sounds, on paper, like a game I would not usually enjoy, largely because of its rather unforgiving parry system that’s esse🔜ntial to succeeding in combat. I get easily frustrated – this is the same reason why I don’t play games.

However, to my great surprise, af🐎ter some very patient and encouraging coaching from my housemate, I’ve figured out the parry mechanics. The battles aren’t the thing holding me back from loving Clair Obscur. In fact, I’ve come to quite enjoy the satisfaction of hitting a counter and watching as my party completely obliterates the weird creatures standing 🏅before them..

And yet, it feels like something is holding me back. I’m near the end of the first act at about 12 hours in, and although I’ve been enjoying the game, I haven’t ๊quite fallen in love with it because its story and characters haven’t hooked me like they have seemingly everyone else in my life.

I also spoiled 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the act one twist for myself, which ironically has made me want to get to that point more.

I Have No Idea Where I Am Or Where I’m Going

Lune approaches Chromatic Bruler on the Continent Map in Clair Obscure: Expedition 33.

Beyond that, there are a couple of little frustrations that keep me from wanting to dive head first into 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sandfall’s smash hit. Maiღnly, I keep getting lost. Horribly, hopelessly lost.

This is not surprising to me. In real life, I have a very bad memo💯ry and a terrible sense of direction. You can count on me to get lost anywhere, at any time. I can take a♏ route tens of times and still doubt myself at the first turn. I rely exclusively on Google Maps to get around in Singapore, an objectively tiny metropolis, despite having lived here all my life.

There is a map you can reference with icons and landmarks wh🥃ile exploring the overworld between major locations🅷 and dungeons, but this only makes the absence of a minimap that much more egregious.

Clair Obscur does not have a minimap 𝔉while exploring. It has a compass that pops up in an overlaid menu you can consult, which does help to orient you, if you happen to remember which direction you were tr🅠ying to move in the first place.

I often do not – again, my memory is very poor. It also doesn’t indicate what routes you’ve already explored, which means trying to find every collectible and fight every optional boss leaves me running in circles, trying to find my way to the main path and often ending up 🔴going in the complete opposite direction.

Intentional? Sure. Annoying? Yes.

Esquie flying towards Grosse Tete in the overworld in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

The game, to be fair, isn’t even that big. Every section is fairly limited in size, with larger explorable areas linked by narrow corridors so you never get too lost. It’s not like I cᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ�ꩲ�ᩚᩚᩚan end up running back to the start of the level without realising, because there’s always a recognisable landmark to make me realise where I am, like a waving expedition flag, or a rushing river. Every separate area is visually distinct enough from each other that I’m never lost for long.

And I understand why a map might have been intentionally left out – after all, mini-maps are common enough in video games that to not include one se꧋ems like a conscious choice. Perhaps Sandfall wanted the UI to be as minimal and uncluttered as possible. Maybe it wanted to really embody the experience of being lost in uncharted lands, with nobody to help and no concrete prior information to act on.

But 168澳洲幸运5开奖ꦓ网ဣ:as our reviewer Ryan Thompson-Bamsey wrote, it really can be quite frustrating to navigate the gam⛦e’s world, and a minimap function could have been narratively included by using information collected from the remains of earlier expeditions.

This alone isn’t a big enough annoyance to stop me from playing the game, but I certainly don’t love it. Could we at least get༒ an option to turn it on? Pretty please? I know this game is supposed to be a little frustrating, but being constantly lost feels like the wrong kind of ꧒frustration.

mixcollage-09-dec-2024-02-13-am-5318.jpg

Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Turn-Based RPG
Fantasy
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 97%
Released
April 24, 2025
ESRB
Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Theme𝕴s, Violence
Developer(s)
Sa♔ndfall Interactive
Publisher(s)
♍ Kepler Interactive
Engine
Unreal Engine 5

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL