October already. Time to write something for a change, before the silence grows too long.
I played and finished the much raved video game that many are tipping and hoping to win many Game Of The Year prizes this year: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
It took me around 100 hours to do so, was it worth it then?
It was already the start screen’s music that made me think I’ll like this game.
I felt it was a good game. Okay, maybe even great. The story at least was one of the best I’ve played in a video game. I wish I could write more about this, but just like with Nier: Automata (which also had a great story), the less spoilers about it, the better.
The voice-acting was exceptionally good this time around and the characters’ body language from motion captures and facial expressions were also rendered incredibly well in cut-scenes (the movement of eyes in particular).
The clever rhythm-like semi-turn based combat was slick and offered enough variety to keep battles interesting (a lot was borrowed from the Persona series). Traveling around the world map reminded me of the Final Fantasy VII-IX era (in a good way) and the locations themselves had just the right balance of exploration without getting too large just for the sake of it.
The graphics right from the start were a feast to the eye.
Then the music. When I loaded the game for the first time and the start screen’s music started playing, it already felt I was going to play a game that I would like. And yes, I eventually ended up buying the soundtrack separately (digital format, mind you).
While the game had dark themes, it still wasn’t short on humour to ease the tension (something Final Fantasy XVI lacked almost completely, now that I think of it). Many funny quotes from the game I’ll probably remember for a long time.
The game that finally gives the chance to beat up an annoying pantomime.
Conclusions
When the end credits eventually started rolling, I pondered to myself did this game reach something as special to me as Final Fantasy VII back in 1997?
No. No game can possibly blow my mind away anymore like FF7 did back then, but just even thinking about it was a sign the game was special nonetheless.
Is it the Game Of The Year for me? Of the games I’ve played this year, Clair Obscur is the only game that was released this year, so I’ll have to expand the number of candidates to all the other games I’ve played and finished so far this year (ten in total).
While Pacific Drive would still be a hard contender based on its originality and intensity as a game, Clair Obscure would still easily win the fictional “The Merciful House Video Game Awards” prizes for Best Story, Best Voice-Acting and Best Original Score at least.
Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 is easy to recommend to any Final Fantasy or Persona fan. It picks parts from both series together with a French palette, simplifies some daunting tasks and is free to start fresh instead of dragging a legacy from an existing franchise, delivering a unique story, interesting characters and a colourful world.
…
My goodness, this post ended up being more of a poor man’s game review it seems. I’ll refrain from giving a pros and cons summary with a final score.