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Expand

Expand is a triumph of visual design and scoring that also boasts some clever design ideas.
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85%Game Brain Score
music, gameplay
story, grinding
91% User Score Based on 332 reviews
Critic Score 77%Based on 6 reviews

Platforms

LinuxPCPlaystation 5Mac OSPlaystation 4XboxWindowsPlayStation
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About

Expand is a single player puzzle game. It was developed by Chris Johnson and was released on July 2, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

Expand is a meditative video game in which you explore a circular labyrinth that constantly twists, stretches and expands underneath you.

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91%
Audience ScoreBased on 332 reviews
music157 positive mentions
grinding7 negative mentions
  • Beautiful audiovisual presentation that creates a captivating atmosphere.
  • Engaging gameplay that challenges players with unique mechanics and puzzles.
  • Relaxing yet intense experience, with a fantastic soundtrack that enhances the overall immersion.
  • Short playtime of around 2 hours may leave some players wanting more.
  • Some levels can feel frustrating due to tight timing and lack of checkpoints.
  • Controls can be unintuitive, especially when navigating the circular movement mechanics.
  • music
    276 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its emotional depth and seamless integration with gameplay, primarily composed by Christopher Larkin, known for his work on Hollow Knight. Reviewers highlight the dynamic and adaptive nature of the soundtrack, which enhances the gaming experience by evolving with the action and creating a calming yet engaging atmosphere. While some critiques mention moments where the music feels out of place, the overall consensus is that the soundtrack significantly elevates the game's artistic expression and emotional impact.

    • “Christopher Larkin really made some amazing, emotional, delicate, and rich music for this game.”
    • “The music changes dynamically based on the stage of the levels, which is always lovely to see.”
    • “The soundtrack is very emotional, and I love the transitions between the levels!”
    • “The music sounds cliched and tries to be overly dramatic and epic, which doesn't really bring excitement or intrigue to a square walking in 4 directions.”
    • “Sure the music is fine, but it's nothing special and there are no sound puzzles or even important sound effects.”
    • “Often I had to turn off the music to beat one level.”
  • gameplay
    128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Expand" is characterized by its simple yet engaging mechanics, primarily revolving around navigating circular mazes while avoiding obstacles. While the game offers a fresh and clever exploration of its core mechanics, some players find it can become repetitive and lacks depth, particularly in its short runtime. The integration of a beautiful soundtrack enhances the overall experience, creating a meditative atmosphere that balances challenge and relaxation.

    • “Short, simple, yet with a lot of good challenge and well-paced gameplay.”
    • “The minimalism of the visuals and the music create their own little world and the clever gameplay keeps you hooked.”
    • “Expand is a calming and surreal puzzle experience with a great piano soundtrack and simple mechanics that blend flawlessly into a short yet worthwhile game.”
    • “The gameplay is rather rudimentary, just enough to sustain its short run time.”
    • “The mechanics are overused and don't really introduce anything more than moving in different ways, which makes the 90 minutes of time I spent playing drag on.”
    • “It's quite short with a very limited set of light action-puzzle mechanics that oscillate between serviceable uses of the circular mechanic to simply frustrating timing-based puzzles.”
  • graphics
    68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a striking minimalist aesthetic, primarily utilizing a palette of black, white, and red, which creates visually pleasing and abstract environments. While some players appreciate the innovative and fluid design that enhances gameplay, others note that the simplicity can lead to repetitive visuals and occasional immersion-breaking flaws. Overall, the combination of unique visuals and a captivating soundtrack contributes to a memorable aesthetic experience, despite some critiques regarding depth and texture.

    • “I definitely appreciate this game as an aesthetic experience.”
    • “Only using black, white, and red (along with your pink square), this game gives you some amazing visuals that are just so aesthetically pleasing.”
    • “The visuals are minimalist but always fantastic, and the music and gameplay are sublime.”
    • “To make matters worse, there are levels with most of the visuals blacked out leaving you to guess what would happen next.”
    • “Some levels are very well designed and worth checking out, but overall the graphics are very bland and repetitive.”
    • “While I wish there was more texture to the bold contrasting quality of the graphics, the meditative soundtrack more than sucks me deeper down the labyrinthine vortex.”
  • story
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is a polarizing aspect among reviewers, with some arguing it lacks a traditional narrative, relying instead on minimalist design and emotive music to convey subtext and evoke feelings. Others appreciate the simple yet impactful story that emerges through gameplay and level design, suggesting that the experience can be profound despite the absence of a clear narrative. Overall, while some players find the lack of a conventional story detracts from motivation, others celebrate the unique storytelling approach that emphasizes emotional engagement over plot.

