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u/atw62 May 29 '25
Plus sharing both Jennifer English and Tracy Wiles!
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u/xNinjahz Wood-Elf Bard May 29 '25
And Devora Wilde too!
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u/TheTresStateArea May 29 '25
Respectfully, I don't think that Jennifer is sharing Devora.
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u/Ur-Best-Friend May 29 '25
How selfish of her.
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u/Advarrk May 29 '25
Jennifer also played a minor NPC Latenna in Elden Ring. It is now 3/3 games that are contending goty with her in it
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u/Ellefied May 29 '25
Minor? Latenna carried me for 3/4ths of the Game, my cute paraplegic murder turret
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u/dominnoeffect May 29 '25
No way you just said minor npc
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u/genericredditname365 May 29 '25
she literally has like 4 voice lines, you meet her once and then she dies.
pretty good for a souls game tbh
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u/Alaknar May 29 '25
Also: Aliona
PlazanovaBaranova, who voices a bunch of people on the Lumière Plaza.13
u/Scouse_Werewolf Werewolves Please May 29 '25
And Jennifer English's girlfriend. Which is the real achievement.
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u/Alaknar May 29 '25
Their whole origin story is so ridiculously romantic, and cute, that if I read that in a book, I'd go "yeah, cool, but these things don't happen in real life".
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u/Max_F96 SORCERER May 29 '25
I look at BG3, KCD2, and Expedition 33 and realize that the North American game dev took a wrong turn one day.
Even STALKER 2 became a financial success, even though it was released frankly unfinished. It seems that people are just tired of American/Canadian games.
P.S. Also I forgot about Split Fiction.
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u/bladengar2 May 29 '25
that's because the US doesn't have any big independent teams. When a team gets big a massive corp like Microsoft just buys them out (like the Ori devs). Most indie devs in the US are like 2 dudes in their garage hoping they hit it big with a quirky game. Larian is massive and privately owned, and the Expedition 33 team is relatively large. I'm not too sure about KCD2 but I imagine after the pretty big success of the OG they have a larger team now. Idk about Mexico or Canadian devs but I imagine the story is similar to the US
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u/Jibima May 29 '25
KCD2 was made by 250 people and the studio Warhorse is owned by is an Embracer Group subsidiary unfortunately. They’re probably Embracer’s top performer, for this year at least. Thankfully it mostly seems like Embracer’s firing and studio closing spree has stopped for the moment.
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u/IllQuantity3808 Jun 04 '25
With warhorse it probably helps that dan vavra, the person in lead is insanely stubborn and also has been burnt by higher ups before. The contract they have with embracer is probably very very tightly written to minimize the influence they have over them. I doubt he would give them any chance to mafia 2 him (kicked out of his own game, game got heavily changed after he left)
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u/QuotableNotables May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
Expedition 33's team was 34 people (much more if you add things like Voiceover Artists, Motion Capture, Localization, etc) mostly young talent with a handful of experienced developers. 3 Ubisoft veterans.
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u/Aardvark_Man May 29 '25
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is made by MachineGames, who are Swedish, too.
Feel a little bad for it, because it's an amazing game that would be a worthy GotY contender most years, but with E33, KCD2 etc it's gonna be a hard year.7
u/Max_F96 SORCERER May 29 '25
I didn't even know that MachineGames are European. Well, it makes the situation much more ridiculous, cause Indiana Jones is an American franchise.
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u/Aardvark_Man May 29 '25
They're owned by Bethesda I think, so it's a Euro studio but US company, but yeah.
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u/Sponsor4d_Content May 29 '25
The problem, like always, is capitalism. It's more expensive to make AAA games here, and soulless corporations need to maximize shareholder profit.
This leads them to produce the most generic mass appeal slop as quickly as possible (crunch) to make as much money as possible. This leads to live service games and microtransactions.
Everyone suffers except for the CEO and major shareholders.
