Vortex Gaming

This year's Gamescom featured a variety of games, attracting the attention of gamers and attendees from around the world. Monster Hunter Wilds made its world premiere demo, drawing long lines, and Civilization 7, Path of Exile 2, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, and others also garnered a lot of attention from attendees. The progress of Korean game companies was also remarkable. Pearl Abyss' Crimson Desert finally made its demo debut, and Project AK (Codename: KAZAN), based on Dungeon & Fighter, also made a strong impression on Soulslike and hardcore action RPG fans at this year's Gamescom. Krafton's inZOI, considered a rival to The Sims, also received a great deal of attention.

Personally, if I were to pick a dark horse at this year's Gamescom, I would pick this game. 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33', a turn-based RPG being developed by French newcomer Sandfall Interactive, is the star. It showcases fantastic visuals and action, and even though I wasn't expecting anything, it immediately made it onto my list of anticipated games. During this year's Gamescom, Sandfall Interactive invited media from around the world to the Xbox booth in the B2B hall for a presentation where developers demonstrated the game and answered brief questions about it.

There were two main things that could be confirmed through the developer demo presentation. The first is the visuals. Perhaps because it was made with Unreal Engine 5, the game's visuals were quite good despite being from a new game company. It wasn't just because it was Unreal Engine 5, but it was felt that a lot of effort was put into establishing 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's' own unique color.

UI and UX are representative examples. This is also the reason why I first became interested in the game, the UI design or style, you could say. It was somehow reminiscent of Persona 5. When elements that remind you of other games are included like this, it's easy to get the feeling that it's copied or sloppy, but 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' was not like that. It took inspiration but reinterpreted it to suit their game, giving a unified impression.

The field play is reminiscent of an action-adventure game. You can freely roam the field, and through this, it seemed possible to either follow the main story straight through, or to break side quests, or find hidden bosses. It seemed that character stat distribution and skill acquisition had to be done at separate save points.

There were stats such as health, strength, agility, and intelligence, and players could freely raise the stats for each character to customize them. Gustav, Lounais, and Maelle appeared in the developer demo presentation, and while it would be good to invest in stats such as intelligence for Lounais, who is basically a mage, it was also possible to invest in health and strength if the player wanted.

You can freely switch characters such as Gustav, Lounais, and Maelle in the field. I couldn't confirm what kind of changes would occur in the field play, but I thought that there might be changes in the field play depending on the character, since they made it possible to switch characters.

The combat is a symbol encounter method where the player approaches and engages in combat when an enemy is found in the field. Similar to the symbol encounter method in other games, if you are attacked by an enemy in the field, it is treated as a surprise attack, so the enemy has priority, and if the player character attacks the enemy, they can start the battle with an advantage.

The basic system doesn't seem to be much different compared to other turn-based RPGs. The turn order of allies and enemies is displayed in the upper left corner, and on your turn, you can choose one of various commands, such as whether to attack, use a skill, or shoot a gun. QTE elements are included in attacks and skills, and you could see that the effect was enhanced if you succeeded in timing it.

What's interesting is the part where you shoot a gun. To be exact, it's the Aim command, and at this time, the player can freely move the aiming point to determine the target or part. Unlike the general rule of one action per turn, it is possible to fire multiple shots in the aiming state. Through this, it seemed possible to clear objects that the boss summons that have low health but interfere with the player at once, or to aim for the boss's weak points.

However, even this was nothing compared to what they will show in the future. The most eye-catching thing in the battle was not the QTE or aiming, but the various response elements. In short, unlike other turn-based RPGs where you can only get hit on the enemy's turn, in 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33', it is possible to minimize damage by actively responding.

The response elements that could be confirmed in the developer demo presentation were mainly three: Parry, Defence, and Jump. If you parry or guard in time with the timing when the enemy attacks and glows yellow, you could see that you would not take any damage at all.

I couldn't confirm exactly which response element to use when the enemy makes a certain attack, but since it is divided into three, it was presumed that the response element to use would also be different depending on the enemy's attack type. In the developer demo presentation, you could see that physical attacks such as swinging a weapon were blocked with defense or parry, and that you could avoid hitting the floor by jumping. In the case of parry, since it leads directly to a counterattack after deflecting the enemy's attack, it was presumed that the timing would be more difficult in many ways. In addition, it was also confirmed that a 20% experience bonus would be added if you clear with no damage.

In boss battles, it seemed necessary to pay close attention to the Break-Bar located below the health bar. As most of you probably expect, it is an element corresponding to stamina in action RPGs such as Soulslike. In the case of mobs, it doesn't really matter, but in boss battles, the battle flowed in such a way that you would first use attacks and skills that fill the boss's Break-Bar to fill the Break-Bar first, put them in a groggy state, and then deal extreme damage.

Finally, there was a brief introduction to the appearance items. The characters' costumes can be freely changed, and you could see that they are reflected in the cinematic cutscenes in real time.

In summary, 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' is a game that has repeatedly pondered how to reduce the inherent boredom of repeating turns in turn-based RPGs by incorporating real-time action mechanics into a traditional turn-based RPG. It may seem awkward or excessive at first glance, but I couldn't feel that in the developer demo presentation. It gave the impression that it was exquisitely incorporated, and I wanted to play it as soon as possible.

After the developer demo presentation, I was able to have a brief interview with CEO/Director Guillaume Broche and Lead Character Artist Alan Reynaud. The most curious thing was how far the response elements were allowed. If you do well, is it possible to clear the final boss with no damage? Let's check out his answer to this.

Q. The parry, defense, and jump performance seem very good. If you use them well, you can perfectly avoid or block attacks, so even if there is a big level difference with the boss, is it possible to clear with no damage if you are skilled enough?

= Good question. If you know the boss's patterns perfectly and are confident in your skills, it is theoretically possible to clear with no damage even if there is a big level difference. Personally, I hope that there will be users who play like that (laughs).

Q. I'm curious whether it's a linear structure or an open-world structure.

= It can be said to be in the middle of a linear structure and an open-world structure. The narrative and game progression itself are linear, but it also includes an open-world structure, such as freely exploring areas and finding shortcuts. On the other hand, some side content cannot be progressed at first, but can be progressed as you progress through the main story. At this time, it is also possible to return to the previous area.

Q. How long is the play time?

= It is difficult to say for sure as it is still a game in development and the play time varies depending on how you enjoy it. However, I don't think it will feel short as there is a moderate volume and a lot of side content.

Q. The graphics and directing look very good. The specs also seem quite high.

= It depends on the platform. It is difficult to say exactly for PCs as each PC has different specs, but PS5 and XSX|S will have performance mode and graphics mode. This part will need to be discussed further in the future.

Q. The UI design and overall directing seem to be influenced by JRPG, especially Persona 5. It sometimes feels like a Western-style JRPG, but is there any game that inspired you?

= Personally, I am also a JRPG fan, and the development team has many developers who have memories of JRPGs from that era, as many of them were born in the 70s and 80s. So there is something that inspired us. In addition to our game's style, the UI design is also designed to capture that feeling well, as the action is flashy even though it is turn-based.

Visually, it was influenced by the Belle Époque era and Art Deco style. In short, it can be said that we melted fantasy elements into real-world designs and fused them into one.

On the other hand, in terms of gameplay, it can be said that it is a game that combines traditional turn-based JRPG and the Final Fantasy series.

웹진 인벤윤홍만 기자
2024-08-28