Expedition 33 Sets A New Standard For Turn-Based RPGs, And Here’s Why

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was a surprise success, especially considering it was a brand-new series from a new team of developers. It was so successful that it had reactionaries claiming that 'turn-based games are finally back', but turn-based games never went anywhere. There's🌳 been a consistent stream of fantastic turn-based games released every year, so what was it about Expedition 33 that made it stand out above all those games?

Gustave observing a rose in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Square Eni♋x Has Admitted Its Ver🃏y "Aware" Of How Much We All Love Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Here's hoping that a𝔍wareness leads to more turn-based Final Fantasy games.

Posts 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: 🐠

While Clair Obscur 𝓡is certainly a turn-based game, it shifts plenty of genre conventions to feel like a distinct product, so what l🎶essons can other turn-based games learn from Expedition 33's success?

8 Shorter 🌼Stories 🐽

Pick Up The Pace

Esquie holding a rock in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

While it's not true of all turn-based games, most turn-based games, especially if they're RPGs, tend to be massive. If you've got a sizable backlog of games you want to tackle, while you might be tempted by a turn-based RPG, the average runtime might put you off, especially if you can't guarantee you'll actu❀ally end up enjoying it.

Even though Expedition 33 contains multitudes of side content, for a completely satisfying journey through the fantastic main story, you'll only need about 30 hours. 30 hours isn't short by any means, but it's much shorter than the majority of turn-based titles, and its pacing means that it's a pretty fast-fee♕ling 30 hours too.

7 More⛎ Mystery ꦏ

Keep Us In The Dark

Thanks to its haunting premise of a post-apocalyptic world where the maximum life expectancy is cut by one year, every year, the world of Clair Obscur is immediately engaging and full of mystery. World-building is effective, and you're left se🎐arching for clues about how this society works and the truth behind its more obscure details.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Maelle looking to the side anxiously.

Clair Obscur: Expeditꦑion 33 - 10 Things To Do After You Beat The Game

If you've finished Clair Obscur: Expediไtion 33, fret not: there's still plenty to do after you beat the game.

Posts 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: 𓆉 ไ

Even though there isn't a shortage of turn-based games that keep their cards close for most of the story, there's a line of distinction between not knowing something and actually be༺ing interested in the mystery. Instead of paragraphs upon paragraphs of obtuse exposition, gradual and efficient world-building and intriguing central mysteries make for a much more inviting narrative.

6 ♌ Linear Party Member Growth

Stay In Your Lane

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 team fronted by Lune.

With turn-based RPGs, combat can turn into a bit of a numbers game upon🌺 further examination, and that's why some titles will pat themselves on the back by providing fully customizable party members, to let you mold and grind your team into the most effective damage-dealing unit possible. However, with fully customizable party members, sometimes the individual members start to lose their identity and just become a unique distribution of stats, and maybe a few signature skills.

While there is room for customization in Clair Obscur, each of its party members has a unique central mechanic, and there is no chance you can mix any of them up. Having 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:distinct party members that transcenꦏd genre expectations for different cla꧒sses helps make the team in Expedition 33 stand out.

5 Don't Be Scared To Incorporate Other Genres

Free Yourself From Tradition

Verso looking over the Gestral Beach parkour challenge in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

If you squint, the gameplay of turn-based titles can start to blend together. As one of the longest-standing subgenres in gaming, the gameplay loop of standardized exploration and encounters has become an expected unbroken wheel that there is technically no reason to fix.

Even if it's not the first turn-based game to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:lend from other genres, you can tell when playing Clair Obscur that there were no constraints on sꦓticking to a previously established structure, and it makes playing through it feel like a wholly unique experience. Whether it's platforming for exploration and minigames, or the distinct incorporation of action mechanics to add a more active element to combat - it all helps give Clair Obscur the X factor needed to feel unique.

4 𝔍 Unapo♛logetically Inspired

French Representation

Verso angrily talking while wearing his Baguette outfit in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

This is not an attempt to paint Expedition 33 as the only turn-based game with inspiration. That would be a gross misrepresentation; rather,🍌 it's𝐆 an observation that Clair Obscur successfully leans fully into its inspirations to create a one-of-a-kind style and aesthetic.

Verso looking up at the massive ascension structure in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Every Gestral Game, Ranked By Difficu♌lty

Let's see which of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Gestral gam♒es offers the most challenge.

Posts 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: 🃏

With some turn-based games, the style can feel like a hodge-podge of genre staples and ends up feeling bland. Comparatively, Clair Obscur's dedication to its fusion 🐷of the French Belle Époque era with classic RPG traditions ensures that the imagery of the game will stick with you.

3 Commit To Ch🎶anging The Formula

Call To Action

maelle fighting a rock monster in clair obscur expedition 33. — via Sandfall Interactive

While you will often find turn-based games that take steps to incorporate new mechanics or u༺nique features that make their gameplay stand out during marketing, upon actually playing the games, you might end up being disappointed by how little these new features actually impact the gameplay.

The action mechanics included within Expedition 33's turn-based combat drastically alter how combat feels compared to other turn-based games, and mastery of these mechanics takes effort, effort which will be rewarded. If you want to include unique mechanics, ensure t♌hat they're refined, impactful, and not just tacked on.

2 Don't Require Grinding

Artificial Difficulty Free

The Chromatic boss in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Working through the story of Clair Obscur is well-paced, partially because of its below-average length when compared to its fellow turn-based titles, but also because of how little you're required to grind. It feels almost like a standard of turn-based games, 🦂that even on a standard difficulty, there will be periods of gamepl🃏ay where the progression will grind to a halt, and you'll need to grind for experience.

If you learn Expedition 33's mechanics, you won't ever need to grind to complete the main story, and if you're going๊ out of your way to complete side content, you might even end up trivializing some of the challenges. While challenging turn-based games are not inherently bad, having to kill the pacing to grind shouldn't be seen as standard, even if it's a genre tradition.

1 Older Cast ♎

No More Teenage Dreams

Sciel leaning of Lune's shoulder in front of the campfire in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

It shouldn't be as refreshing as it is, but the majority of the party members in Expedition 33, b๊eing in their 30s, genuinely helps it stand out from a massive portion of turn-based titles. While it's understandable that there is a plet𓆉hora of teenage protagonists and party members throughout the history of RPGs, it gets to a point where it feels like you need to actively search to find a cast of characters that aren't mostly high-school age.

The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:more mature cast of Clair Obscur helps enforce the more serious tone of its narrative, and it also helps the party members just feel like the type of people we (unluckily) don't get to see that often in gaming💮.