Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review

There is a dialog at first of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that caught with me all through. A pair of ex-lovers talk about why they break up up: one needed youngsters, the opposite didn’t. It is the type of human query that makes a fantasy story – irrespective of how surreal – a relatable one.

And Clair Obscur is definitely a surreal and thought-provoking recreation, obsessive about the notion of loss of life. Every year The Paintress, sat atop a colossal monolith, paints a quantity that dooms all individuals of that age to die. Annual expeditions are despatched out to defeat her, however it’s a seemingly unimaginable activity. Dying – on this world of painterly phrases and sentient brush heads – is inevitable, which makes the query of kids a pertinent selection. Is it egocentric to not replenish humanity, or egocentric to deliver youngsters into such a world? And earlier than loss of life comes for us all, what is the legacy you will depart behind? Maybe a baby, a portray, or – within the case of French studio Sandfall Interactive – a online game.

Clair Obscur joins an extended legacy of Japanese model RPGs, with clear influences from the likes of Last Fantasy, Persona, and FromSoftware’s Darkish Souls video games. Its use of turn-based fight and an interactive world map hark again to the glory days of 90s Squaresoft, whereas its stat bonuses and parry-focused fight are pure Soulsborne. But as an amalgamation of all this – with a wholesome dose of French authenticity – Clair Obscur subtly nods to the previous whereas sustaining its personal distinctive identification.

Expectations ought to be set, nonetheless. It could feel and look like a contemporary epic, with its fanciful environments and impressively expressive characters, however it’s additionally an formidable recreation from a group of simply 30 people who’s smaller in scope than you would possibly count on. Which will disappoint, however it’s allowed the group to concentrate on what it does greatest, guaranteeing there’s substance past the model. That is an indie recreation in AAA clothes; or a small, intricate portray in a really fancy body.

Really, it is a beautiful murals. It is a world consumed by haunting melancholia, however magnificence and marvel too because it dips a brush firmly within the surreal to match its weird narrative. Solar-dappled forest pathways give solution to shimmering underwater landscapes with whales flying overhead; misplaced Belle Epoque cities and civilisations result in summary ship graveyards swarming with gothic knights from a FromSoftware nightmare. And the visuals are matched by a mournful rating that transforms from gently plucked strings and piano songs, to synths and rock guitars within the warmth of battle. Slightly extra levity would not go amiss as the sport as a complete is persistently dour and downbeat, and even its most vibrant areas stay autumnal. Regardless of its title Clair Obscur is extra shade than mild.

The world map is especially spectacular, visually modernising archaic design. The place, as an illustration, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth remodeled the flat textures of the PS1 unique’s world map into a completely open world, Clair Obscur has a extra conventional map to discover with separate dungeons (and the odd city), however given a outstanding facelift. The world map exemplifies the studio’s strategy to the sport as a complete: taking the smaller scope of older recreation design, and enriching it for a contemporary viewers. And as soon as it will definitely opens up and also you’re given full freedom to find its secrets and techniques, there’s shocking depth too – the endgame is crammed with additional dungeons and tremendous bosses. Simply do not count on a sprawling world and large number of gameplay kinds and minigames as with the sport’s contemporaries – as a substitute, fight is your sole significant interplay with the world.

Dungeon exploration does undergo because of this, missing selection. Right here the sport is at its most underwhelming: positive, the environments look fairly, however progress is linear past a couple of aspect paths. As with Darkish Souls, development is thru checkpoints (right here flags, as a substitute of bonfires) that replenish restricted well being flasks and respawn enemies. But whereas every space is visually distinct, exploration turns into repetitive throughout the sport with degree design consisting of simplistic pathways to comply with. The lack of a minimap is a curious decision too. On the one hand its omission results in irritating disorientation, particularly in later labyrinths. However, its inclusion might have underlined how restricted every space really is. Of all of the Last Fantasy video games it is impressed by, Clair Obscur typically feels most like Last Fantasy 13 with its stunning however linear development. At its most simple, the sport is a one-note fight gauntlet that left me gasping for a correct dungeon puzzle.

Fortunately, whereas fight is the dominant gameplay function, it is totally chic and different sufficient to hold the entire expertise. For anybody crying out for a modernised model of conventional Japanese-style turn-based fight, Clair Obscur is for you. Its trendy battle UI takes a cue from Persona, whereas its motion components are a pure evolution of Tremendous Mario RPG and the more moderen Sea of Stars. Gamers aren’t passive throughout fight, however should actively strike, dodge, shoot and parry with well-timed button presses, together with the same old elemental affinities and flashy expertise.

