Impressions | Expelled! An Overboard! Game - School And Scandal
Expelled is an incredibly charming game. I went into it without knowing anything about the title because, admittedly, I haven’t played Overboard, which is in the same series as Expelled. Within minutes of opening the game, I knew that I was going to be in for a wild ride.
The latest title from Inkle, Expelled has a sticker-book aesthetic, which I was instantly in love with. It reminded me somewhat of Storyteller, or even Inkle’s other titles, like 80 Days, A Highland Song, and, of course, Overboard. The main menu for the game helps provide the old-timey aesthetic, as it plays old-timey music, fit with the sounds of a phonograph. The screen also presents you with the main characters you’ll interact with, including the daring Verity Amersham herself.
Expelled throws you into the deep end, providing minimal context as you see a young girl fall from a stained-glass window. As you begin to play the game, the pieces start to fall into place.
To set the scene, you play as Verity, voiced by the iconic Amelia Tyler. The game takes place in 1922 at Miss Mulligatawney’s School for Promising Girls, one of the best boarding schools in England. Someone has set you up and claimed that you are responsible for pushing the school prefect out of the window, which leads to your expulsion. From here, your role is to do a little sleuthing and find out who has set you up and why. In a not-so-similar vein, it follows the repetitive path of Slay the Princess, as you have to get expelled repeatedly to be able to make progress.
To begin with, I found myself waking up from a slumber to be informed that it was the last day of term and a prize-giving ceremony would take place. There are eight hours until the end of term, and Verity’s father is waiting to pick her up to take her back home.
No matter what I tried, it seemed that I just couldn’t stop myself from getting expelled. When the player is expelled, they’re presented with a letter from the school detailing their alleged crimes. The letter given to you is pretty comedic, putting emphasis on just how terrible and rambunctious Verity was, which led to her expulsion. The letter itself doesn’t explain or provide any hints on how she got expelled or how to avoid it, but a box next to the letter onscreen provides an explanation, detailing the checkpoints the player goes through, which represent important events throughout the day, including the gift-giving ceremony and the end of term. In my experience with Expelled, I did not complete many checkpoints, so they were often blurred out except the top one.
Despite the repetitive struggle to make any progress, I never found myself getting bored with this game. Through the comedic interactions Verity had with other students and the head teacher, to trying to uncover smaller secrets that would piece together some of the bigger plot lines, it was enthralling.
I had so much fun exploring all the different conversations and interactions, especially with stern characters like Miss Mulligatawney and the Matron. The student body was filled out with eccentric and snotty characters like Fifi and Louisa, as well as Verity’s trusty roommate, Nattie. Each character had depth and fun interactions with Verity, even minor ones like Sal.
Amelia Tyler also plays the role of Verity Amersham incredibly well. As Verity is a troublesome child who is at the school on scholarship, Tyler provides her with a great deal of humour, especially if you decide to go the “naughty” route. This allows for engagements with all of the other characters that you won’t get if you go for the “good girl” route. This game is well-polished, full of comedy and snark, and I loved the attitude that Verity brought to every conversation she had.
Admittedly, at times, the game felt shallow, as I had to repeat many interactions to progress. However, once I managed to unlock new content, it revealed a wealth of information that would help me get closer to my goal. I found this especially once I had managed to speak with the Gardener, who was hiding a ton of beneficial information I needed to ensure I didn’t get expelled.
For those who are quick and witty, the game may not take you as long. Thus far, I’ve played Expelled for a few hours and still haven’t managed to make my way past the second checkpoint. That being said, I do plan to sink my teeth into this game further and uncover all of the secrets it has to offer. I’m not the best at puzzles and mystery-solving, but I found it relatively comfortable to play.
I found it difficult to decide where to go and when, as I only have a few in-game hours to work with until the prize-giving takes place. It took several hours of gameplay and many attempts for me to reach the point where I could explore without worrying about time constraints.
Although the repetition was at times frustrating, I loved that when I was expelled, the option to restart the game was for Verity to regale the story to her father in The Crock and Gamble pub, where I had the option to retell the story as many times as needed for it to make sense. While there were lots of different ways Verity could end up expelled, my favourite was her simply leaving the school and working as a barmaid at The Crock and Gamble, where her father also works. It felt like the icing on the cake with the comedic elements of the game, and it helped show that it didn’t take itself too seriously.
Even with multiple hours sunk into the game, there were plenty of times when I found I didn’t get very far. I felt at times I was close to progressing, but I made a mistake that ended the current run. Despite my difficulties with the game at times, I’m still determined to uncover the secrets and see this game through to the end!
