Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PCs (Steam Deck YMMV)
Current goal: Actually progress the story
So here’s how most of my evenings went this week: I played a bunch of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Guess what my weekend evenings will consist of?
The same thing.
Well, hopefully they’ll be a bit different since I have ambitions to actually move the story along. These past few days, I’ve just been grinding on the hardest difficulty for hours. Hours and hours just messing up these Nevrons, learning the battle system in and out by way of brute force and trying everything I can think of to see what works, what doesn’t work, and what I enjoy the most.
It helps that Clair Obscur really does nail that classic battle feel I know well from classic Final Fantasy games. It’s not just about turn-based battle; it’s about the theater of it all. The camera swoops in and shows our cast project strong, confident battle poses and moves over the course of the fight.
As for the quick-windowed parries and dodges? I can now pull them off more reliably. Nailing the timing window also demands that I really, pay attention, observing precisely when an enemy’s attack is about to strike. Which means that I’m spending a lot of time staring at the enemy design, taking in the gorgeous art design even as I’m learning their tells. That sounds like a great way to spend an evening or seven to me! — Claire Jackson
