Life Is Strange: True Colors Dev Adapting The Expanse for Telltale Games

We'll remember that

by Sammy Barker Fri 10th Dec 2021

Acclaimed sci-fi show The Expanse will be getting a prequel, courtesy of the resurrected Telltale Games and Life Is Strange: True Colors developer Deck Nine. The game – which currently has no platforms attached, but is expected to release on the PlayStation 5 and PS4 – will serve as a prequel to the television series, and will boast the same kind of decision-based gameplay you’d expect from the likes of The Walking Dead et al.

“We’ve admired the work done by our pals over at Deck Nine Games on Life is Strange: True Colors,” Telltale Games beamed. “So, what better way to collaborate than with The Expanse, Alcon Entertainment’s series mired in an interstellar conspiracy as humanity colonizes space? The characters are so complex and the visuals scream to be recreated as a new tale within the franchise’s canon. It was a game that we were excited to make with Deck Nine Games!”

[source youtube.com]

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.

1
Bentleyma
Fri 10th Dec 2021

I’ve never heard of The Expanse, but I’m a big fan of Telltale (I’ve played through 3 of their games this week!). I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this.

2
Deadhunter
Fri 10th Dec 2021

I'm a huge fan of both The Expanse and True Colors so this is an absolute win for me. I can't wait to learn more about it.

3
theheadofabroom
Fri 10th Dec 2021

I'm slightly disappointed to hear we'll be playing an established character, yet not part of the Rocinante crew. I'm assuming based on the actor likeness that it's based on the TV continuity rather than the books, but I'll also be intrigued to know when it takes place, whichever continuity it's aligned with.

4
PegasusActual93
Fri 10th Dec 2021

@Bentleyma-
It's up there with Battlestar Galactica in being among the best scifi shows of all time. 1st season is a little messy but it really finds it's fitting from the 2nd onwards.

5
r_p_trzy
Fri 10th Dec 2021

No mention of The Wolf Among Us 2?

6
theheadofabroom
Fri 10th Dec 2021

@PegasusActual93 I think that can blame itself a little on the first book (which the first series is based on) being by far the weakest. Oddly I think the first series is better than the first book, but the other books are better than the later series, despite the later series also being an improvement over the first.

7
PegasusActual93
Fri 10th Dec 2021

@theheadofabroom
Never read the books so can't compare, all I can say is that it seems fans of the books by and large are happy with the series and as usual with this show and His Dark Materials (haven't read Game of Thrones or watched the series) it proves my argument that book series should almost always be better off adapted as a series instead of movies.

8
theheadofabroom
Sat 11th Dec 2021

@PegasusActual93 yup, as much as I prefer the books, I love the show too. They've diverged into their own things, as these long running series often do, but it still has the kernel of what the books are all about.

I can't see how you'd turn it into a coherent series of films without losing that, but to explain we'd have to go into a discussion of the strengths of different media, and how different stories are better told in one form than another. Part of what we see here is a difference between long flowing narratives (the expanse is essentially a trilogy of trilogies, where the only discontinuity is between the second and third trilogy, which, without spoilers, explains why we're unlikely to see series 7-9 any time soon) and more episodic series, like for instance Flemming's Bond novels, which appear to be self-contained excerpts from a larger story we don't get to see, and which is why these adapt quite well as films.