There’s a magical feeling as a gamer when you boot up a new title, settle in, and, within the first hour, think, Oh yeah. This is my shit. I hadn’t felt that in a while until I played Expelled!, the latest game from inkle Studios (80 Days!, Overboard!, Sorcery!, A Highland Song), out today on Windows, Mac, Nintendo Switch, and iOS.
Expelled! centers on Verity Amersham, a scholarship student at an elite boarding school who is being framed for pushing a prefect out of a window and must, in a single day, prove her innocence. It’s a charming, heartfelt, and addicting interactive novel that will be delightful for those familiar with previous inkle titles and an enjoyable introduction to those new to the studio’s style.
Straight Aces
Expelled! uses the same engine as inkle’s excellent 2021 visual novel Overboard! and shares many other similarities as well, so it’s hard not to compare the two. In both games, players spend time at a single location (here, Miss Mulligatawney’s School for Promising Girls, and in Overboard!, a passenger ship), visiting individual rooms as the hours pass. Both protagonists attempt to convince others of something and are desperate to find items and allies to help them in that journey. Both uncover other mysteries as the game progresses. Both games effectively use their gameplay of clicking and exploring to bring the player in.
Even though I loved Overboard!, I found it hard to recommend (even just as a blurb on my list of best mystery games). The central gist of that game is that a woman has pushed her husband over the rail of a ship hours before it lands in America, and she has to craft an alibi and hide evidence in time. If anyone is remotely uncomfortable with murder mysteries or roleplaying as a really bad guy, they wouldn’t like Overboard! (for example, the latter stopped my mom from trying it). In comparison, Expelled! has a strong plot of justice, exploring questions of what is right or true, and who has privilege and power. There’s still darkness to it, but it’ll be more palatable to the average player.
Expelled! has excellent visuals and sounds that create a consistent, entrancing vibe. The setting is charming, and there’s an ever-present sense that there are secrets throughout the halls. For the most part, I enjoyed the time loop of Verity’s last day of school—either because it’s simply the end of term or because she’s been banished—roaming the grounds and learning others’ habits. But like anything you’re experiencing over and over again, some days can feel like a grind.
Late for Class, Again
For reasons you’ll come to understand in the game, players are repeating Verity’s last day of school over and over again. Each day is the end-of-term Prize Giving ceremony, during which, if you’ve done your job, Verity won’t be expelled—but it’s hard to achieve that. Through a clever story explanation, Verity won’t carry items over between runs, but she will retain knowledge. This helps the player follow up on clues without having to go through the rigamarole again of uncovering that information in the first place.
One thing that Expelled! has over its predecessor is that there are more side characters, all of whom are more deeply fleshed out. I started to get very attached to the lives and backstories of the other students and educators. This does, however, come at a cost.
Because of so much conversation and so many time slots (players essentially choose activities for a whole school day in 15-minute increments), Expelled! can sometimes feel slow. I often repeated the same activities, trying to get the order of tasks and conversations just right, which started to feel a bit repetitive. Each playthrough lasts 30–45 minutes, which is a bit hefty for a time-loop game. There are so many weaving plot lines and so many different moments to catch/miss that some runs feel like a drag, especially when you’re unsure if you’ve made the requisite progress to get the desired ending.
Last Day of Class
Last year, I interviewed inkle’s Narrative Director, Jon Ingold. It was a super interesting conversation, though there was one quote in particular that I felt articulated a truth about inkle’s games: “We try to care more about the needs of the character than the player, because good characters are worth a little friction, and in fact, it’s in the friction between player and NPC that character comes out.”
Throughout Expelled!, players are trying to support Verity on her journey for truth. But sometimes Verity doesn’t speak up for herself the way I’d like her to, or she insists that it would be “naughty” to skip Geometry class when really I want her to go investigate a potting shed. These moments create friction, but to an admirable end. Expelled! does an amazing job of balancing player choice with a character’s reality.
I reached my first run of credits after about six hours and 19 playthroughs. To be honest, after I rolled credits, I thought, That was okay. While I liked Expelled!, I didn’t think it was as strong as Overboard! I put my Switch back in its charger and went to meet some visiting friends for brunch.
But, as is often the case with inkle games, I kept thinking about Expelled! even after I had technically finished it. There were a few clues I hadn’t been able to figure out a way to follow up on. One unfinished “quest” still lingered on my docket. Expelled! could do a stronger job of explaining that, by behaving badly, more actions open up to you over the course of the game.
When I realized that, the game really started to go off the rails of what was possible. I’ve since reached credits a few more times and played another five hours. The gameplay loop is addicting, each run giving the feeling of being on the cusp of discovering something new and getting that much closer to uncovering that last secret. Given how many inkle games I’ve played, I should’ve trusted that Expelled! would only get better with more time.
Final Thoughts: Another Hit For inkle
I am less of a studio loyalist than many of my fellow writers. Clint Morrison, Jr. does a great job of always talking about a studio’s ludography. Kei Isobe seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of Square Enix. Playing inkle’s games for the past 10 years, however, makes me realize that I am a fan not just of their games, but of them as creators. When you engage with new content from a familiar artist, you start to sense their fingerprints. Knowing inkle’s style made me all the more delighted by change-ups and familiar methods.
Playing inkle’s games for the past 10 years makes me realize that I am a fan not just of their games, but of them as creators.
I know I’ve talked a lot about Overboard! in this review, and as I said before, it’s hard not to compare them. The icon on the Switch home screen even says: Expelled! An Overboard Game. I think Overboard! is a sharper, more contained adventure, but the story and characters in Expelled! are more compelling. There were some late game plot points that both delighted and disappointed me, but the fact that I’m still surprised even after 10+ hours and multiple credit runs is something special.
Expelled! also has the benefit of being surprisingly affordable for the quality at a price tag of $15. (If you’re surprised, so am I. I went to check the price to include it at the end of this post, and I assumed the title would be at least $30.)
If I had reviewed Overboard!, I probably would’ve given it a 9/10. While Expelled! is slower and clunkier, it’s also richer and deeper. Now, I have to stop writing this review of Expelled!, because I’d really like to get back to playing it.
Score: 9.0/10
Stray thoughts:
- I’m surprised this got away with an ESRB rating of E10+ to be honest. I personally would not let anyone under the age of 15 play this game; there are some darker themes that are exciting for adults but I think would be troubling for younger players.
- Like all inkle games I’ve played, Expelled! has impeccable sound direction. This title makes great use of songs in the public domain, such as tunes from the U.S. Army Band and George Gershwin, to create an evocative sense of the 1920s. There’s also just the right amount of sound effects, though I should note there are just occasional voiced lines, and only for Verity.
- The character art is appealing, though admittedly a little less glamorous than Overboard!
- Turn the vibration setting off if you’re playing on the Nintendo Switch. You’ll frequently be rewinding to start a conversation you boofed over again or fast-forwarding through dialogue you’ve already seen. The vibration added such an aggressive rumble fervor that it made my Switch make sounds I had never heard before, to the point that I was actively concerned about the hardware. Turning it off was totally fine, and I still had the fun occasional buzz. While you’re in the Settings menu, go ahead and make the “accelerate text” setting much faster. This helped make my subsequent playthroughs much less taxing.
- When this game was first announced, it was tentatively named after its setting, Miss Mulligatawney’s School for Promising Girls, which I thought was cute. However, Expelled! is a much stronger title and aligns so well with this mini-series (oh my gosh what if more are coming!!!), so kudos to whoever decided that.
Expelled!, developed by inkle Studios, is out today, March 12, on Windows and macOS via Steam, Nintendo Switch, and iOS. MSRP: $14.99.
Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the developer.
