I have to say this right off the bat: I’m a huge fan of The Expanse. I binged the entire series over lockdown and loved it, although I haven’t read the weighty novels on which the sci-fi show is based. So when I heard that I would be returning to the gritty, pungent, and brutally political world of The Expanse through the realm of video games, my pulse picked up.
Then I heard the tie-in would be focusing on Camina Drummer (played by Cara Gee, as in the show) and I grew even more excited. Drummer is one of the standout characters in a series that excels in strongly written women. Besides the fierce but fair Drummer, there’s the Earth UN diplomat Chrisjen Avasarala, Martian marine Bobbie Draper, and Belter engineer Naomi Nagata. It’s a series with arguably the finest sci-fi ensemble cast outside of Star Trek, so a narrativeTelltalegame seemed well suited to the trappings.
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Telltale’s The Expanse is set before the events of the show, with Drummer the leader of The Artemis — a ship crewed by Earthers, Belters, and a Martian. We’re a couple of hundred years in the future and humanity has colonised the solar system. But those who inhabit Mars and those who grew up in the Asteroid Belt or the moons of the gas giants possess their own unique cultures. The interterrestrial space of the future is laden with tensions and grievances floating around and it’s what gives the show its edge and atmosphere.
The game differs from previous Telltale titles. Players can expect the dialogue choices, QTEs, characters remembering things, and narrative branching, but in other ways The Expanse lives up to its name. I played the game’s first episode and immediately it felt more like an action adventure. Controlling Drummer, she moved with pace and purpose. How people and objects move is an important part of The Expanse, whether game or show. That’s because of how much weight is given to gravity and physics in this series. It was heartening to see the developer factor this into gameplay as the first episode neatly weaved in the immersiveness of being on a spaceship. I turned on mag boots to scale walls and engaged zero-G thrusters to fly to a shipwreck and explore its contents. Suspended amid debris, with Jupiter hanging in the distance, the feeling of inhabiting a spacesuit was quite spectacular.
The first episode contains plenty of incident and plot deftly worked in around the tutorials. As a leader, Drummer will have to discipline her crew, make decisions to risk life and limb, where, in the desert that is space, resources are of paramount importance. As a fan of the show I latched onto the different identities aboard The Artemis and understood why the Belters spoke with their distinct accent, but I do wonder how much newcomers will be able to parse. I don’t think the game will appeal only to fans, however, as there is still plenty to enjoy here.
There are navigational puzzles that’ll have you thinking in three dimensions, as you maneuver through wreckage, and major decisions to take fairly early on. There is real danger as the devs made it clear anyone can die. You’ll also decide the tone and tenor of your leadership, and on my playthrough there were times when I regretted certain actions, such as meting out too much discipline, that could add to the game’s replayability if the choices have drastic differences.
There’ll be time for that as the first episode was somewhat brief, lasting around an hour or so, although there are hidden items and secrets to be gained from further playthroughs. I was pleasantly surprised at just how much dialogue there is on offer too, with Gee given plenty of voiced lines. One worry is that the ensemble characters don’t stand out currently, although a hint of romance – between Drummer and a Martian crew member – could interest since personal desires will have to be balanced for the greater good of your crew.
Telltale promises the largest and most immersive exploration of any of its games to date with The Expanse, so there is great potential and new episodes will release every couple of weeks. I’m curious as to how resource management will play out, how gameplay will expand, and how character dynamics resolve. Space stations, moons, and asteroids should provide more environmental variation, while the voice of a major Expanse character can be heard near the end of the first episode, possibly hinting that we could play as other protagonists. This is guesswork on my part, but the game director did suggest surprises are in store.
Although briefer than players may want, episode one sets things up well, teaching you its mechanics, and providing enough inflection points that decisions will have real consequences in subsequent episodes. It’s hard to judge how successful the series will be based on such a small part, especially when the original TV series was a somewhat slow burn in itself. But for those fascinated by hard sci-fi with political edge, The Expanse: A Telltale Series could be a good entry point into this gritty universe, while for fans, they can expect more Belter intrigue and Telltale’s signature narrative style playing out in the wider system of space.
Episode 1 of The Expanse: A Telltale Series launches on July 27 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and PC as an Epic Games Store exclusive.
Disclaimer: flights and accommodation were provided by Telltale to a preview event in Los Angeles.