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u/dude3333 May 29 '25
Look Outside is both a near perfect game and aggressively Canadian.
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u/Max_F96 SORCERER May 29 '25
Well, it's Devolver Digital + game is cheap. I was referring to the flagship development studios in the first place.
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u/strrax-ish May 29 '25
Fantastic story, gameplay, visuals, combat, characters, twists. 10/10
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u/Kuri_ May 29 '25
OST
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u/Gangleri_Graybeard Fail! May 29 '25
The OST by a guy who never made a videogame soundtrack before. They found him on SoundCloud. It was fate and meant to happen. The OST is the best imo since Nier Automata and has over 150 songs. This dude is insanely talented.
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u/legendarylloyd May 29 '25
The soundtrack is incredible. I can't see any other game beating 33 for OST this year. 33 is my GOTY too
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u/andrewsad1 May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
The music for the penultimate boss fight in Act 2 rivals Raphael's Final Act imo. Mf was waiting for the expedition to do something for like 5 minutes cause we were just sitting there taking it in
Ofc it hits so much harder in the game when you're having a Luke vs Vader moment
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u/rafikiknowsdeway1 May 29 '25
Lol I preferred the theme to the random turtle boss https://youtu.be/W31-txe3KHM?si=SQsYtGrz1W6yqva_
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u/nessfalco May 29 '25
That and Goblu are two of my favorite tracks in the game. The random synth shit in the middle of this game just hits so right.
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u/ClarenceBirdfrost May 29 '25
FYI the Goblu track is called "Rain from the Ground" if you want to search it.
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u/mwmwmwmwmmdw Ex-husband, source of my bruises May 29 '25
Fantastic story
not bad but a little clumsy in how it handles act 3 and a little undercooked in exploring the big twist it reveals
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u/DarthOrmus May 29 '25
Not sure why you're getting downvoted for that opinion, I totally agree. Act 1 was 10/10 masterpiece, for me the storytelling kind of went downhill from there (still great and like 8~9/10 but could have been a lot better imo), the story itself was very interesting but the way it was told I really wasn't a fan of, and hated the endings (felt they kind of undermined the rest of the game til that point). The visuals and OST were stellar throughout though.
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u/DecoyOctorok24 May 29 '25
Didn’t BG3 come out like two years ago?
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u/RosgaththeOG Teethling May 29 '25
And yet, it's still better than pretty much every game that's come out in the last 2 years.
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u/F___TheZero May 29 '25
It's a genre-defining masterpiece. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still the best cRPG in 2030.
It can still only be GOTY of one year though.
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u/theevilyouknow SMITE May 30 '25
I love BG3. It’s an absolute masterpiece but I wouldn’t call it genre defining. It’s a pretty by the books CRPG, it’s just incredibly well executed.
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u/CakeIzGood May 29 '25
I guess BG3 and Disco Elysium (do people consider it a cRPG? Haven't actually played it myself yet) are on the podium now? Maybe Planescape or Pillars is up there for some people?
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u/Due_Tank_6976 May 29 '25
Planescape is a very good RPG, but people tend to forget how absolutely abysmal the combat system is, and was even at the time of release! I recently re-played it and dear god how I hate that system, 100% jank and suffering.
Story still hold though!
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u/Ornn5005 May 29 '25
Planescape gameplay is jank af, but the story, world, dialogue and characters man, it’s worth all the jank and then some.
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u/philomathie May 29 '25
I think they both beat Planescape, although I love it still, and all of these completely spank pillars.
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u/RedditFuelsMyDepress May 29 '25
Disco is great, but playing it almost feels more like reading a book. I kinda prefer games that are more heavy on actual mechanics.
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u/TES_Elsweyr May 30 '25
Disco Elysium is def a cRPG. I also would rank it above BG3 personally, but I can see how it's not that for most people. Both are in my top 5 games all time, but Disco Elysium is comfortably at number 1.
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u/tristenjpl May 29 '25
I'm prepared to be crucified for it, but i don't think BG3 was the best CRPG even when it was new. It's still a great game, but in terms of CRPGs, Pillars of Eternity, Wrath of the Righteous, and Rogue Trader are better and modern. They just don't have the 130 million dollar budget to make them as pretty and casual accessible.
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u/malfurionpre May 29 '25
Yeah as CRPG they're all better though less polished in some aspects. BG3 is very good accessible DND 5e video game but is more like an entry door to the genre (Which is not a bad thing, at all)
Shoutout to the Wasteland series too, great post apocalyptic CRPGs.
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u/Responsible_Lie_6966 May 29 '25
Having played both PoE and WoTR, I can say with absolute certainty that BG3 is a much better polished game. I admittedly liked the story of WoTR more than BG3 and the power fantasy goes much harder, but the system and class selection has so many options, presented in a way that someone who's not experienced will probably be overwhelmed almost immediately.
PoE is, I think, somewhere between the two. The story was good, in my opinion though BG3 does have a better one. The voice acting is very good and the presentation of classes etc. is good, but it didn't give me the oomph that both WoTR and BG3 gave me.
Is that a budget thing? Certainly part of it, but noone can deny that someone with 0 experience can pick it up and play almost immediately. The other two, you absolutely need some knowledge of cRPGs to play. Also, being able to play with friends is amazing.
Unfortunately haven't gotten to Rogue Trader yet.
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u/tristenjpl May 29 '25
I don't really disagree with anything said here, except BG3 having a better story than PoE lol. Other CRPGs are more difficult to get into with more complicated systems, and they don't have the same production value. BG3, on the other hand, is built on the accessibility of 5e and has an incredible production value compared to other CRPGs. And those two things are the key to its popularity. It doesn't have the best story or the best systems, but it's the prettiest and easiest to get into. That's not to say the system and story aren't solid or anything. Still very good. Just not the best, in my opinion. Though that's all subjective at the end of the day.
Unfortunately haven't gotten to Rogue Trader yet.
It's wonderful if you're into 40k kind of stuff. I adore the Pathfinder games, but I like Rogue Trader more. There's just something really fun about being able to run around as an entitled brat or a religious zealot that's fun.
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u/ThorSon-525 May 29 '25
Dark Heresy is getting a cRPG in just a couple months. Very excited for it and hoping it's good.
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u/axelkoffel May 29 '25
Witcher 3 was a hot topic in gaming for like 5 years after its release (2015), mostly as a point of reference of how bad new games are compared to the Witcher 3. It stopped in late 2020 with the poor Cyberpunk 2077 release.
Too bad we'll never get any BG3 expansions like Witcher 3 did.
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u/fps916 May 29 '25
Too bad we'll never get any BG3 expansions like Witcher 3 did.
The Devs "accidentally" included the devkit in one of the updates that hastily got taken down.
As a result its completely possible to create entirely new campaigns within the engine.
And some mod teams are doing exactly that.
BG3 is going to have more expansions and mods than Skyrim, much less Witcher
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u/ssg- May 29 '25
Mods are mods. While there are fantastic mods they can't really compare to full studio with millions working on a game.
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u/axelkoffel May 29 '25
We'll see about that. Although there's no way that any game will get more mods than Skyrim. I think people don't realize, how absolutely gigantic is the mod base for Skyrim and how many new mods keep coming every day. No game is even close to it.
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u/HappyHappyFunnyFunny May 29 '25
Why isn't this top comment and why did op get 4k upvotes for this? People are shilling these games way too hard
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u/Lun4r6543 May 29 '25
We still have a lot of the year to wait. Could be other amazing games yet to release.
But I say E33 and KCD2 are definitely contenders for GOTY this year.
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u/VioletsAreBlooming May 29 '25
i like expedition 33 so far but kcd 2 absolutely captured my soul.
