Expand
- July 2, 2014
- Chris Johnson
- 2h median play time
Expand is a triumph of visual design and scoring that also boasts some clever design ideas.
Get on Steam"Expand" is a single-player, delightful adventure game with a pink square guiding you through a rotating, unfolding labyrinth. The game features five stages of exploration and discovery, supplemented by a compelling soundtrack that deeply immerses you in its allegorical themes. Highly polished, brimming with ideas, and backed by an outstanding score, "Expand" offers a unique experience that leaves a lasting impression.
Mac OS
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Linux
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features a beautiful and immersive soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- The minimalist art style and dynamic level design create a unique and engaging gameplay experience.
- Expand offers a meditative and relaxing atmosphere, making it a great game for short, casual play sessions.
- The game is quite short, typically taking only about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete, which may leave some players wanting more.
- Some levels can feel frustrating due to tight timing and lack of checkpoints, leading to repeated attempts.
- The controls can be unintuitive at first, especially when using a keyboard instead of a controller.
- music276 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its beauty and emotional depth, 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 gameplay experience by syncing with the game's events and creating a meditative 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 appeal, making it a standout feature.
“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 four 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.”
- gameplay124 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
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 variety of clever level designs and introduces new mechanics progressively, some players find it can become repetitive and frustrating due to its limited core gameplay elements and occasional technical issues. Overall, the combination of minimalist visuals, a beautiful soundtrack, and thoughtful gameplay creates a unique experience, though some feel it lacks depth and variety.
“Short, simple, yet with a lot of good challenge and well-paced gameplay.”
“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 mix of simple game mechanics, progressive obstacles, and beautiful music make this an easy purchase for a fantastic, if short, experience.”
“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.”
- graphics68 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
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. Many reviewers appreciate the innovative and artistic presentation, noting that the visuals complement the clever gameplay and soothing soundtrack, although some mention that the simplicity can lead to repetitive elements. Overall, the unique art style and fluid transitions enhance the immersive experience, making it a standout in the indie puzzle/platformer genre.
“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 abstract graphics become surreal and create a dreamlike space where you begin to lose yourself and concepts like time and reality cease to exist.”
“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.”
“A lot of indie games use abstract art styles to cache their lack of substance.”
- story30 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story is a polarizing aspect among reviewers, with many noting its minimalistic approach and lack of traditional narrative elements. While some argue that it lacks a clear storyline, others appreciate the emotional depth conveyed through its music and level design, suggesting that the experience itself can evoke feelings and themes without explicit storytelling. Overall, the game is seen as a unique blend of gameplay and abstract storytelling, where the emotional impact is derived more from the atmosphere and design than from a conventional 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.”
- emotional18 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
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 journey, evoking feelings through its storytelling and music, making it a heartwarming experience that transcends traditional gaming challenges. Overall, players find themselves deeply moved by the game's ability to convey complex emotions through its unique design and sound.
“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.”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
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 evocative, others note that it can feel lonely or empty at times. Overall, the combination of atmospheric soundtracks and innovative design creates a compelling environment, despite some criticisms regarding controls and level design.
“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.”
“The juxtaposition between the pleasant, almost calming atmosphere of the music vs. the imagery of the game was quite tantalizing.”
“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.”
“Outside of the menu, Expand's soundtrack feels dynamic and full, bringing a sense of atmosphere whilst also enhancing the sense of deliberateness that the movement of each scene's elements has as they dance and oscillate in time with the melodies.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some appreciate the flow state achieved through repetitive tasks and enjoyable music, others criticize it for being tedious and inconsistent, particularly due to the checkpoint system. Overall, the game is seen as either engaging or monotonous, depending on individual preferences for grinding mechanics.
“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.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
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.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates solid stability, functioning well with the Steam controller. However, players may encounter minor graphical glitches when using a 21:9 resolution, though these 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.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
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 in this game is spot-on, with clever jokes that keep you laughing throughout.”
“I love how the characters have such witty banter; it adds so much to the overall experience.”
Critic Reviews
Expand Review
A unique game that's visually distinctive and at times quite beautiful, but it suffers from a little unevenness in some levels which distract from the meditative experience it has been pitched as.
75%Expand Review
Despite falling on the shorter side of indie titles, Expand manages to stand out as a fascinating take on puzzles and mazes. By relying on a mix of patient gameplay and non-stop movement, each puzzle requires as much thought as it does technical skill. Not every puzzle is a hit, with a few standing out as little more than frustrating, but the majority of the experience is very well done thanks in large part to the colour scheme and soundtrack. 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.
70%Expand Review
While it's hard to find anything overtly enjoyable in the experience, Expand never feels like a complete waste of time. It's a tough game to explain on many levels. It's more of a platformer than anything else, or perhaps a puzzle game. It's not horrible, and it's not amazing. It's safe to say many gamers will take a different opinion of it, but it's just too hard to put into words what's missing. It feels like a constant art piece, without words telling how cool it is and how appreciative they should be for playing it. It just never feels like it lives up to its own expectations. Too often, it feels like it's trying to be so much more than it can hope to be.
50%
