I’ve put about 15 hours into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and my conclusion to this point is that developer Sandfall Interactive may be cooking. The French RPG is clearly impressed by the Japanese greats like Ultimate Fantasy and Persona, however its Paper Mario-style timing components and wealth of authentic mechanics preserve its grind partaking and decidedly fashionable. My time with the sport hasn’t been with out frustrations, however I’m writing these impressions wishing I might be enjoying the sport as an alternative. That’s gotta rely for one thing.
Clair Obscur follows a gaggle of younger expeditioners journeying from their house looking for the Paintress, a god-like being who paints a quantity on a monolith seen from a lot of the world. Because the quantity ticks down with every subsequent portray, the human life expectancy dwindles with it, for individuals disappear into mud once they attain the designated age. In a years-long effort to cease the Paintress from shortening human life, individuals of their remaining yr type expeditions devoted to reaching and killing her. The titular thirty third expedition has many world-weary characters amongst its ranks, together with the swordsman and gunslinger Gustave, the mage Lune, and the rapier-wielding Maelle, they usually set off bravely on their daunting journey. Quickly, nevertheless, they cross paths with a mysterious man who has in some way aged past the 33 on the Paintress’ monolith, who then slaughters a lot of the group, besides a small crew.
Regardless of heavy losses, protocol is to maintain shifting ahead, and that’s as a result of the expeditions don’t hunt down the Paintress as a result of they consider they are often those to cease her; they do it to put the groundwork for many who, they hope, ultimately can. Gustave, the de facto chief of the group, usually says “for many who come after” when doing his signature assaults in battle or writing in his journal about their journey. As I journey via completely different areas throughout the sport’s sizable world, I preserve discovering previous paperwork from the expeditions that got here earlier than. Being a part of an expedition isn’t an act of self-preservation; it’s believed to be a suicide mission to make method for the following one. Clair Obscur is bleak, melodramatic, and stuffed with dramatic intestine punches that make the crew’s efforts really feel futile. There’s not a lot cause to hope. Nonetheless, the expedition persists.
Clair Obscur’s core premise has drawn me in, however the recreation pulls from so many alternative genres that I’m nonetheless determining the character of its world. Typically it seems like a steampunk setting stuffed with ramshackle technological developments; elsewhere, like in an underwater space that the expedition can in some way stroll round and breathe in, the magic bubbles to the floor. This eclectic method manifests not simply on the planet, but in addition within the creatures who inhabit it, and even in a surprisingly numerous soundtrack that attracts from genres starting from orchestral to Skrillex-esque dubstep. And as you cross the space between house and the Paintress, you’ll discover inhuman creatures, beings who had been lengthy believed to be fairy tales by humanity, and what appear to be the remnants of long-lost societies..
Whereas the world is fascinating sufficient that I usually get distracted from my expedition’s said objective by my need to discover and study extra about its historical past, sadly the sport has additionally compelled me to do some meandering I’d reasonably not have engaged in. One of many largest issues undermining my travels has been the dearth of a mini-map in dungeons, cities, and different bespoke locales. I’m traditionally a directionally challenged particular person. I’ve to have a GPS open to navigate my very own metropolis simply to reassure myself I’m going the appropriate method. So shifting via darkish caves or villages I’ve by no means been to earlier than with none sort of navigational instruments has been annoying at greatest, momentum-killing at worst. Final yr, 1000xResist patched in a map after sufficient individuals complained about how arduous it was to get across the journey recreation’s hub. I hope Clair Obscur follows swimsuit as a result of I’ve been hugging partitions simply to ensure I’m not operating in circles.
Additionally getting in the best way have been the varied monsters I’ve confronted on my journey. Its sense of melodrama is one apparent method by which Clair Obscur attracts from Ultimate Fantasy, but it surely’s the turn-based programs that I’ve been lacking from the sequence for many years. At a look, Clair Obscur’s battles seem like your customary turn-based RPG fights stuffed with elemental affinities and standing results, however what helps it stand out is how every social gathering member has their very own distinct mechanics that create actually fascinating alternatives for social gathering synergy.
