Developer Sandfall Interactive Publisher Kepler Interactive Format PC, PS5 (tested), Xbox Series Release Out now

Like so many games, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is about conflict, depicting factions and schools of thought that seem irreconcilable. But then also, somehow, it reveals a potential for harmony in those deep oppositions. And while this applies to the game’s narrative themes, and its characters’ inner turmoil, it’s felt most immediately in its game’s combat system. Historically, in RPG battles, realtime and turn-based have been the poles of a dichotomy. Sure, twitch mechanics have guested in turn-based play since Super Mario RPG, and Final Fantasy VII Remake linked ATB to frenetic action. Here, though, is a truer blend.

According to conventional logic, success in turn-based combat should come from build choices, party synergies, targeting weaknesses and resource management. Add reactions and timing to the mix and either the extra button presses are mere garnish or they dilute the purity of your decisions, relegating them to a secondary concern. Not so in Expedition 33. In attack, it follows in others’ footsteps by adding QTE damage boosts – timely taps of the X button elevating the numbers that spew from your target. Yet rather than working with regular strikes, this extra potential is reserved for special skills. It thus becomes doubly prudent to use these frequently, and that requires careful AP management.

In defence, the impact of timed actions is more radical still. Theoretically, you can avoid all damage with dodges, parries and (against certain attacks) jumps. Dodges are easier, but if you parry every blow of an enemy combo, you reply with a hefty counterattack. If that sounds like a system-breaker, though, counters rarely become a dominant force. For starters, you need to learn each enemy type’s combo patterns, and these freakish automata, or Nevrons, don’t make that a simple task. Parrying every blow in a string can be tricky even once it’s burned to memory, so each success is worthy of celebration. Only against familiar foes do we start to hit cues reliably, by which point counters become a built-in antidote to the fatigue of refighting the same enemies – swatting them aside with a perfect performance turns a common RPG chore into a pleasure.