TL;DR – We take a look at the bonus episode from The Expanse: A Telltale Series featuring Chrisjen Avasarala  

Disclosure – I paid for this game.

The Expanse Review –

Earlier this year, we looked at a new Telltale-style game from Deck Nine that brought us back into the world of The Expanse. The Expanse: A Telltale Series explored the world of Camina Drummer (Cara Gee) before she joined the story that we know. It was a fun blast, bar that time, I accidentally got a crew member killed. You can read our full review of the game HERE. I knew there would be a bonus episode dropping at some point, but I didn’t know who it was going to focus on, and now it is here. I could not wait to give it a whirl.

So to set the scene, Undersecretary of Peace Operations Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) has been sequestered away from the United Nations to the Secretary General’s bunker. The rest of the politicians are up on Luna, and this is a sort of safety net, or prison, depending on who you ask. But if you are alive, you can work to find a way forward, even if there are phone calls from Calisto to distract you. Because Mendez (Rogelio Ramos) is out there trying to take your job, and you will not let that snivelling excuse of pustule get his way.

Even though, mechanically, this bonus episode is quite similar to the rest of the game, what I found so interesting was how different the vibe was. Part of this was because we have sifted leads, which will always change the feel. More than that, we have gone from a much more expansive feeling to being relatively contained as you are locked in that bunker. If this were on television, you would almost call it a bottle episode, but like bottle episodes, the confinement can work for you if you set it up nicely, which the team here did.

It was fascinating delving into the more political side of things as you weave through all the ministrations that have kept you stuck in this bunker. Much like Chrisjen in the books and show, you are trying to put out multiple fires all at once from the politicians, the navy, and even your own family. This is all while you must work through your assistant Nishan (Ōmid Dastán Harrison), who does not even have the decency to be sequestered in the bunker. I liked all the small touches that made it clear that the designers understood the source material that they were working from. Those flags were a deep cut, and I liked that touch.

From a mechanical perspective, being locked into the room does provide an escalation of some of the quirks we witnessed in the main game. The most noticeable is that the movement is slightly clunky, at least on the keyboard and mouse. There is no zero gravity stuck in a bunker under New York, so there is no way to alleviate this by moving in three-dimensional space. To add to this, we get a couple of puzzles in this chapter, and bar the wooden box, they can all be brute forced without much effort. Thankfully, while these issues are there, they are not major problems in the way you enjoy the game.

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that Shohreh Aghdashloo was returning to the character of Avasarala. We got a small cameo in the base game, which was a delight. I would have been happy with that, but you exceeded even my biggest wishes. Also, props for getting Brian George back as Arjun because their chess game was probably one of the highlights of this chapter. If you know the lore of The Expanse, you may flag what the reference to Calisto means quite early, but can I say that even if you do, you are not ready for what is coming. It is an amazing performance, and if I can hope, this won’t be the last time we hear Chrisjen Avasarala again.

In the end, do we recommend The Expanse: A Telltale Series – ARCHANGEL? Absolutely. If you already have access to the chapter via the special edition, 100% go check it out. Is it worth getting the special edition just for this chapter? Well? I would say yes, but then I might be a little biased on that front.          

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you played The Expanse?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the staff of The Expanse: A Telltale Series
Game Direction – Stephan Frost
Story – Jonathan Zimmerman, Andy Auseon, Iris Dauterman & Stephan Frost
Lead Designer – Christopher Sica
Lead Animator – Martha Murrie
Art Direction – Emerson Oaks & Anthony Jones
Cinematic Director – Alistair Ebinger
Audio Lead – Jeff Kurtenacker
Engineering Lead – Thomas Marnell
Environmental Lead – Tommy Spampinato
Cast – Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ōmid Dastán Harrison, Brian George, Brian Landis Folkins, Stephan Frost, Rogelio Ramos, Bezhad Dabu, Jihad Milhem & Erika Mori
Developer – Deck Nine
Publisher – Telltale
Episodes Covered – ARCHANGEL