Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
What an interesting game. The story and music stand out above all else for this one. I’m not a big fan of turn based RPG’s and this game kind of validated my disliking for them as the gameplay loop of doing battle with 90% parrying made its gameplay feel like it overstayed its welcome a little for me. But the story had me going more than anything. Of course I read criticisms that the game becomes too easy when spending time to explore and get all the side content from sub quests and exploration outside of the main story. Or maybe I didn’t build my characters well?
But regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and its themes of grief and free choice and how people’s individual agency can battle each other. I would say it can make for an interesting TV show but would never be the same as what makes the story so impactful in the game are the two endings you simply choose between at the end of the game. Without spoiling anything, the endings show two sides of a coin and the nuance that makes both tragic endings and leaves you questioning which you would choose in real life and then wonder if your choice is what you would really choose if in that or a similar circumstance.
The music was well crafted piano and orchestral works, that added to the epicness like no other. It was so crazy to learn how the composer never composed for a video game before. He knocked this one out of the park. And adding on a month after the initial posting of this, I still listen to Lumiere almost everyday. It works oddly well as a driving to work in the morning song.
Even days after completing the main story I continue to think about this game. The ending and how the story evolves just sticks with me. It made me think about things in my own life and even more so about how I play video games in general. With this one I question if I rushed it and then I started thinking about times with other games where I feel I may have rushed them, usually for the sake of getting to the next game, from my backlog usually, that I am excited to play. After this one I was excited due to all the hype the weeks after the release of Donkey Kong Bananza. Probably not the game most would expect me to be excited for while playing Expedition 33 but I would say that excitement was warranted. But at the same time I do want to play more of Clair Obscur. I rarely 100% games and I don’t want to do that necessarily with this game but also not often do games have me craving wanting to continue to play them after I finish their main storylines and very few I play the story multiple times. There is something special with this game. That can’t be stated enough. I’d recommend any gamer to at least give it a try, even if you don’t care for turn based RPG’s like me, there is still something very special to experience.
Another additional thought on this a month later, is how much this game and thought in the last paragraph motivated me to finally start this blog on my website that I have been brainstorming on for the last year or so. It inspired me to write on this after the experience was fresh as opposed to writing on it later when nostalgia would kick in more and the positive would blur negative aspects of the experience. To its name Clair Obscur, light dark, this game embodies that name so well in so many ways. The most meta being this game that I absolutely love the story of but have no desire to play it again because of the mechanics that just aren’t for me.
(more with spoilers below)
SPOILERS
I choose the Maelle ending because I was so invested in her story and honestly never really trusted Verso, in all of his relationship building sequences, he still felt shady. But with the ending being that Maelle essentially becomes the new Paintress, that was not too surprising. I figured she was the Paintress the whole game to be honest. I feel this would make for an interesting sequel. Of course Verso’s ending is what would be considered to be the better one, at least in regards to not repeating the cycle of grief and suffering. Neither are a happy ending but the latter certainly has healing or at least potential for healing whereas the former is just continuing to live in blissful ignorance that consumes and is fatal in the long wrong. One is sad healing and the other is joyful decay. Light and dark. Clair Obscur.