Space Dangers
It’s no secret that I am a sci-fi junkie; Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica (original and remake), Stargate if it said ‘Star’ I am pretty much in. Maybe that’s why I was such a late comer to the sci-fi series The Expanse, which released in 2015. The series tells the story of a future where humanity has colonized the solar system. In the show various factions clash in a state of cold war that is threatening to go hot after the discovery of an alien technology; what follow is conspiracies, action, and some of the best damn character development I’ve seen in a long time. The game acts a prequel to the series, so you don’t have to have seen a single episode (or read one of the books upon its based) in order to comfortably jump in.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
I can’t think of a better development team to bring the world of The Expanse to live in video game form, the studio is known for great character development, deep stories that allow for player choice and some great acting; everything that indeed makes The Expanse show great. In the Telltale game players will take on the role of Cara Drummer who is the XO of the Artemis; whose crew scavenges spaceships and other debris in space. Drummer and the crew of the Artemis discover the existence of a valuable item from a derelict ship, the knowledge of which makes them the target of pirate attacks and in-fighting within themselves.
This is a fantastic set-up for the decisions that players will need to make as Drummer. Living and working in space is dangerous, they don’t have fancy transporters like Star Trek, no its based on more real-world tech. So, things like hull breaches, unproperly sealed air locks and the like are all real fears in this world and developers Deck 9 and Telltale have nailed the feeling of that fear in the game. They’ve done a masterful job of mixing up QTE like moments, which are a staple in Telltale games to heavy relationship development and even combat with all the skill of a master artist. Truly The Expanse: A Telltale Game has some of the best facial animations sense Injustice 2, it’s a beautiful game to behold.
Despite each of the episodes feeling short there remains a good variety of experiences for players. My favorite was the zero-gravity sequences, as someone who desperately wants to experience space, I loved every moment of moving through the debris fields that littered each of the zero-g parts. These segments are helped with an excellent job done from the art direction department. The various ships and environments that players will end up working their way through will look instantly familiar to fans, and the developers even include some easter eggs and things that point to characters in the show.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a fantastic companion piece to The Expanse show, telling a prequel story with so many weighty decisions that include the lives of various crew members is “classic” Telltale. Even when players make a seemingly good choice you can’t help but think about what sort of negative connotations its going to yield later down the road. I enjoyed virtually every moment of The Expanse, this is Telltalle at their very best anyone who is a fan of their past work shouldn’t miss this series.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
