I’m incredibly impressed byClair Obscur: Expedition 33’s combat. While it’s not anything new as far as turn-based battle systems are concerned with timed button presses a laPaper Mario, the unique quirks each character brings to the table make every encounter feel like a satisfying puzzle to solve.
Admittedly, however, the solution usually tends to be ‘hit giant monster with sword.’
Clair Obscur’s visuals are equally stunning, with the combat UI and flashy attack animations combined with the battle system to ensure every single enemy encounter is unpredictably thrilling.
As much as I like the combat, though, there’s one glaring problem: I can never see what’s going on.
I Have No Idea What’s Going On
Clair Obscur follows in the footsteps ofPaper Mario and Sea of Starsin that combat requires the player to perform quick-time events and quick button presses to parry incoming attacks, jump over sweeping slashes, and power up the party’s moves to deal extra damage. While the defensive active-time elements work pretty well, I have a big problem with the quick-time events required to power up your abilities.
Any time you want to attack an enemy with a skill, you’ll need to hit a timed button prompt to deal the most amount of damage. I don’t mind this system inherently, but because I have to watch the prompt closely to properly time out my button presses or risk dealing an embarrassing amount of damage, I’m not able to see anything else that’s going on while I lock in.
This means that I ignore any UI elements that pop up on screen while I’m trying to ace the quick-time events. The problem with that is that the UI that appears when attacks are landing is crucial for understanding if my attacks are effective or not.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 uses an elemental weakness system, a common trope in turn-based RPGs, but because of the constant barrage of quick-time events, I have no idea which monsters are weak to what kind of damage or whether they’re resistant.
A fleeting glimpse at the information out of the corner of my eye while I’m focused on other things makes me feel at a disadvantage, despite attempting to deal the most amount of damage possible. This wouldn’t be a huge issue if Clair Obscur showed me an enemy’s stats and weaknesses if I’ve discovered them in combat before, but no such system exists, so I’m left in the dark.
Covering The Beauty With UI
While my big problem with not being able to see because of the QTEs boils down to missing relevant combat information, the other problem with it is thatI can’t see the flashy animations. There are a lot ofreally cool-looking attacks that Gustave and company useon the Nevrons, but because I’m looking at button prompts all the time, I never get to see them.
I have vague notions about what’s going on, but I seldom get a good look, which is a shame since so many of the game’s visuals are completely utterly striking and acrobatic.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a lot going for it, and I don’t even mind the concept of completing quick-time events in combat, I just wish I could see what was going on. As it stands right now, the only thing ‘Obscur-ed’ is my vision.
