dyonoctisSure, you can technically beat the whole game easily if you are a master dodger/parry...but the fights will be painfully slow if you do not make a build that enhances counter damage. People even managed to beat bosses that they were clearly underleveled for by parrying everything but those fights took over 30 minutes.

While the maelle nuke build is absolutely the best build, I find it unfun. Stendhal is an actual cheat that can absolutely be ignored without making the game too hard. It's a great skill for people who like nukes, but the damage output is insanely overkill. Especially with Maelle being able to reach her full potential in turn one.

Lastly, what you said about the game potentially being too hard and frustrating for some was a bit funny in the context of this year's TGA: the creators of Silksong said that they knew that they had no shot at winning GoY because E33 was more accessible than Silksong when it comes to difficulty.(Doesn't matter if the game broke several stores due to massive demand). I only speak for myself when I say that, but above-average challenge, while not feeling absolutely unfair, is what made me feel more engaged in combat in that game. My victories felt like they were earned.
www.thegamer.com/silksong-devs-not-attending-the-game-awards-clair-obscur-expedition-33-goty/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=692ac43ec0934a0001a9802f&utm_campaign=TrueAnthem-TG&utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawOqWaFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFJYURhRkJWeHRSaHVyeTRxc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsU2AEBsK3H-0Gl5FhEUSqOYzZdXOw4tRzGOiQ7tL16ZaXTaqcMn_eEeC_g7_aem_sotY2yKFQIjqAOuUE135mw



I feel like you just don't like stories that rely on alternate/simulated realities tbh. The story made perfect sense if you paid attention to it. The fact that you think that the painting was imagined by a psychopath tells me that you did not pay attention to the story. And you did not in fact got it.

Spoiler: Major plot spoilers

First, in the real world of Clair obscure, people have powers. Painters can create a full simulation of a world just by painting said world and its characters. They can decide on the rules, the personality, and the power of people living in the world that they created. And painters can enter those worlds with an avatar that they also paint as they see fit (Cléa told Alicia that she should repaint her throat upon entering the canvas so that she would be able to speak there). The plot also suggests that other creatives, such as writer's have powers, and it seems that in the real world, there's a clash between painters and writers (and Verso died because of that conflict). That canvas was painted by Verso, a kid who made a world that was fun for a child.

After Verso's unfortunate death, the grieving mother painted a copy of the family, of the city, in Verso's canvas because she couldn't cope with his death. She made her fake painted family immortal in the process to not have to witness their death, but still punished painted Alicia for being the reason for Verso's death by not healing her burn wounds, and keeping her mute. Painters can also paint over other people's creations if they are skilled enough. (The real Cléa managed to paint over the fake Cléa so she would endlessly paint Nevrons inside the painted world, while the real Cléa could deal with business in the real world. Alice's avatar was also painted over by Aline upon her entry, hence giving birth to Maëlle).

The painted world became crazy when the real Renoir tried to save his wife, and wanted her to grieve and accept a reality where her son was dead. He was in the process of destroying the canvas because that was the safest way to prevent his wife from escaping reality again. Cléa, the elder sister, created the Nevrons to help Renoir because Aline, the mother, did her best to prevent the destruction of the canvas. But the best that she could do was to slow down the destruction, age by age. Painters use resources to paint and give life to things, people being killed by nevrons prevented those resources from returning to the painters, hence gradually weakening Aline.

The ending is basically questioning whether or not the painted world deserves to be treated with the same importance as the real world because its inhabitants have agency, and you as the player spendt two-thirds of the game with them, witnessing people doing their best to survive, to live another year.

The painted world became "bonkers" because two people fought (one who paints death, the other who paints life), and altered its nature, not because it was dreamed by a deranged mind, or a psychopath. The game tells you several times that the world as you experience it at the time of the events isn't in its normal state. That game is a bit like the first Metroid Prime in the sense that the whole story isn't just served on a platter to you; there are fragments that you will need to put together by exploring the world and doing side quests.

You do need Stendhal for a couple of fights - or you can do without and do the same slugfest you described as a pure parry player on those fights. On the other end of the scale - the easy mode fights... that applies to many different setups and not just Stendhal - in fact, with Stendhal being single target, its almost NEVER the go to strategy because its simply too much hassle. Stendhal really is a niche thing compared to lots of ways to win with party wide damage and/or safely sequencing some things in a smart way. The skill has little to no synergy to anything else you do and might even impede it. There is also a few fights in the game where using the skill puts you in a loss position.

