Expand Reviews
Expand is a triumph of visual design and scoring that also boasts some clever design ideas.
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.
When I wasn't cursing at my television screen upon dying on the same puzzle for what seemed like 20th time, I was recognizing how brilliant Expand‘s design was. It's rare to see a game this fully realized, one that sees all of its mechanics fully fleshed out, and when I finally escaped the maze after hours of play, it felt like a genuine victory. Expand may take joy in frustrating the player at times, but the true feeling of jubilation comes from overcoming its trickery.
Please, do not let its screenshots deter you - Expand is an expertly crafted game that demands to be played.
Expand is a great puzzle game. Navigating your square through monochromatic mazes offers a wonderfully relaxing experience that somehow manages to be calming and wrought with tension throughout. While it's a relatively short title, its low price point and high fun factor make it a worthwhile venture. Sure, it may not have been a runaway success on its initial release, but we can only hope this title finds its audience this time around.
While maybe a little too short for some, Expand is a polished, crafty puzzler that boasts a solid challenge and gameplay that will require you to think a little outside the box.
Expand is a great puzzle game in PlayStation 4 that I definitely recommend you play. The game might be short, since it can be completed in around 2 hours or so, but for me, it's actually the perfect length since it presents a gameplay mechanic, allows you to enjoy it, and then ends before it overstays its welcome. If you're a fan of minimalist puzzle games, then you definitely need to play this one!
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.
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.
To truly appreciate what Chris Johnson and Chris Larkin have created in Expand, you have to approach it as an experience, not a game. It's not a puzzler that wants to challenge the deepest of your skills, it wants you to navigate around it, forgetting about all the stress that's around you. So if relaxing games are your thing, if you have enjoyed games like Flower for example, then this one is a must-have release for your library.
Despite the rage it’s caused, I love this game, it’s simple and disorientating and therapeutic and confusing and charming. The game has managed to be a form of distraction from things that I needn’t worry about and I think that’s one of its best features. It can just drag you in and engulf you for hours at a time. But the game never stays the same, the game likes to throw new situations at you, it’s easy to embrace and gives great satisfaction once the sector is cleared.
The price currently sits at £7.99 for the game so again a bit much, though would highly recommend people to look out for it on sale, if you’re into puzzle games or just want something different because not going to lie the pros for the game out way the cons. You’ll definitely get some enjoyment out of this little indie game.
I think you'll know whether this is a game you'd be inclined to play. All I can give you is my heartiest recommendation. Expand is quite obviously designed with great care and attention to detail from the maze design, to the soundtrack, and to the pacing that had me on tenterhooks. I loved every minute of it.
Expand's greatest deception is in giving the impression that its stark black and white and red color palette and plain geometric characters were born out of an inability to do anything more.