like the music and sound effects ripped straight out of the show helped make this game feel like a true prequel all the way through.

Overall ‘The Expanse A Telltale Series’ has been a thrill ride with twists and turns and emotional moments that have kept me hooked these past 2 months. Now that it’s out in its entirety and you have yet to play it, are a fan of the show or just love science fiction, I implore you to go and play this now. You won’t regret it.