For instance, Maelle has completely different stances that decide her harm output or consumption. However you don’t merely swap between them freely; they’re decided by what skill you utilize within the earlier flip. There are stances that prioritize assault or protection, however there’s a 3rd one known as Virtuose Stance that doubles her harm output for her subsequent assault. Maelle swaps between these three relying on which assault she makes use of and if they will chain along with different standing results and skills. One assault shifts her into Virtuose Stance if she’s aiming at an enemy with a burn standing, however after she unleashes one assault in that stance, she’ll default to her “stanceless” mode. Usually, it might take a few turns of setup to get her again into that superpowered stance to deal that sort of harm once more, however I unlocked an assault that, if used whereas in Virtuose Stance, maintains it for the following flip, letting me skewer an enemy as soon as once more the following time it was Maelle’s flip.
The extra I realized how greatest to wield every character’s authentic expertise, the extra I obtained into Clair Obscur’s groove. Gustave has a robust skill known as Overcharge, by which he makes use of his prosthetic arm to unleash a robust electrical blast on an enemy, but it surely has to cost all through a number of turns. By way of equipping him with completely different Pictos, which give characters far-reaching passive skills that transcend easy stat buffs and debuffs, I used to be capable of let him achieve expenses just by avoiding enemy assaults. So if I had been preventing a robust boss that will periodically unleash a barrage of assaults in opposition to my crew, I may simply unleash my very own devastating Overcharge in a flip or two.
I preserve being stunned at how sturdy the customization choices are and the way they allow you to feed into these sorts of methods. Everybody’s equipment is constructed to tactically bounce off each other’s, and there’s a number of room to experiment. Flip-based RPGs can simply drive you into easy patterns of attacking elemental weaknesses or simply grinding till the numbers go up sufficient to overpower any foe you face. Clair Obscur has so many programs that permit for creativity, all with out ever getting too overwhelming. There are nonetheless some characters I’m attempting to wrap my head round, together with the scythe-wielding Sciel whose mechanics are a bit extra difficult, however the extra I play, the extra I uncover how effectively these programs fall into place and feed into one another.
The important thing ingredient that strings all of those collectively are the timing-based strikes harking back to these in one thing like Paper Mario. Each assault in Clair Obscur could be dodged or parried, however you need to do that manually for every incoming strike. Dodges have a barely bigger timing window, however parries could be adopted up with a powerful counterattack. Nonetheless, most enemies will unleash combos on the crew, and you need to parry each hit to counter, so there’s a threat vs. reward side at play. And when enemies do land a success, it hurts. Clair Obscur’s defensive strikes aren’t only a cool factor you are able to do in the event you’re feeling spicy; they’re integral to surviving in battle.
I actually love this idea on paper as a result of it may make even probably the most tedious, grindy encounter partaking, however in follow, after 15 hours with the sport, I nonetheless discover there to be a scarcity of consistency on the cues for when to dodge. Actually, there isn’t any one-size-fits-all method to each enemy as their combos are all completely different, they transfer in distinct methods, and typically they’ll use an assault that may solely be prevented with a particular technique. Which is nice for holding you in your toes, however there are a number of factors at which the dodge window is so exact, and likewise so poorly telegraphed, that it may be as irritating as it’s rewarding. To not be a kind of sore losers who declares “it’s not me, it’s the sport,” however I grew up on character motion video games and preventing video games and prefer to assume I’m a reasonably rhythmically inclined participant. I understand how to dodge and parry, I’m a sicko for that shit, however Clair Obscur’s integration of those strategies lacks readability.
That being stated, I’m getting higher at it as I am going alongside. Clair Obscur isn’t essentially difficult within the conventional sense, however it may be punishing once you miss a dodge and end up on the unsuitable finish of a crew wipe. However all of its programs nonetheless coalesce into one thing that’s actually rewarding to experiment with, and I’m excited to maintain going. Now, in the event you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna submit this draft and play some extra so I can get a extra complete evaluate out the door.