Summary
The Expanse: A Telltale Seriesmarks the triumphant return of Telltale Games, following its acquisition by LCG Entertainment. The series isdeveloped by Deck Nine Games, known best for its work on theLife is Strangefranchise. Telltale’s approach to both gameplay and decision-making has evolved in its time away, withThe Expansefocusing primarily on relationship-building and exploration. However, the freedom of choice struggles alongside this approach.Episode 2highlights a flaw in Telltale’s implementation of this freedom, as many players are unaware that their minor decisions during exploration have the biggest impact on the series narrative.
The Expanse: A Telltale Seriesis based on James S.A. Corey’s hit book and television series, and provides an original prequel story for fan-favorite character Camina Drummer. The first two episodes are divided into various segments, as players free-roam open space, search for salvage, and spend time aboard their ship, the Artemis, navigating crew relationships. However,The Expanse’s decision-making stands as its boldest departure from the traditional Telltale formula, as its biggest narrative moments are determined by players' approach to exploration. While this format offers an enormous amount of freedom, players who approachThe Expanselike a traditional Telltale series can find themselves locked out of crucial interactions.
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The Expanse Delivers a Title in Which Decisions Truly Matter
The Expanse: A Telltale Series' most significant moments occur onboard the Artemis, with conversation providing the narrative’s biggest story beats. However, unlikeother Telltale game series, the depth of these conversations largely depends on how players approach their alone time.The Expanse’s sandbox salvaging segments leave matters entirely up to the player, allowing them to explore open space and wreckage with no time limit or indication of how much salvage can be discovered. WhileThe Expanseisn’t the first title to promise that players’ decisions truly matter, these exploration segments see Telltale finally deliver.
The Expanse: A Telltale Seriesprovides little guidancein its opening chapter, allowing players to discover the game’s mechanics and salvaging system through first-hand experience. While they are given a destination marker and main objective, players are free to explore ships, rooms, and floating wreckage for hidden items. While some of these items serve little purpose, others prove to be crucial to the game’s narrative. In this way,The Expanseleverages the player’s every decision during exploration. Rather than force players to make two or three life-or-death decisions, inThe Expanse,the spontaneous choice to explore one of its many optional rooms in real-time could be the difference between any crew member’s life or death in a future episode.
The Expanse Episode 2 Highlights A Flaw In Its Approach to Freedom
The opening chapter ofThe Expanse: A Telltale Series - Episode 2teaches players that nearly every piece ofEpisode 1’s optional salvage is capable of playing a pivotal role. Drummer gets the option to gift another crew member with a cigar salvaged inEpisode 1.This gift leads to Drummer bonding with her most oppositional crew member and learning a crucial codeword for future episodes. Later, players can use another completely optional piece of salvage to unearth hidden details on the ship’s cook. If players then ignore their present objective and backtrack to this crew member’s location, they can experience an obscure but hugely important moment of relationship-building.
Unfortunately, Telltale offers players no indication ofexploration’s true importance inThe Expanse - Episode 1, leading many fans to missEpisode 2’s biggest moments. It’s apparent that a significant subset of players has stuck to the story inEpisode 1andEpisode 2,an issue reflected by the Results page revealing that 66% of all players missed a single item that determines a certain character’s survival. Going intoEpisode 3, the ramifications of these minor decisions could expand exponentially. Players interested in seeing their crew survive should thoroughly explore every nook and cranny from the opening moments ofEpisode 1.
The Expanse: A Telltale Seriesis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