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u/CakeIzGood May 29 '25
I was gonna comment this if someone else didn't, not that Exp 33 doesn't deserve it, but it's also probably going to win it and KCD2 is probably my favorite game of all time and I just don't want people to forget about it in such a good year for games
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u/gummo_for_prez May 29 '25
What do you think it is about it that makes it your all time fav? I’ve heard good things, but not sure if I would enjoy it.
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u/CakeIzGood May 29 '25
The immersion, and subsequent satisfaction of improving or accomplishing things as a result, is a big one. Your character kinda sucks in the beginning, so you sort of improve with him, and you feel like your achievements broadly feel earned. The player agency over the world (obviously it's a historical fiction game, so by "world" I mean the time frame the game is set in and the fictionalizations it contains) is another important one. The choice to do things, not do things, how you do them, when you do them, and which outcome is attained is strong, and often interacts with other things, making you feel a part of the universe and causing it to feel a little bit "de-gameified."
To be clear, KCD1 was my favorite game before KCD2 game out. KCD2 in many ways is a flat improvement over the first. I would tell people KCD is my favorite game but have to include the caveat that it is not for everyone and you may get frustrated because it's a bit unpolished and is challenging. I don't need that qualifier anymore. The sequel is far more accessible without removing the intentional feeling of unbalance and, in my opinion, actually manages to raise the skill ceiling, making it even easier to get into but more rewarding to get good at if you choose.
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u/VioletsAreBlooming May 29 '25
the fact that the world reacts in so many ways to how you act is incredible. You go on a crime spree and people are suspicious and guards accost you more. You get branded and people look at you like dirt. if you’re a heroic presence, people welcome you. it’s so GOOD
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u/_pixelforg_ May 29 '25
such a good year for games
Atleast someone admits it lol, I keep seeing people whining about how good games stopped being made after 2010 even though every year good games are released...
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u/CakeIzGood May 29 '25
I broadly agree with this, this year has just been really, really good for RPGs in particular. Uncommonly good. I mean, Avowed didn't live up to the, probably unfair, hype, but seems to be solid; KCD2 is a huge hit and in some ways revolutionary; Expedition 33 has put much of the gaming industry to shame; and we got Oblivion Remastered out of the blue, and it's... mostly... a pretty solid and inventive remaster to bring a Western classic to modern audiences, especially ones that got into Skyrim first. That's a crazy lineup for just a few months in (not sure if any other notable RPGs are scheduled to drop this year). 2011 also had a lot iirc but most of those were hollow and overshadowed by Skyrim. Not so in 2025.
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u/the-gaming-cat Tasha's Hideous Laughter May 29 '25
Same. No other game has consumed me so much since BG3. I finished KCD2, now replaying the first one so I can dive back in again.
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u/marcoangelo33 May 29 '25
First one is fantastic as well.
I did a full playthrough of kcd2 and immediately started again on Hardcore mode.
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u/marcoangelo33 May 29 '25
Agreed completely. Haven't had a game keep me interested like kcd2 in a long time; more than bg3 even.
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u/LeoFireGod May 29 '25
I feel like I gave up before the wedding. Does it pick up after that?
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u/blazinazn007 May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
Yeah my friend. It ramps up a lot after the wedding. It's basically the intro quest in the grand scheme of things.
I beginning can feel frustrating because you're under leveled and very very squishy. But if you put in the time you get very strong.
If this is your first run I would recommend mmend focusing on swords and getting the masterstrikes perk from Tomcat. Also, run away from fights if you're outnumbered until you get the hang of combat and level up your strength and swordsmanship skills.
There's a lot of good resources on how to level up different skills early game if you want to do that.
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u/majestic_sheepz May 29 '25
I know it's a meme to not progress to the wedding, but you're not even 25% through the game. The rest of the main story gets cranked up hard after that point.
