Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Act 1 of this game is probably the greatest sequence of any game I’ve played - everything is done perfectly. I was really interested in the world building and the characters. Combat is also great for a turn-based game, which is remarkable because the combat usually gets boring in them after a while. Act 2 was also amazing - I was interested in Renoir and Verso’s story, and how they would end up being intertwined with Maelle and the Paintress. literally everything up until the big story twist at the end of Act 2 is an 11/10. I think that the big story reveal undermined much of what the game had built up before. I played through the game and got attached to this cool world where the entire point is perseverance and moving forward no matter the circumstance only to find out that none of that mattered, the world isn’t real, and it was just a family conflict? That sucks. Not even mentioning that all of the other party members not named Verso/Maelle just got completely tossed to the wayside in Act 3 - you can go on quests to learn more about their backstories in the late game, but why would you when they’re not even real people? Or at least that’s how the game is treating them. I chose the Maelle ending too. I didn’t really get why it was treated as the “bad” ending when it’s the only somewhat positive outcome for Maelle. She has nothing in the real world, so why not just stay in a world that’s just as real but has a fulfilling life for her? Verso’s cool with it too - seems like a win-win for everyone. Also the pacing in Act 3 became really chopped. This is a lot of complaining for a near 10/10, but it was so close to being the best game I had ever played if it hadn’t shit the bed a little at the last second. Amazing visuals, combat, exploration, characters, soundtrack, writing (until act 3) - all of the above. Just wish the writers hadn’t tried to pull a last second twist that invalidated the entire point of the story up until that point. Im not annoyed that there wasn’t a happy ending, but I am annoyed that the big reveal undermined the whole story. Gustave’s sacrifice, or anybody’s sacrifice means nothing anymore because the world’s not real and apparently I’m supposed to feel bad for staying in it? That’s not big brain writing to me - that’s just punishing the player for liking the game. Still an amazing game. I’ll replay Act 1 probably many more times.