Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: The Kotaku Review

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developer Sandfall Interactive’s debut project, has the juice. The French RPG is intelligibly inspired by the Japanese greats similar Final Fantasy and Persona, but its Paper Mario-style timing elements and wealthiness of archetypal mechanics support its grind engaging and decidedly modern. The crippled isn’t without frustrations but nonetheless, portion I wrote my archetypal review-in-progress I was wishing I could person been playing the crippled instead. That’s gotta number for something. Now, I’m penning a reappraisal that, successful the involvement of avoiding spoilers, tin lone scratch the aboveground of everything I person to accidental astir this weird, woeful, fantastic RPG.

Clair Obscur follows a radical of young expeditioners journeying from their location successful hunt of the Paintress, a god-like being who paints a fig connected a monolith disposable from astir of the world. As the fig ticks down with each consequent painting, the quality beingness expectancy dwindles with it, for radical vanish into particulate erstwhile they scope the designated age. In a years-long effort to halt the Paintress from shortening quality life, radical successful their last twelvemonth signifier expeditions dedicated to reaching and sidesplitting her. The titular 33rd expedition has galore world-weary characters among its ranks, including the swordsman and gunslinger Gustave, the mage Lune, and the rapier-wielding Maelle, and they acceptable disconnected bravely connected their daunting journey.

Despite dense losses, protocol is to support moving forward, and that’s due to the fact that the expeditions don’t question retired the Paintress due to the fact that they judge they tin beryllium the ones to halt her; they bash it to laic the groundwork for those who, they hope, yet can. Gustave, the de facto person of the group, often says “for those who travel after” erstwhile doing his signature attacks successful conflict oregon penning successful his diary astir their journey. As I question done antithetic regions crossed the game’s sizable world, I support uncovering aged documents from the expeditions that came before. Being portion of an expedition isn’t an enactment of self-preservation; it’s believed to beryllium a termination ngo to marque mode for the adjacent one. Clair Obscur is bleak, melodramatic, and afloat of melodramatic gut punches that marque the team’s efforts consciousness futile. There’s not overmuch crushed to hope. Nevertheless, the expedition persists.

Screenshot: Sandfall Interactive / Kotaku

Clair Obscur’s halfway premise drew maine in, but the crippled pulls from truthful galore antithetic genres that it tin sometimes consciousness disorientingly inconsistent. Sometimes it seems to instrumentality spot successful a steampunk mounting afloat of ramshackle technological advancements; elsewhere, similar successful an underwater country that the expedition tin someway locomotion astir and respire in, the magic bubbles to the surface. This eclectic attack manifests not conscionable successful the world, but besides successful the creatures who inhabit it, and adjacent successful a amazingly divers soundtrack that draws from genres ranging from orchestral to Skrillex-esque dubstep. And arsenic you transverse the region betwixt location and the Paintress, you’ll find inhuman creatures, beings who were agelong believed to beryllium fairy tales by humanity, and what look to beryllium the remnants of long-lost societies. Until you scope a definite point, this hodgepodge of influences tin work similar a deficiency of existent identity, but Clair Obscur’s aboriginal reveals negociate to recontextualize adjacent that.

While the satellite is fascinating capable that I often get distracted from my expedition’s stated extremity by my tendency to research and larn much astir its history, unfortunately, the crippled has besides forced maine to bash immoderate meandering I’d alternatively not person engaged in. One of the biggest problems undermining my travels has been the deficiency of a mini-map successful dungeons, towns, and different bespoke locales. I americium historically a directionally challenged individual. I person to person a GPS unfastened to navigate my ain metropolis conscionable to reassure myself I’m going the close way. So moving done acheronian caves oregon villages I’ve ne'er been to earlier without immoderate benignant of navigational tools has been annoying astatine best, momentum-killing astatine worst. Last year, 1000xResist patched successful a map aft capable radical complained astir however hard it was to get astir the escapade game’s hub. I anticipation Clair Obscur follows suit due to the fact that I’ve been hugging walls conscionable to marque definite I’m not moving successful circles.

It whitethorn dependable similar a insignificant ailment considering however galore RPGs thrive connected forcing you to explore, but it’s a microcosm of my broader frustrations with Clair Obscur. It has a batch of ideas, but it does a mediocre occupation of directing you to them. There’s nary representation to assistance you travel, you prime up items that motion astatine different mechanics with due nouns you don’t know, and the crippled doesn’t really instrumentality the clip to tutorialize them for you. I was 20 hours into the crippled earlier I knew what the Lumina strategy was: a strategy which allows you to equip perks crossed your squad arsenic you “master” them with 1 character. At first, I thought I had conscionable been mistakenly not engaging with a strategy the crippled introduced to maine hours prior, but erstwhile a person directed maine to wherever it was located successful Clair Obscur’s obtuse menus, lone past did the crippled popular up the tutorial for my benefit. My mediocre attraction span wasn’t the problem, the crippled had conscionable enactment the connection “Lumina” successful beforehand of maine aggregate times without walking maine done an entire, beauteous important gameplay system. Once I knew however to utilize it, the fights successful the second fractional were importantly breezier than the sweaty nonsense I’d been dealing with up to that point. Clair Obscur has truthful galore large ideas, but it sometimes feels overwhelmed by them, and it doesn’t instrumentality the indispensable steps to clarify and demystify it each for a caller subordinate to whom it mightiness each look beauteous analyzable and convoluted.

Also getting successful the mode person been the assorted monsters I’ve faced connected my journey. Its consciousness of melodrama is 1 evident mode successful which Clair Obscur draws from Final Fantasy, but it’s the turn-based systems that I’ve been missing from the bid for decades. At a glance, Clair Obscur’s battles look similar your modular turn-based RPG fights afloat of elemental affinities and presumption effects, but what helps it basal retired is however each enactment subordinate has their ain chiseled mechanics that make truly absorbing opportunities for enactment synergy.

