This game is a JRPG, and while I don’t like that genre, I actually love this game and in this review I will explain why.
In Clair Obscur you start on the city island of Lumiere. During the fracture, a sort of global natural catastrophe, the city of Lumiere was cast into the sea and since then its inhabitants have been sending expeditions to the main land every year. None of them ever come back.
You play as Gustav that sets out from Lumiere, as part of Expedition 33, after a night of festivities, to explore the continent.
That’s all I can say without spoiling anything. The story of this game is very strong and the writing is the best I’ve encountered in a video game. Both the story arc as well as the banter between the characters is incredible. The voice acting is superb, and if you removed the game play you would have an incredible movie.
The game play is classic JRPG. If you’ve played Pokemon you know the drill. You walk around in an open world and then you meet an enemy and the game turns into a turn based fight. However it does have an unexpected twist to it which makes the fighting much more interactive and engaging.
They have incorporated the Sekiro parry mechanics into the combat so when an enemy attacks, if you parry at the right moment you can perform a counter strike which makes a ton of damage. This makes the combat so much more fun and interesting. In the beginning these counters are quite simple, but as you progress they are built up with different moves making it quite elaborate. The complexity of it progresses slowly, so when you’re at the end of the game you’re pulling off counters you could only dream of in the beginning which makes you feel invisible.
The graphics in this game is some of the most beautiful I’ve seen, and it’s not just because of the high graphical fidelity but because the art design is out of this world. Everywhere you look you see something new and interesting, and each bend in the road offers a sense of wonder. You can never really predict where the game is taking you so every time you get smacked over the face with the sense of wonder, and you just stop and stand there gobsmacked. This, and the engaging story is what makes the game very hard to put down when you play it.
This review wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention the music, because it has a huge impact on the experience. Games’ soundtracks usually are something that goes on in the background but in Clair Obscure it is very much in the forefront of the experience. Every character has its own theme, the songs are very memorable and I find myself humming them when not playing the game.
If I’m going to provide one piece of criticism it’s that the game has Return of the King syndrome. It never seems to want to end. The ending is very long and drawn out. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every minute of it, it all brought value to the story, but it was way too long.
Right now I’m feeling that my EXCELLENT grading doesn’t really cut it for this game. It stands out on every aspect and I’m willing to break my grading system.
I rate this game a MASTERPIECE.
(excuse me while I go back to Clair Obscure to finish up some side quests and extra content)
Replay 