I love turn-based roleplaying games, having grown up with Breath of Fire, the Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger, the Persona series, and my most beloved underrated PlayStation game of all time, Legend of Dragoon.
Legend of Dragoon was ahead of its time with action-packed turn-based gameplay that no other turn-based game had, which added quick-time events (“QTE”) during attacks. With each successful button pressed, the more damage you dealt, and the higher your meter filled. Though the story is senseless, the graphics are outdated and animations are slow, I still revisit it from time to time due to my absolute adoration for the game.
So, it was to my surprise that when the teaser and gameplay trailer for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 first released, I saw that it not only had QTE during attacks, but also during dodges and parries. You heard that right, you can dodge and parry in this turn-based roleplaying game, which is unheard of as it is something usually reserved for action games. I am not talking about picking from a menu, but full-on watching an animation of being attacked like in most action games, and pressing a button to dodge or parry that attack.
This QTE mechanic, though not novel, is rare to see in modern gaming where games tend to not experiment with already established gaming norms. My anticipation with each trailer, teaser and character introduction only grew, and I could not wait for the end of April to come so I could check out the game on its official release.
Lo and behold, not only did the game successfully release on April 24, but it was also made free to play for all Microsoft Game Pass subscribers, allowing me to jump on almost immediately.
My Impressions
I have only played the prologue and few hours of Chapter 1, but I will confidently say that the game is a contender for 2025’s Game of the Year. Not only am I blown away by the game’s mechanics, but by how beautiful the game is, from the characters, to the world, and even the soundtrack and the animations.
The characters are very expressive, both in cutscenes and in-game, complete with voice acting from major celebrities, including the Devil of Harlem, Charlie Cox as Gustave, one of the main characters. The other characters, from the side characters to the villains and even minor characters, also have top-notch voice acting, with their banter with each other never missing a single beat.
The second thing I noticed was the soundtrack. All the songs were beautifully executed, with each piece being an earworm, from the sad and sombre prologue, to the upbeat and intense battle theme, and even the music scoring the cutscenes. I am for sure adding the soundtrack to my Spotify playlist the minute it drops, and playing it during my drive to work.
The story, which the graphics and soundtrack help to support, is gorgeous, but dark and gloomy. Yet, it is also hopeful, with each step you take into the world being both a wonder of exploration, and also being forthcoming on the objective of saving the people of Lumiere, the city where the main character comes from.
Of course, the main thing that drew me to the game is the mechanic of being a turn-based action game, where each character takes turn to perform an action, and each action has its own QTE. When you attack or perform an ability, a button will appear on the screen, circled by an indicator. When the indicator appears on the green part of the QTE, you will have to press the button to boost its damage. Miss, and your attack will fail to perform its full combination.
There is also a QTE when a character or the party is being attacked, where you can either parry or dodge while matching the timing of the attack. Both parry and dodge will also have their own buttons on the controller or keyboard.
Conclusion
Overall, I cannot express enough how much this game excites me and I will absolutely be playing this game until the end on the highest difficulty. It is a chef-d’oeuvre of a game for a small independent studio with around 30 or so game developers, and I’m sure I won’t be mistaken when I say that the game is a contender for Game of the Year 2025. A full 10 pies out of 10.
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