Which means Clair Obscur is, primarily, a rhythm recreation. And it definitely takes a beat to regulate to its tempo. Dodging requires looser timing than parrying, however the latter is as satisfying as Sekiro as soon as it clicks. Enemy combos require each assault to be parried in succession, that means every spherical of enemy strikes is sort of a dance sample to be realized. It isn’t completely essential to get by the sport (and will be automated for accessibility), however the parry is so highly effective – and feels so good because the sound results growth and the motion crawls into sluggish movement – it is a defining a part of the sport, particularly throughout tougher encounters.

However that is just the start. Clair Obscur’s fight system has a number of layers. Every character within the celebration has their very own distinct methodology of preventing – not only a totally different weapon, however a brand new system to study. Take the magic-wielding Lune: her elemental spells depart behind “stains” that are absorbed by different spells to buff their energy, resulting in gratifying sequences of ice – hearth – lightning – earth incantations, if you may get the timing proper. Maelle switches between offensive and defensive stances with every stab of her rapier; whereas Sciel makes use of playing cards to construct Foretell on enemies that is absorbed for a number of results, whereas balancing her solar and moon scythe talents to enter a fierce twilight mode. Every character is notable for his or her preventing model greater than their persona and often switching up the celebration prevents fight from ever feeling stale, whereas new expertise are realized on a capability tree to additional tweak playstyles. I simply want it was attainable to modify between characters mid-battle, as in Final Fantasy 10, to utilize them extra equally.

And there is extra! Characters gather quite a few weapons every with elemental affinities and additional buffs, as soon as levelled up. Additional, these weapons have attribute scaling with sure character stats, similar to Darkish Souls – as an illustration, one weapon might give an assault increase based mostly on a personality’s velocity stat, whereas one other on luck or vitality. It is a sensible method to make sure characters will be customised based mostly on playstyle and every new piece of kit is a viable choice, somewhat than merely choosing the most recent, strongest weapon.

Then there are Pictos, Clair Obscur’s different layer of customisation that works equally to Last Fantasy 9’s Talents. Pictos are discovered dotted around the globe or are rewarded after enemy encounters. These present each a stat increase and a few type of buff: replenishing well being on a parry, as an illustration, or offering additional means factors on a superbly timed dodge. Gamers can equip three Pictos at a time, however after 4 battles the consequences are completely realized and will be geared up by any character. There are dozens of Pictos to seek out and as characters develop they will stack a number of realized talents – it is an extremely empowering system.

If all this seems too complicated, know that the sport doles these choices out slowly, whereas the endgame offers loads of problem to mess around with (or respec) your character builds. My solely gripe is the menus really feel designed for mouse and cursor greater than a controller and will be complicated to navigate, making a barely laborious layer to customisation. Nonetheless, Clair Obscur’s fight is good for RPG gamers whose love for tinkering away in talent swapping is matched by a love of musical rhythm (that is me, hello!).

In fact, one of the best RPGs are those who marry mechanical and narrative depth. Clair Obscur’s plot sensitively tackles traumatic themes of loss of life and grief, however it’s additionally convoluted and impressionistic, like a multitude of color that very slowly takes form as you step again. Its dreamlike, fantastical high quality does finally settle right into a extra human, household drama with relatable questions posed (the aforementioned youngsters, as an illustration), whereas collectible journals supply additional snippets of lore and characters chatter by small campfire interactions. A lot of this happens within the endgame, the place the majority of each character moments and difficult fight happen to tie all of it collectively brilliantly. I simply want it spent much less time earlier on revelling in thriller and defined its elementary plot factors just a little faster. There’s sufficient intrigue to maintain you gripped, however initially fight drew me in additional than plot.

Pacing is the principle difficulty, then. It is as if the writers are so involved with delicate storytelling forward of its thrilling plot twists, they’re scared to provide something away. Dialogue, because of this, feels too fragmented and lacks conversational movement, as if the characters know particulars but to be defined. For a lot of the story I felt like an outsider, as annoyed as I used to be mesmerised. I did finally heat to the characters by honest performances from the likes of Ben Starr and Jennifer English, however characterisation is in broad brush strokes and, past fight kinds, the celebration is not as iconic as these from the Last Fantasy video games Clair Obscur goals to ape.

However then you definitely’re again in battle, not towards a daunting creature however a French mime after dressing the characters up in a stripy costume referred to as Baguette. Outdoors the core plot, there is a great silliness – and self-deprecation – to Clair Obscur that, along with its excellent artwork course and distinctive battle mechanics, guarantee the sport is distinct. It is an formidable but spectacular debut from the studio that, regardless of a considerably fanciful narrative, is a pensive examination of grief and the facility of artwork. And whereas the event group has chosen to concentrate on sure areas to the detriment of others, the place it succeeds it actually excels. Clair Obscur could also be a portray with a restricted color palette, however the result’s a daring and putting imaginative and prescient.