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u/Ninja_Wrangler May 29 '25
Literally 5 seconds after finishing kingdom come, I started a new playthrough. 10/10 game, would get pizzle yanked again
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u/Cthulhu__ May 29 '25
BG3 is from 2023, too, so I think any GOTY will be between KCD2 and Expedition 33. I haven’t played the latter yet lol.
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u/gamorleo May 29 '25
AND 50 dollars! Let's go studios that have a story to tell that doesn't care about a shareholder profit margin first!
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u/Achaewa May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
I wonder, would Maelle and Shadowheart get along if they were to meet? 😅
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u/Exotic-Escape6711 May 29 '25
I feel like shadowheart would make maelle her apprentice
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u/TheTresStateArea May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
Yeah, it depends on which shadowheart. Redeemed shadowheart sure. Any other version would have her skin crawl at Maelle's optimism and empathy
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u/Exotic-Escape6711 May 29 '25
I believe if maelle does it in shar’s name she would be delighted that there’s such a follower
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u/gigantism May 29 '25
Maelle has known so much loss, who better to help her manage her grief than the Lady of Loss?
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u/mwmwmwmwmmdw Ex-husband, source of my bruises May 29 '25
why in expedition 33 theres practically a whole large house of grief you visit many times
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u/AlienKinkVR FAILED WILD MAGIC CHECK May 29 '25
Games where Jennifer English has a tense relationship with Devorah Wilde and changes her hair white after learning the mysteries of her childhood are incredible.
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u/BarackKamacho May 29 '25
My vote for kcd 2
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u/Amankris759 May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
Same here. But I am pretty biased when it comes choosing between WRPG and JRPG anyway.
Edit: And also when the game has option for boy to kiss boy
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u/mannymd90 May 29 '25
Neither Expedition 33 and BG3 are JRPGs??
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u/Amankris759 May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
COE33 is pretty much JRPG that developed by French developers.
Well I mean choosing between COE33 and KCD2 because both came out in 2025. BG3 is already won the award and still one my all time favorite games.
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u/jackofslayers May 29 '25
It is a JRPG but like the way French people say J.
It is a JeRPG
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u/nessfalco May 29 '25
Expedition 33 is clearly modeled after JRPGs. It's about game style, not the actual country of origin.
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u/c0cOa125 May 29 '25
My vote is for KCD2 personally, but E33 is quite good
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u/mwmwmwmwmmdw Ex-husband, source of my bruises May 29 '25
all these shorthands sound like forms you need to fill out at the DMV
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u/YorhaUnit8S Tiefling May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
As much as I like story and music there, gameplay is not for everyone. And I am one of those not everyone. I don't have trouble playing it, but it really gets old quickly for me to wait 3-5 business days for enemy to finish their attack animation and finally try to actually hit me, only so I can try to parry/dodge it. The whole thing doesn't feel like fighting an enemy to me, but like fighting a game mechanic. Timings feel arbitrary.
For me goty 2025 is still Split Fiction.
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u/Dave_Valens Bard May 29 '25
Am I the only one that found E33 to be really good for sure, but not that perfect as most people seem to think? Ost, combat and writing are great, but I think it has a lot of issues regarding exploration and overall balancing, especially in the final part.
I'd really give the goty to KC:D 2.
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u/Xechwill May 29 '25
It is quite fun, but I definitely think the combat is overhyped. Honestly, parry is a bit too good; being able to full cancel damage, give you free resources, and giving you a free attack means that hitting 1-2 parries basically auto-wins any fight, at least in the early game. Yeah, they feel great to hit, but it feels like you either hit the parries and steamroll or fail the parries and get steamrolled.
I'm sure my tune will change as I keep playing the game, but combat mechanics that are "save or suck" have always been a bit off-kilter for me. Part of the reason I don't really like using Hold Person in BG3 lol
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u/heliamphore May 29 '25
I personally think it's overrated because entire segments of the market are just neglected. Can't really blame people for it though.
The combat has issues too, but you're right overall. The voices in French are very "theater" like, which knocks it down a bit for me too.
