Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Intro
Recently finished up with classes and found out my brother had an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Lo and behold, this game was recently released and available via the game pass, so I decided to play it. Having completed the game, I’d have to agree with the 9/10 rating on both Steam and IGN. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 made me regain hope for triple-A game development as capable of creating “good games”.
The game as a concept isn’t novel. The interactive turn-based combat system has been done in Paper Mario on the N64. Nevertheless, no game development company has taken the turn-based combat system and put it in Unreal Engine. The developers saw this gap in the market for “a high-fidelity graphics turn-based RPG” and decided to craft the masterpiece known as Clair Obscur: Expedition 331.
Dodge & Parry
The combat system + the graphics make the entire game. The reason why an interactive turn-based system does well is because of the immersion. It rewards and encourages the player not to autopilot by adding an incentive to participate in each encounter2. In contrast with noninteractive turn-based games, it easily gets boring after you finish a build.
Another point of praise is how “smooth” and good it feels to execute dodges and parries.
- The visual effects after hitting a parry are accentuated to create a visceral weight (similar to impact frames in animation).
- How reactive the dodge and parry buttons are, even against massive frame drops. The parry/dodge system feels fair towards the player.
My only critique of where this fails is a problem with level design more than the interaction. I call it “victory roading” the player, as an analogy to the long and repetitive battles before the Elite 4 in Pokemon.
There is a specific segment of the game it falls victim to “victory roading”. Due to the sheer amount of the same mobs you fight, it gets to the point where it becomes banal clearing through mobs. Besides this critique, I’d give the combat system an S.
Character Builds
The character build customization in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is standard. Each of the playable characters gets different weapons, and each of the different weapons specs the character into an archetype. Characters have attribute points to allocate per level, a skill tree, and outfit customizations.
A “novel” feature in the game is called “Pictos”. Each of these Pictos grants specific benefits to the combat system, like buff duration, mana regen, or increased damage. They also grant general stats for a character. After using the “Pictos” for some amount of time, the benefits of them can be equipped by spending “Lumina.” I give the character customization system an A.
Visual Cohesion (and Lore)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 55 wouldn’t be the game it was if everything were replaced with a glowing red polygon. The fantastical and otherworldly monsters you play against in the game is what ties the game together3. The game made me realize how there aren’t any “hard and fast” rules for environmental design besides selecting the theme and making the designs “fit”.
Reflecting on the thematic design, I see how a lot of designs contain a sense of environmental logic. Basic anthropological research shows how what we interpret as “desert” themed arose from how people designed garments to be breathable. A desert creature might have ventilated plates or another “functional element” to match the theme. Clair Obscur is a masterclass in environmental design.
10/10 game.
If you want to play the game: https://www.expedition33.com/