Expand

 PlayStation 4
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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 6 Ratings

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  • Summary: Expand is a single player video game in which players explore a circular labyrinth constructed in a monochromatic geometric landscape. Players must avoid getting squashed as the labyrinth twists, stretches and reveals itself in response to the player's movements.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Oct 3, 2017
    85
    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.
  2. PlaySense
    Oct 10, 2017
    80
    If you like puzzle games, Expand will definitely entertain you with a unique blend of brilliant level design and enjoyable music.
  3. God is a Geek
    Oct 3, 2017
    75
    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.
  4. New Game Network
    Nov 6, 2017
    75
    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.
  5. Push Square
    Oct 3, 2017
    70
    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.
  6. PlayStation Country
    Oct 18, 2017
    70
    Expand is a decent game and one with a bold, vivid style. Some of the mazes are wonderful to experience and the way the moving pieces just always work together at the right time is very satisfying. I enjoyed my time with it even if it was short lived. It's hard to peg a genre to Expand or even to be totally convinced that it isn't some kind of art installation, but whatever it is doing, it does it well.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. SnappyGR
    Sep 2, 2019
    8
    Snappy Game Reviews - Acid Trip

    I truly miss the early days of the golden age of indie games, I have fond memories of playing those    Snappy Game Reviews - Acid Trip

    I truly miss the early days of the golden age of indie games, I have fond memories of playing those timeless classics that despite seeming extremely simple were brimming with new ideas sometimes even mixing genres to make something truly special. Expand, a game by Chris Johnson & Chris Larkin, made me feel like I had just gone back to those times.

    At first, it seemed like this incredibly basic mostly monochromatic maze game where you have to navigate to make it to the end, but Expand‘s simple concept made for quite the experience. As such there’s very little text in Expand and you learn everything you need to know through experience. You can move along white surfaces, black surfaces act as walls that can expand or contract that, for the most part, are harmless unless you get crushed by them and red objects mean instant death and should be avoided at all costs. With this knowledge that gets passed to the player during the introduction, you’re free to explore any of the initial four sections of this black and white world. This sense of freedom is rather welcoming in a game like this though it might make for some difficulty spikes depending on the order that you go through the game.

    Each of the previously mentioned sections has a given number of challenges for you to overcome that revolve around the same basic idea of navigating safely to the end of the stage. Once you get all four segments a fifth and final area will be unlocked that will put all you’ve learned to the test. For a game only comprised of simple shapes and few colours Expand never got boring to look at nor to play, this is because of how inventive each maze is. Through the use of shifting perspectives and clever transitions, the game can keep your attention at all times and makes you want to keep playing just to see what comes next. This is heightened by the beautiful and eerie soundtrack composed by Chris Larkin. It somehow manages to keep you relaxed even in the most frustrating bits through its soothing tunes.

    This trippy journey should take little more than 2 hours to come to a close but despite being this short I think it strikes the perfect length, I felt completely entranced during my time with the game and by the time I got through the final section and started going through the credits sequence I felt wholeheartedly satisfied. Expand is also a nice little treat for trophy hunters, despite not featuring a platinum trophy, as you can get every single trophy by simply getting through to the end.

    Expand is one of those games that I feel like will sadly fall under the radar for a lot of people due to its simplicity but trust me when I say that this is something that you must experience for yourself to truly understand how ingenious it is as a whole. Great original presentation with some fantastic music pieces and clever, if a little simple, puzzles for a small price makes it an easy recommendation.    … Expand
  2. yitus
    Aug 23, 2018
    8
    Do you want to dissociate yourself from everything, disconnect and relax? Put on the headsets and let yourself be carried away by the harmonicDo you want to dissociate yourself from everything, disconnect and relax? Put on the headsets and let yourself be carried away by the harmonic and quiet music of Expand while you solve the intricacies and try to escape from an almost infinite labyrinth.
    Expand is a game that is enjoyed from minute 1 not only for its music, but also for its effects, its simplicity and its brilliance, which sometimes does not need to make a very complete and complex game to be good, sometimes , as it is in this case, the simplest thing is what most attracts attention.
    With Expand if you are good at this type of games you have entertainment for two and a half hours approximately    … Expand
  4. Snyx
    May 25, 2018
    7
    This is mostly a meditative experience with simple gameplay and great music. It's around 2 1/2 hours long. I enjoyed it.