It’s been over a 12 months for the reason that TV collection The Expanse ended with a compressed sixth season. Whereas it’s a miracle it managed to cowl six of the 9 Expanse novels throughout its run on SyFy and later Amazon Prime, it’s arduous to not really feel like we left that universe too quickly. Nothing on tv at the moment fairly compares to the arduous sci-fi world-building and political allegory the present managed to string on a weekly foundation. Fortunately, The Expanse: A Telltale Collection manages to fill that void admirably. I’ve performed the primary three episodes of a deliberate 5, and whereas it might not comprise the lovable solid of the Rocinante, nearly every part else that made the present so compelling has returned.
Firstly, we’ve got Cara Gee, who reprises her memorable function as Camina Drummer and acts as the sport’s fundamental character. Giving gamers management of such a fiercely charismatic individual goes an extended strategy to making the sport’s world engrossing from the get-go, however your crew of misfit scrappers definitely aren’t weak hyperlinks. There’s the curmudgeonly pilot, the hotshot (former) Marine, and an impeccably skilled physician who should be hiding one thing to be serving with a ragtag group like this.
The writing and performances within the first two episodes are each bit as effectively crafted because the present, with a spotlight extra on intimate character beats than solar-system politics. For higher or worse, typically you overlook you’re enjoying a online game and never watching an animated Expanse collection.
Not solely do the extent designers imbue the environments with an acceptable quantity of “lived-in-ness” — a lot of what they’ve created might be explored in zero gravity. The implementation right here is shockingly intuitive, permitting you to connect your “grav boots” not solely to the ground, however partitions and ceilings as effectively. As a scrapper, you’ll have the ability to simply launch off of and discover the wreckage of ships floating above Jupiter, looking for spare elements, gas, and possibly one thing additional to your crewmates. For Expanse followers particularly, it’s fairly the deal with flying across the carcasses of MCRN and U.N. Navy vessels, totally realized in all their vastness.
All the pieces appears and feels nice, nevertheless it’s arduous to not really feel like Telltale’s model is one thing of a throwback lately. Regardless of me not having not performed one of many studio’s video games for the reason that authentic Strolling Useless in 2013 (and positively not for the reason that firm’s “revival” in 2019), the dialogue system felt immediately acquainted. As I made my selections and realized extra about my crew, I began to essentially take into consideration how a sure response might change my choices in future episodes. Seeing how all my selections stacked up in comparison with what different gamers selected was downright nostalgic.
It’s simplistic, however in some ways in which makes the sport really feel extra approachable than many narrative video games at the moment. Generally I need a recreation to hook me in additional difficult, nuanced methods, however typically I simply need a huge flashing window to inform me if I’m about to make an essential determination. The suite of accessibility choices goes an extended strategy to make the sport as straightforward to play as you need it to be; I particularly appreciated the warning for quick-time motion sequences that totally pauses the sport.
What stays to be seen is how the sport’s significant selections will have an effect on the story in later episodes. The plot of Episode 1: “Archer’s Paradox” doesn’t stray removed from typical Expanse fare, however a revelation in a later episode appears poised to discover extra of the present’s deeper themes of exploitation, injustice, and inequality.
I’ll not know but the place it’s headed, nevertheless it’s so satisfying to be having fun with The Expanse once more.
The Expanse: A Telltale Collection Episode 1: “Archer’s Paradox” might be launched on July 27 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Collection X. The sport was reviewed utilizing a pre-release obtain code offered by Double Fantastic Productions. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media might earn commissions for merchandise bought by way of affiliate hyperlinks. You will discover extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.