Most of the stuff in this game is really there for a reason and pretty well thought out. Its just very unorthodox in its pacing, but with that, like so many things the game presents, it also challenges your own perspective when playing RPGs with their RPG tropes. It really plays with that. The whole picto thing, the free respec around that, build on the fly... the game wants you to experiment and 'paint creatively'.

Yes, I found Stendhal pretty helpful in some tough boss fights, such as that autumnal leaves place (I forget the title). Other times, I tried to refrain from using it.

ApocalypseeOne of the reason they won, to me at least, is there is lack of any interesting games in 2025, and this one takes the cake of 'blowing people mind' with their ideas, there is right amount of good story, good music and gameplay that attract people to vote for this. Like I said earlier if they dump the QTE I would rate this game higher. This is my first turn-based strategy game, it kinda ruined the perspective of the genre a bit but I play a bit of Final Fantasy VI and VII, that fared much better being pure turn-based strategy games.

But was there a lack of games? I don't think so, lots of big (sequel) releases, and also a bunch of new stuff. Varying in success, but definitely not a shitty year I'd say.

I view Claire Obscure more like a Baldur's Gate 3 - apparently, there is a soft spot in the audience for strong single player narrative driven, mechanically interesting game concepts! Who would have thought... The 'big RPG' is something that historically has always made waves. From the older Baldurs Gates to Skyrim... I mean, any studio that can paint a vivid picture of an expansive (fantasy) world that speaks to players in any kind of genuine way, just becomes a hit. Its the same kind of success as a Lord of the Rings trilogy or a Star Wars. People want to be taken to a believable world they can immerse themselves in. That is really what has made gaming great: its incredible strength to provide an immersive and interactive experience. And RPGs tend to ooze with interactivity, with the NPCs, the game world, its quests, relationships (!!! a major concept in Claire Obscur, its core the game's story) etc. And a lot of games these days have moved past that initial phase of wonder, or just present a generic shitty world like you see in that other big 2025 RPG Avowed... or they go super weird and 'out of place' like The Outer Worlds 2 which quickly becomes a parody of itself, but without much depth to it. Fallout, on the contrary... has some of the same gimmicky humor but does succeed. Spot the differences :)

This is also a big part of why Elden Ring was such an explosive success, compared to the earlier Dark Souls. And I'll be honest with you - any time a game 'such as this' gets released, I'm front row checking it out, to see if it has that magic spark, because yes, these things are rare indeed - and that's for the simple fact it takes truly creative talent to create that awesome world to walk around in, without being a weak copy of something you've already seen, but backed by more, and good, lore. Those are the worlds of the likes of Tolkien, Games Workshop (Warhammer), D&D, etc. This is also why I'm so gutted with how Mass Effect was treated after (during) part 3. It had every potential to go places, but Andromeda turned it into generic slop with some magical board room formula. It felt like playing episode 5781 season 90 of Star Trek or something - including the cliffhanger, where you're left with the sense you've seen an intro.

That thought also brings me to thoughts about a sequel. They are going to have to get really creative with that. If they're gonna push the 'another expedition' angle, I don't think I'm that interested. They'll have to go way over the top of the top, or do something completely different, but with recognizable elements.

Vayra86But was there a lack of games? I don't think so, lots of big (sequel) releases, and also a bunch of new stuff. Varying in success, but definitely not a shitty year I'd say.

I view Claire Obscure more like a Baldur's Gate 3 - apparently, there is a soft spot in the audience for strong single player narrative driven, mechanically interesting game concepts! Who would have thought... The 'big RPG' is something that historically has always made waves. From the older Baldurs Gates to Skyrim... I mean, any studio that can paint a vivid picture of an expansive (fantasy) world that speaks to players in any kind of genuine way, just becomes a hit. Its the same kind of success as a Lord of the Rings trilogy or a Star Wars. People want to be taken to a believable world they can immerse themselves in. That is really what has made gaming great: its incredible strength to provide an immersive and interactive experience. And RPGs tend to ooze with interactivity, with the NPCs, the game world, its quests, relationships (!!! a major concept in Claire Obscur, its core the game's story) etc. And a lot of games these days have moved past that initial phase of wonder, or just present a generic shitty world like you see in that other big 2025 RPG Avowed... or they go super weird and 'out of place' like The Outer Worlds 2 which quickly becomes a parody of itself, but without much depth to it. Fallout, on the contrary... has some of the same gimmicky humor but does succeed. Spot the differences :)

