Out of seemingly nowhere, Sandfall Interactive launched its debut, a sophisticated and wholly entertaining RPG that is equally intellectual as it is fun to play, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Beyond the layers of thought-provoking and heart-wrenching story beats, though, and past the excellently written characters and rich, vibrant world-building lies something I find incredibly alluring: a combat system that effectively marries real-time with turn-based combat in an incredibly satisfying and unique way.
While other role-playing experiences have delivered combat systems that are reminiscent in some shape or form, like 2014’s Child of Light, for instance, which blends active elements with a classical turn-based system, I think the Montpellier-based outfit has seriously outdone themselves with Expedition 33. Not only is it a fantastic amalgam of traditional, time-honored mechanics intermixed with the new and the bold, but it’s just so perfectly executed, I’d love to see it explored even further by other developers in the genre.
For the uninitiated, in essence, Expedition 33‘s combat boasts the familiar strategic elements of a typical turn-based combat system, but introduces active elements, such as well-timed dodges, parries, jumps, and even an active shooting ability that you can utilise to target weak spots on all the dastardly foes the game throws at you. When things are firing on all cylinders, your party of three are dodging deadly eight-hit combos, parrying hugely cinematic sweeping attacks from hulking bosses bigger than the Eiffel Tower, jumping over laser beams while delivering a cheeky counter-attack, and pulling off skull-shattering headshots with the snap of a button.
All this is balanced with Action Points, which you accrue as you deliver your own attacks, along with some extra handy abilities and buffs that you can pick up from the game’s Pictos and Luminas systems. Add in a bunch of skill trees, bursting with delightfully high-powered special attacks that are unique to each character, and factor in how each character possesses their own distinct playstyle, and you have a combat system that isn’t just great, but is genuinely innovative and boundary-pushing.
Honestly, I’ve only just rolled the credits on the main quest in Expedition 33, and I’d be lying if I said that I understood every facet of its deep and meaningful narrative about loss, grief, and hope. Nevertheless, while I ponder its profoundly emotional story threads and consider where the IP will go from here, I’m just left in awe at what Sandfall Interactive has managed to achieve: a wonderfully inventive RPG, with a combat system that should absolutely go down in the annals of history.
Oh, and the soundtrack absolutely bangs, too, which is a pretty nice bonus.
