‘The Expanse: A Telltale Series’ Episode 1 review: Long live Beltalowda!

The first episode of Telltale’s The Expanse sets the stage for an exciting adventure out among the stars.

Vish

August 4, 2023

Telltale marks its return collaborating with developers Deck Nine, makers of Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, on The Expanse: A Telltale Series. As someone who hasn’t watched the TV series or read the novels, this prequel adventure is a wonderful introduction to the universe – and a great way to tide you over until fellow space adventures like Starfield and Fort Solis launch.

The Expanse: A Telltale Series is an episodic game starring Cara Gee as Camina Drummer, a scavenger and a fan favorite character from the hit TV show. You’ll experience an original story while exploring the dangerous and uncharted region of The Belt. Being a Telltale game, the choices you make affect the story and the characters around you, though we’ll have to wait until further along in the series to see just how those choices pay off.

The series opens with Drummer and her captain, Garrison Cox, sharing a drink, leading to a conversation about their forthcoming “one last mission” that could very well make them rich. This sets the foundation for where we can expect the series to go. The first few minutes of the game are mostly spent exploring the Artemis, a scavenger ship that resembles Mass Effect’s Normandy. This episode sets the stage for the adventure, with early objectives being to get to know your crewmates. Your dialogue in these conversations can affect their impression of you later on in classic Telltale-style.

The mission consisted of salvaging anything useful from the wreck of Urshanabi, a United Nations Navy ship. Upon reaching the wreckage, I immediately felt major Dead Space vibes. The Urshanabi wreck set a spooky atmosphere which made me wonder if I might stumble into any monsters in the dark (thankfully, I did not). The setting of the game leaning into the horror genre was a nice change of ambience. Walking the dark hallways of the ship was anxiety inducing as it got too quiet sometimes, especially with nothing but dead bodies around.

Drummer’s occasional conversations with her crew members added a great touch during the exploration of the Urshanabi. They added small details which were helpful in getting to know the crew mates better and their own relationships with Drummer along with also introducing me to the unfamiliar universe of The Expanse.

The Expanse encourages players to explore the environment around them and discover items. Exploration can lead to uncovering side quests which may end up also shaping the story and certain relationships. This is a welcome change in a Telltale game as it fits the narrative well and doesn’t affect the pacing. The two side missions I stumbled up during my playthrough were mainly standard fetch quests. However, we will have to wait and see if the nature of these side quests changes or remain the same in future episodes.

Gameplay in The Expanse feels a lot different from other Telltale games. The character movement was a bit stiff in the start but I slowly started getting used to it. There are two new mechanics introduced in the game that made it more engaging for me. The mag boots allow Drummer to walk on walls and easily cross any debris obstructing her way while scavenging. Zero-G thrusters let her float across the vastness of space, creating an immersive exploration opportunity. I didn’t want to stop floating in space staring at the beautiful visuals. I wish Deck Nine included a photo mode as some of the visuals while exploring were simply breathtaking. Of course, being a Telltale game, The Expanse did have some quick time events. I know a lot of gamers don’t enjoy QTEs, but I didn’t mind them here. Still, I do hope to see some new combat mechanics in future episodes.

The graphics and visuals were overall breathtaking. Being fascinated by space, I hope to see more locations across the solar system in the upcoming episodes. Telltale’s comic book-y style in games like The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Batman has been something I’ve appreciated over the years. However, with The Expanse, developer Deck Nine went with a more realistic style, which fits the themes and story of the series well.

The first episode of Telltale’s The Expanse is a solid start to this five part series. It follows the classic Telltale formula of initially starting slow and building up the story towards the end of the episode with a major cliffhanger that definitely had me wanting for more. I can’t wait until episode two to see where this series goes next!