This is also a big part of why Elden Ring was such an explosive success, compared to the earlier Dark Souls. And I'll be honest with you - any time a game 'such as this' gets released, I'm front row checking it out, to see if it has that magic spark, because yes, these things are rare indeed - and that's for the simple fact it takes truly creative talent to create that awesome world to walk around in, without being a weak copy of something you've already seen, but backed by more, and good, lore. Those are the worlds of the likes of Tolkien, Games Workshop (Warhammer), D&D, etc. This is also why I'm so gutted with how Mass Effect was treated after (during) part 3. It had every potential to go places, but Andromeda turned it into generic slop with some magical board room formula. It felt like playing episode 5781 season 90 of Star Trek or something - including the cliffhanger, where you're left with the sense you've seen an intro.

That thought also brings me to thoughts about a sequel. They are going to have to get really creative with that. If they're gonna push the 'another expedition' angle, I don't think I'm that interested. They'll have to go way over the top of the top, or do something completely different, but with recognizable elements.

Granted I don't play much game this year I only play a couple new games; one is this game and second is The Outer World 2. I did play a few others but since I don't like it, I can't review it like Hollow Knight and Silksong. I'm so bad at timings that I can't play on games that rely on it.

I haven't played Baldur's Gate 3 I might try it. I agree people would like strong single player narrative driven game concepts. I don't say the story in Expedition 33 is bad, its good, interesting even. I still play it and enjoys the music. Heck my ringtone is from the OST, Gestral Merchant. I like the soundtrack but there are few questionable instruments they added that ruins the flow of the music, like the mentioned Gestral Merchant they added guitar riff near the end of the track that absolutely ruins the track for me. There are a few more but this isn't the place for me to elaborate it, I even edited one track to thoroughly enjoy it. The Outer Worlds 2 is a better game for me, compared to the first one it felt flat, this one has some interesting bit that gets me continue playing it. I haven't tried Fallout 76, but Fallout 4 is good to me.

Haven't played Elder Rings or Dark Souls either, I can't comment on that. Only watch a few YouTube videos making satire of the gameplay, but I haven't had experience playing it and judging from what I see its more timing based so I won't be playing it.

On reddit they like to have something like DLC playing other expedition like, I forget what expedition is that swims to the continent instead of using a boat, eeh I'm not into this idea, not interested. I agree they need to something better to attract people on its sequel/spinoffs/whatever.

Vayra86That thought also brings me to thoughts about a sequel. They are going to have to get really creative with that. If they're gonna push the 'another expedition' angle, I don't think I'm that interested. They'll have to go way over the top of the top, or do something completely different, but with recognizable elements.

It will be hard to build something that intriguing for sure since we have a lot of information now, but as long as they build a solid work, with maybe another genre, it will be great. The future will tell us.

ApocalypseeOn reddit they like to have something like DLC playing other expedition like, I forget what expedition is that swims to the continent instead of using a boat, eeh I'm not into this idea, not interested. I agree they need to something better to attract people on its sequel/spinoffs/whatever.

Expedition 60. But that's more for the memes, E60 being fully made of pratically naked gigachad , with muscles so strong, they actually managed to break some of the canvas rules, figured out the truth before E33, and might have possibly injured Simon.

The name of the license is Clair Obscure, the lead said that they might turn it into a franchise...but it seems obvious that they would have to tell a different story. The expedition story is done, E33 story was strong partly because the game was so cryptic about what was really happening, now that we know the truth, there no point into going back. If they keep their Final Fantasy inspiration, the next clair obscure might take place in a different world altogether.

While the writer vs painters feud is intriguing, what we know from their powers so far doesn't seems to be compatible with a RPG. The way that those guys are fighting each other in the real world seems more like infiltration, manipulation, and espionnage.

dyonoctisWhile the writer vs painters feud is intriguing, what we know from their powers so far doesn't seems to be compatible with a RPG. The way that those guys are fighting each other in the real world seems more like infiltration, manipulation, and espionnage.

That's why I have hope that they don't stick to one definite genre. They shown what they're capable of concerning gameplay so I wouldn't be surprise if they manage to twist this genre again or do something different.

dyonoctisExpedition 60. But that's more for the memes, E60 being fully made of pratically naked gigachad , with muscles so strong, they actually managed to break some of the canvas rules, figured out the truth before E33, and might have possibly injured Simon.

When playing I always thought this represents some challenge players, one of the common challenges being playing with little to no gear. Something like LetMeSoloHer :)