The Expanse: A Telltale Series review – Decision-making life or death

A "choose your own adventure" game in deep space

Editor's Note: Our original unscored review of The Expanse: A Telltale Series, based on Episodes 1-3 of the game, has been updated to reflect the release of Episodes 4 and 5, and now includes a final score and technical breakdown.

Telltale’s games are known for their particular style of storytelling. Usually based on existing popular IPs such as Batman, The Walking Dead, and Borderlands, they tell a completely new story based in the same world. These are “choose your own adventure” games, where the main beats of the story mostly stay the same, but where the characters who survive until the end and the scenes available to you often depend on the choices you make. They are also episodic, mimicking the TV series they are often based on, and making up a mini-series of five different episodes that you can enjoy.

The Expanse is no different. Based on the TV show of the same name, you take control of Camina Drummer, a scavenger looking for a big payout that can help her impoverished community in the Belt. You find out more about the Belt as the story progresses, including the discrimination they face as they do everything they can to survive. Alongside the crew of the ship The Artemis, you make decisions that decide who you trust and who trusts you.

Episode 1: Archer’s Paradox – release date July 27, 2023

Telltale Games

The first episode focuses on getting to know the characters. You walk around the ship and converse with the crew of the Artemis, who on the whole don’t seem to be Drummer’s biggest fans. That’s, of course, where your choices come in, and each choice you make can influence what the crew members think of you. After you have a brief chat with each person on board, it’s time to get down to the other main side of the gameplay; the exploration.

As you scavenge your first ship, you can keep to the path forward, or choose to explore different areas. This can offer you extra conversations based on things you find, or items that will open up other paths later. There is a lot of incentive to explore more here, and as it’s set in space, you can explore in 3D, which makes the already large map even bigger. The option to blitz through or take it all in is engaging, and will give you more on multiple playthroughs.

There are two very big decisions to make in this episode, and they do have huge implications on later outcomes. The depth of these decisions is heavy, and you will wonder if you made the right decision long after the choice is made. The ending deeply changes how the different characters see you, which will continue on to the episodes going forth.

Episode 2: Hunting Grounds – release date August 10, 2023

Telltale Games

Off the gains of your big haul in Episode 1, you begin Episode 2 running from pirates. This episode is bookended with further character development, as you have the opportunity to chat with each member of the crew individually, and learn more about their past based on things you find during exploration.

The exploration is more daunting than in the original episode as the area opens up, with a lot more that you can find. These are very easy to miss if you aren’t exploring every nook and cranny, so you’ll want to spend some time on this. Overall, it is a slower-paced episode that is more based on your character interactions, though it does have one major decision.

Learning about the past of each of the characters will set you up for further plot elements, so it’s important to take your time with this episode, and learn more about each person. It works here adding a slower episode in between two more full-on episodes as it acts as a resting point in the middle.

Episode 3: First Ones – release date August 24, 2023

Telltale Games

The crew has finally found their way to what they think will be their final big score, allowing them to return. You will only take one person with you on this exploration mission, so it has far less development than previous episodes, as there is little communication with the rest of the crew. The exploration here is far more straightforward, with some light puzzle-solving.

I enjoyed the linear storytelling here much more, though my impression was that it is the decisions you have made up to this episode that affect the ending rather than anything you make at the moment. This made this episode a lot more stressful, particularly when I saw the decisions screen at the end, and knew in part how the ending could have played out.

We were initially given this game to review in July, and the review ended at Episode 3, leaving us on a knife edge as to how the series would play out. There was then a two-month break between starting the game and finishing it.

Episode 4: Impossible Objects – release date September 7, 2023

Telltale Games

Episode 4 is another slow one, and Drummer will find herself alone no matter how you played out the rest of the story. Saying that Episode 2 was a slow one was folly, now that we reach this episode, which contains no major decisions. Without too many spoilers, by this episode some of your crew may have already kicked the bucket, and whether or not they did will see the outcomes of this episode play differently.

Drummer is lost, abandoned, and not so slowly dying, and the ghosts of her past are coming to haunt her. It’s cliché, but also we are yet to hear about the majority of her ghosts outside of brief mentions, so it does a lot to build her character. Overall, this is possibly the weakest episode, due to the lack of choices, though it does a lot for Drummer’s character development. The path is linear, the puzzle-solving simple, and the growth a bit too one-dimensional for us to 

Episode 5: Europa’s Folly – release date September 21, 2023

Telltale Games

It is likely that the pacing of Episode 4 was so slow to ramp up the tension for Episode 5, and there is plenty to be tense about here. While a couple of characters might be dead already, there are plenty more lives on the line here. In fact, the majority of your crew can be saved or sacrificed in this one. I literally mean sacrificed, as the easier route is to always give up on characters you care less about to go for your favorites.

There is very little in terms of exploration here, but a lot when it comes to major decisions. These are everywhere, and you have to watch what you do at every step. It’s as tense as you expect a final episode to be full of power struggles, and reveals. There is the feeling of culmination, that the decisions you made up until this point will determine whether characters wish to help you or not, but ultimately, whether they live or day comes down to the final day.

Overall

Telltale Games

The Expanse is a shorter adventure than you might be expecting, with each episode only lasting around an hour, although there is incentive to go back and see what you might have missed out on. The choices certainly do matter, but as with most Telltale games, they often come back round to the same point in the main story, just via a slightly different path.

For me the biggest letdown is still the episodic structure. By the time I dove into Episodes 4 and 5, two months had passed, and I had forgotten all about Drummer and the Artemis. Coming back into that world was strange, and not in a good way. Instead, the effort I’d put into building my relationships felt futile, as I had forgotten why I cared so much about the characters.

I can see why the episodic structure is appealing, but the choice to release each episode two weeks apart is a huge misstep. There is a reason why people binge-watch series. They want to know the ending while they still care. Releasing The Expanse in this way only punishes the early adopters, which are the ones that are paying the most for the worst experience.

Score: 7/10

Version Tested: PC (Steam Deck)

• Visuals: 8/10
• Story: 9/10
• Gameplay: 7/10
• Pacing: 5/10

The Expanse: A Telltale Series technical breakdown

The Expanse is an Epic Games Store exclusive, but I was given a Steam version for review so it is unlikely that the version I played will be similar to the one anyone else played. However, it did run extremely well and was smooth throughout. During the final episode, the framerate did start to chug, but I think this is due to my Deck’s performance rather than the game.