Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - The First Preview

ign.com:

Ever since I pitted my brand new Bulbasaur against my rival’s Charmander in the opening chapter of Pokémon Red, I’ve loved turn-based combat. But I know this style of battle isn’t for everyone. Plenty have skipped over the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3, Persona 5, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns because of the slower, more managerial-like pace of turn-based combat. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wants to provide the solution to those issues. The upcoming RPG has plenty of smart ideas that aim to evolve turn-based battles, transforming them from baton-passing attack sequences to thrilling, skill-based conflicts.

I recently met with developer Sandfall Interactive to watch creative director Guillaume Broche play through just under an hour of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. While clearly inspired by Japanese RPG titans like Final Fantasy, Clair Obscur feels distinctly European. Rather than sporting outrageous anime hair and a sword larger than the Empire State Building, protagonist Gustave is a handsomely dressed gent with a face that could be almost mistaken for Robert Pattinson’s. During my demo, he and the equally elegant mage Lune explored the ocean floor-like Flying Waters region, picking through the remains of prior expeditions that had been scattered among the coral.

Gustave and Lune are the latest team attempting to defy the will of the Paintress, a god-like figure who kills scores of people each year by painting a number on a monolith. Anyone of that age instantly fades away, Infinity War style. The demo’s short hour duration didn’t allow for much insight into this story, but what was obvious was the dark and melancholic tone. It seems somewhat literary in a manner I found very appealing, rooted in its character's emotions and fears.

Gustave was soon reunited with his foster sister, Maelle, who’d been lost in a manor that lies beyond the boundaries of time and space. Together with Lune, the trio formed a full party, which brings us to those aforementioned evolutionary ideas