This is definitely the last review post on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive). I am saying it with my tongue firmly in my cheek. Yesterday, I was talking about the level design–which I think is the worst element of the game. Easily.
By the way, Ian sent me an article about how parrying is the worst thing in any video game. I don’t agree with all the writer’s points, but I do appreciate that he is saying many of the things I feel about the parry. I don’t agree that it’s the worst thing in video games or that it should be abolished completely, but I fully agree that it’s limiting and having it as the main/only defense mechanism makes a game too constrained in scope.
Interestingly, he mentions that many people who have issue with the parry in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 like parries in general–just not how they are executed in this game.
I appreciated that he brought up the point because so many people just want to gush about how great parrying is in games and don’t think about the negatives of the parry. I really wish someone would point out that it’s ableist as well, but I don’t expect that, honestly, because people in games overwhelminly don’t care about those kind of things. Or any kind of diversity, really. In fact, many gamers are rabidly anti-diversity in their video games, which is not the point of this post.
I’m trying to wait it out because I know that sooner or later, the industry will move onto the next hot thing. In the meantime, though, I heave a huge sigh of annoyance when I read or hear the words, “parry mechanics”.
Back to level design. I’ve written about it ad nauseum because I hate it so much. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten lost because everything looks the same within an area. Yes, there are lanterns lighting the main path, but there are also lanterns lighting certain side paths, and sometimes, there are no lanterns at all. By the end of the game, I was cursing every time I had to go back and forth to find the right path. Which was plentiful.
I hated the level design, I’ll be honest with you. That hatred came very early, and all the ‘the level design is so clear’ chatter in the forums did nothing to sway me. I wasted so much time going down paths that looked all the same, only to end up back where I started. Plus, while each area was distinctive, the space within each dungeon started to blend together. Especially late in the game where the levels were littered with enemies in an artless way. Yes, you can farm them for good mats, but as I’ve said before, I didn’t need materials at that point of the game.
The level design was barely adequate in the beginning, and it only deteriorated the further I got into the game. By the time I reached the last dungeons, I was just gritting my teeth and plowing through. The enemy placement was so graceless, I was astonished. It hadn’t been good at any point in the game, but it was terrible at the end. I wonder if they ran out of time and just started tossing the enemies into the game–with their eyes closed.
This is by far the worst element of the game. And it’s not even close. I mean, the story gives it a run for its money, but there are som positive points there. In this case? There are none. Because the environments are lush and colorful, that paints over some of the problems in the level design. But not enough. I give the level design a 3. Yep, you read that correctly. A 3.
Next up is the story. This is the last big element of the game I’m going to review. And hold onto your hats because this is probably going to be the most controversial score I’m going to give this whole review. Everyone raves about the story. All the reviews I’ve read talk about how powerful and excellent it is. How moving. How well-written. How it’s brilliant and amazing, etc.
The prologue was strong, if not a bit overwrought. The premise didn’t really make sense, but, hey. It’s a video game. I was willing to roll with it. The acting was excellent, which papered over a lot of the plot holes. And, lordy, there were so many plot holes. SO MANY.
The plot was pretty sparse during the first act, but appropriately so. The player had to get used to the party, the mechanics, and everything else about the game. Meeting the third and fourth members of the party took up a lot of energy, too. Oh, and before all that, there was a huge scene to start off Act 1 with a bang. I thought it was cheesy, but it was effective. And, again, the acting was so solid.
There were a few good beats along the way, but not much happened story-wise until the very end of Act 1. Then, the scene that everyone was buzzing about happened, and it was deeply affecting. There’s no way they’re going to do that, is there? Well, yes they did it–and it made sense. At the time. It was brutal, but I felt they earned it.
Except.
In retrospect, the more I thought about it, the less satisfied I was with it. I had questions that would not go away, and I ended up feeling hollow inside. Oh, the reason for it happening made sense (sort of), but I felt manipulated and slightly resentful. To be clear, I understand why they made the choice they did to do that at that moment, but I didn’t like it. Not because it wsa a brutal act–but because it made less and less sense the more I thought about it.
Then, Act II happened, and the story went to hell. First of all, there was so much thrown at me in a rapid pace, story-wise and gameplay-wise. The fifth and sixth party members were tossed in there along with their two completely different ways of playing. Plus new attacks and defensive moves. Everything and the kitchen sink, really, and it overwhelmed me. I already didn’t get how to use the party members I had–adding two more was not welcomed.
I won’t get into the story itself because that’s not the point–and anyone who really wants to know can look it up. While I was able to brush off the meladrama and overwrought aspects in the first act, the team doubled down in the second act and went full soap opera with it. And they completely lost me. For the life of me, I could not understand why people found it so compelling. I don’t doubt that they did , but it just left me cold.
At the end of Act 3, I had to make a choice–and I was so resentful. I knew it was coming, kind of, but I still wasn’t expecting it. The story had gone so off the rails in the second act that I was completely checked out by the end of the third act. I didn’t even flinch with all the plot holes flying around me because I was worn out by then. I just accepted that it was a hot mess and shrugged my shoulders
Until that last choice. I was so mad about it–mostly because it didn’t really make a difference. I mean, it did because the choice had two diametrically-different consequences, but it didn’t because it twas the end of the game and the last thing that happened (barring stuff in the over-world).
I know I’m a weirdo in what I like and don’t like, but things like this make me seriously question what the fuck is wrong with me. This is the one thing that almost every review praises about the game, and I think it’s one of the weakest elements in the game. Having said that, I give it a 4. I wanted to give it a 3, but it’s better than the level design, which I already gave a 3. That feels right for that, but 4 feels too high for the story. If I were to be honest, I would give it a 3.5.
Having said all that, I have realized that the game is more than the sum of all its parts. I still think it’s a very good game, even if it did not resonate with me the way it has with so many people. With all the frustrations I had with the game and how many times I wanted to quit, I’m amazed I stuck it out and finished the game. There was something about it that made me feel like I had to keep playing, even though that’s obviously not true.
I know it sounds like I hated the game, but I did not. I got more than my money’s worth (free on Game Pass) out of it, and it’s a solid game. And for people who like the combat, it’s probably a really good game. In the end, I’m glad I played it (though I wish I had quit it sooner). I give it a 7.