For example, Maelle has antithetic stances that find her harm output oregon intake. But you don’t simply power betwixt them freely; they’re determined by what quality you usage successful the erstwhile turn. There are stances that prioritize onslaught oregon defense, but there’s a 3rd 1 called Virtuose Stance that doubles her harm output for her adjacent attack. Maelle swaps betwixt these 3 depending connected which onslaught she uses and if they tin concatenation unneurotic with different presumption effects and abilities. One onslaught shifts her into Virtuose Stance if she’s aiming astatine an force afflicted with a pain status, but aft she unleashes 1 onslaught successful that stance, she’ll default to her “stanceless” mode. Normally, it would instrumentality a mates of turns of setup to get her backmost into that superpowered stance to woody that benignant of harm again, but I unlocked an onslaught that, if utilized portion successful Virtuose Stance, maintains it for the adjacent turn, letting maine skewer an force erstwhile again the adjacent clip it was Maelle’s turn.

Screenshot: Sandfall Interactive / Kotaku

The much I learned however champion to wield each character’s archetypal skills, the much I got into Clair Obscur’s groove. Gustave has a almighty quality called Overcharge, successful which helium uses his prosthetic limb to unleash a almighty electrical blast connected an enemy, but it has to complaint passim respective turns. Through equipping him with antithetic Pictos, which springiness characters far-reaching passive abilities that spell beyond elemental stat buffs and debuffs, I was capable to fto him summation charges simply by avoiding force attacks. So if I were warring a almighty brag that would periodically unleash a barrage of attacks against my team, I could easy unleash my ain devastating Overcharge successful a crook oregon two.

I was repeatedly amazed astatine however robust the customization options are and however they fto you provender into these kinds of strategies. Everyone’s kit is built to tactically bounce disconnected 1 another’s, and there’s a batch of country to experiment. Turn-based RPGs tin easy thrust you into elemental patterns of attacking elemental weaknesses oregon conscionable grinding until the numbers spell up capable to overpower immoderate foe you face. Clair Obscur has truthful galore systems that let for creativity, each without ever getting excessively overwhelming. Even characters I didn’t usage much, similar the scythe-wielding Sciel, person heavy mechanics that could beryllium the ground of different game’s full conflict system. Given each those complexities, it’s chaotic however good these systems autumn into spot and provender into each other.

The cardinal constituent that strings each of these unneurotic is the timing-based moves reminiscent of those successful thing similar Paper Mario. Every onslaught successful Clair Obscur tin beryllium dodged oregon parried, but you person to bash this manually for each incoming strike. Dodges person a somewhat larger timing window, but parries tin beryllium followed up with a beardown counterattack. However, astir enemies volition unleash combos connected the team, and you person to parry each deed to counter, truthful there’s a hazard vs. reward facet astatine play. And erstwhile enemies bash onshore a hit, it hurts. Clair Obscur’s antiaircraft moves aren’t conscionable a chill happening you tin bash if you’re feeling spicy; they’re integral to surviving successful battle.

I emotion this conception connected insubstantial due to the fact that it could marque adjacent the astir tedious, grindy brushwood engaging, but successful practice, there’s a deficiency of consistency connected the cues for erstwhile to dodge. Really, determination is nary one-size-fits-all attack to each force arsenic their combos are each different, they determination successful chiseled ways, and sometimes they’ll usage an onslaught that tin lone beryllium avoided with a circumstantial method. Which is bully for keeping you connected your toes, but determination are respective points astatine which the dodge model is truthful precise, and besides truthful poorly telegraphed, that it tin beryllium arsenic frustrating arsenic it is rewarding. Not to beryllium 1 of those sore losers who state “it’s not me, it’s the game,” but I grew up connected quality enactment games and warring games and similar to deliberation I’m a beauteous rhythmically inclined player. I cognize however to dodge and parry, I’m a sicko for that shit, but Clair Obscur’s integration of these techniques lacks clarity, and gets particularly annoying erstwhile the game’s cinematic camera doesn’t springiness maine a large presumption of an incoming attack.

Clair Obscur isn’t needfully challenging successful the accepted sense, but it tin beryllium punishing erstwhile you miss a dodge and find yourself connected the incorrect extremity of a squad wipe. But each of its systems inactive coalesce into thing that’s truly rewarding to experimentation with. Perhaps, however, the astir rewarding portion of it is the twists and turns Sandfall Interactive has woven into this already compelling world. You mightiness person heard that Clair Obscur’s last enactment has been divisive for fans and critics. I’m inactive chewing connected it, and volition person immoderate spoiler-filled thoughts astir it connected Kotaku soon. But my knee-jerk, spoiler-free absorption is that portion I recognize wherefore it mightiness beryllium excessively drastic a near crook for radical who bought into the archetypal premise, I deliberation it’s astatine slightest thought-provoking. Clair Obscur’s wealthiness of innovative ideas and inconsistent execution marque it a gratifying and worthwhile crippled to wrestle with, and adjacent present that I’m nary longer playing it, it continues to situation maine successful different ways arsenic I deliberation astir it aft the fact. Even if I’m not definite it sticks the landing, I can’t contradict that it’s interesting.

Sandfall Interactive is made up of a batch of seasoned talent, but arsenic a unit, it’s inactive uncovering its footing, truthful it makes consciousness that contempt each Clair Obscur’s polish and imaginativeness that determination would beryllium a fewer oversights that frustrate. But if the team’s debut task is this impressive, I can’t hold to spot what the aboriginal holds.