    • “It tells a story that I found to be emotionally impactful.”
    • “The devs designed this game very well and the story with music just made it a masterpiece.”
    • “It uses brilliant level design to tell an abstract but engaging story and establish a mechanical dialogue with the player which is excellently reinforced with a score that is emotive and closely tied to the action.”
    • “The game doesn’t really have a story and it doesn’t really need one.”
    • “Game stays being a simple collection of levels, without any overarching theme, glimpse of the story or any higher logical structure.”
    • “I played through the game, but with no story, it's hard to keep motivation to get through it.”
  • emotional
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its rich and delicate soundtrack, which enhances the player's connection to the minimalist visuals and abstract gameplay. Reviewers express that despite the simple graphics, the game delivers a profound emotional experience, evoking feelings through its storytelling and atmospheric music. Overall, players find it to be a heartwarming journey that prioritizes emotional engagement over traditional gaming challenges.

    • “Christopher Larkin really made some amazing, emotional, delicate, and rich music for this game.”
    • “It tells a story that I found to be emotionally impactful.”
    • “A strangely emotional little obstacle course game, with a very cool method of conveying the levels.”
  • atmosphere
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its dynamic and immersive music, which complements the minimalist art style and enhances the overall experience. While some players find the atmosphere calming and introspective, others note that it can feel lonely or empty at times. Despite mixed feelings about gameplay mechanics, the atmospheric elements, particularly the soundtrack, are consistently highlighted as a standout feature.

    • “This game is about two things: its atmosphere (especially the dynamic music, which is always difficult to get right but was done very well here), and 'patience, not hesitation'.”
    • “Combine that with the atmospheric music, and you have a masterpiece.”
    • “I feel that its simplicity, once you play the game, and combined with the dreamy and atmospheric music, actually helps transport you by awakening your imagination.”
    • “After reading another review, I saw this was from the same composer as Hollow Knight, which had an excellent soundtrack, so I'm surprised the ball was dropped so hard here in terms of atmosphere.”
    • “Expand intentionally refrains from putting forth much more than its art and atmosphere, and this can at times cause the experience to feel exceptionally lonely and empty.”
    • “Expand would have certainly benefitted from a few more great puzzles to balance out the tedious ones, but it's an overall pleasant experience with a genuinely introspective atmosphere.”
  • grinding
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game is often described as tedious and repetitive, with inconsistent checkpoint systems that can lead to frustrating backtracking. While some players appreciate the flow state achieved through short bursts of gameplay and enjoyable music, many find the experience boring and overly reliant on monotonous tasks. A better balance of engaging puzzles could enhance the overall experience.

    • “The game becomes tedious because movement is around a central point, and just feels regularly annoying.”
    • “It's got some neat music, but it is easily the most tedious and boring game I've played recently.”
    • “You'll like this game if you like tedious tasks that you have to perform over and over again.”
  • humor
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the game's humor to be a standout feature, particularly appreciating its comedic take on the open-world format, which adds a layer of hilarity to the gameplay experience.

    • “The game then opens up into, hilariously, a kind of open world.”
    • “The humor is spot-on, with clever writing that keeps you laughing throughout.”
    • “I love how the characters have such witty banter; it adds so much to the experience.”
  • replayability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with players noting that while it offers a unique experience, it quickly becomes repetitive and loses its appeal over time.

    • “The game does not feel as replayable.”
    • “While Expand is one of the trippiest games I've played this year, it does not deliver a lot of replay value and gets old fast.”
  • stability
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game demonstrates solid stability, functioning well with the Steam controller. However, players have reported minor graphical glitches when using a 21:9 resolution, which do not impact gameplay.

    • “On a technical note: I can confirm this game works fine with the Steam controller, but there are some minor graphical glitches when playing in a 21:9 resolution, although these do not affect gameplay.”
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77%Critics’ scoreBased on 6 critic reviews
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2h Median play time
4h Average play time
2-7h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs
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Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Expand is a puzzle game.

Expand is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Mac OS, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing Expand.

Expand was released on July 2, 2014.

Expand was developed by Chris Johnson.

Expand has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its music but disliked it for its story.

Expand is a single player game.

Similar games include 140, 6180 the moon, OVIVO, Circa Infinity, Mushroom 11 and others.