I Need Some Space

I was already thinking about The Expanse a lot this week – both the TV-show and the books. I've been a pretty big fan of the series ever since I first saw the TV-show.

Once I was done with that and discovered there were considerably more books, I started reading the book series and binged four of them in my three-week trip to Mexico. Why yes, I did enjoy the books.

The Expanse is one of those rare cases where it's clear why the show diverged towards an original ending, as soon as you read on in the book series. While I wasn't a huge fan of the concessions the show had to make to tie its ending together, show and books can comfortably co-exist in my mind. The books are the superior version, but if shows are more your speed, the TV-series certainly holds its own.

Expanding on What Came Before

This week also featured a look at the beta for the upcoming game
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn by Owlcat Games. I do not have beta access, nor was I inclined to buy it for the price of the full game. Thankfully, other creators exist who do have access.

Among those is Welonz, who I've respected as a thoughtful, attentive let's-player ever since I discovered her playing Sifu.
I knew watching her playthrough would be the next best thing to playing the game myself, so I sat down with a notes document and went through the entirety of the demo alongside her.

Narrative Nitpicks

My overall impressions of the beta were positive. I liked how the game treats its connection to the established Expanse universe. Owlcat have decided to tell a side-story set within an established stretch of time early in the series.

This allows them to structure their story around pre-existing plot-points, rather than reinvent the wheel. They can ask themselves: "What would our characters do while all this goes on?" and take it from there. Another benefit of this approach is the easy integration of cameos by popular characters. Considering we don't see every moment of the Rocinante's adventures in The Expanse, it's just about possible for the characters to have met.

The initial weak point was the writing. Some of the character dialogue felt like it was trying to do too many things at once. It wanted to establish the characters as living beings who had a life and history with each other, while also delivering exposition that felt like it wouldn't need to be said in that context.
I understand the need to onboard people who do not have previous experience with The Expanse, but strongly felt like this could have been handled better.

My other writing concern lies with the introduction of the protagonist's twin. Twinship is one of the deepest possible bonds two people can share. It's hard to replicate faithfully, and even more so when half of that relationship is baked into the player character. We'll see how Osiris Reborn handles this, and I hope Owlcat give this bond the care it deserves.

Owlcat are generally considered strong in the writing department, so I'm willing to see how things develop. I hope Owlcat deliver a game that lives up to the brilliant storytelling of its source material.

The Expanse, not Mass Effect

On the gameplay and artistic front, the environment feels crucially like The Expanse right from the beginning. The suit designs, space station environments, ships, it's all unmistakable. What Osiris Reborn does similarly to Mass Effect is the cover-shooter system – though enemies in Osiris Reborn seem more aggressive, at least in this beta build. I mean that positively, as I felt pressured even while watching.

A standout of the combat shown in the demo was a section that took place outside a space station, in zero-g on its outer hull. The space station rotates to generate spin gravity, and you can see the space around you shift while it does so.
The suits feature magnetic boots that let you stick to the station's exterior, and they enable a standout feature:
You can fully walk around the space station's exterior. As soon as the alignment shifts, your mag boots adjust for the new "down" direction, effectively enabling you to be standing upside-down on the bottom of the station.
If used cleverly, this opens up immense opportunities for combat and forces players to consider more angles than they would have to in a regular shooter.

I'm excited for this, and if you'd like to make your own judgements on what I described, here's Welonz' playthrough of the beta:

If you're interested in the Expanse: Osiris Reborn or need an excuse to check out the series, you only have to watch the first season of the show in preparation for the game, and there's ample time to do so.

If the books are more your speed, you wouldn't even need to finish the first book, Leviathan Wakes, completely.

If you're into grounded, suspenseful sci-fi with excellent characters, an expansive universe and some of the best long-term storytelling I have ever come across, I highly recommend The Expanse, in whichever form you prefer.