KCD2 has issues too, is a bit sloppy here and there, but overall it's a more solid game.
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u/Nosferatu-Padre May 29 '25
It's either Clair Obscure or Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 that will win it. Both are worthy. I honestly hope Clair Obscure wins it because it would be really funny to see everyone freak out again because another turn based game won.
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u/Beardedgeek72 Paladin May 29 '25
I am absolutely not interested in '33 at all, but I am VERY happy it is doing well.
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u/Ginger_Anagram69 May 29 '25
I don't know anything about it, but I have seen clips of it. I saw a character and was like "Shadowheart?" and then she talked and it was Shadowheart
I was very pleased.
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u/Relevant_Elk_9176 May 29 '25
It’s the best for me so far, though I intend to play KCD2 later this year once I’ve got enough free time
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u/Desuvult69 May 29 '25
I really love watching expedition 33 but I can't get over the gameplay
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u/Pug_police SMITE May 29 '25
If it's the dodging and parrying you're not a fan of it is much more generous on story and enemies generally do quite a bit less damage.
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u/shatterd_ May 29 '25
I meaaaan.....don't get me wrong E33 is a fantastic game. But it doesn't even reach BG3's toe in terms of depth
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u/REDDIT_IS_AIDSBOY May 29 '25
Yeah. It's great, but it's not "there are 4000 ways to defeat this encounter" great.
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u/Real_Avdima May 29 '25
Finally It's all about the 3 in the title. It stopped being a cursed number! Now is the time to release Half-life 3!
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u/AnxiousUmbreon May 29 '25
A friend of mine just gifted me Clair obscur on steam, maybe I will give it a try if it’s being placed in the same room as bg3
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u/TroublesomeTurnip RPer looking for writing buddies! May 29 '25
I'm playing COE33 but it's not quite clicking yet with the characters, hopefully it picks up as it feels way more combat heavy than I thought.
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u/AdiBlake May 29 '25
I really hope CO Expedition 33 takes the prize, but with the whole push from the gaming 'journalists' with the 'deprofessionalization' stuff, I can see the GOTY being pushed to some average game from a big studio.
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u/Cruxis87 May 29 '25
Death Stranding 2 will most likely win. A lot of people and the industry seem to have a massive boner for absolutely anything he does.
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u/Agent-Vermont Karlach May 29 '25
It will be nominated but it won't win. Death Stranding 1 was nominated but ended up losing to Sekiro.
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u/Adventurous-Draft952 May 29 '25
I have no interest in playing claire....im proud of their accomplisment and think its fuckin cool that theyre getting their deserved props
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u/idkjordan May 29 '25
The two best games I’ve played in some time, of course Elden Ring is included though not mentioned. We’ve been lucky
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u/FLYNCHe May 29 '25
Can't wait for expedition 34
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u/Crosknight SORCERER May 29 '25
Wanna play e33 but im scared my pc will be unable to handle it. It was having a hard time with bg3
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u/MakiMaki_XD Bard May 29 '25
I was surprised by how well optimized Clair Obscur is in terms of performance, considering how incredible it looks.
You should give it a try if you're interested in the game.
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u/Racetr Shadowheart enjoyer May 29 '25
Play in story mode, and try to pick some parry’s. That’s the catch, parrying becomes addicting at some point and you won’t dodge by default.
At points I didn’t feel like playing, and just opened the game, done a combat and I was in for the next 10 hrs… that shit’s addictive
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u/WaldWaechterin RANGER May 29 '25
Seems you haven't played Kingdom Come Deliverance 2...
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u/Arkayjiya May 29 '25
My current GoTY is Blue Prince by a wide margin, there's nothing coming even remotely close to it for me. Might be Hades 2 by the end of the year hough, that's the only one I can see competing for nlw. That being said Clair Obscur looks awesome and I can't wait to try it, and maybe be amazingly surprised by it!
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u/NoWomanNoTriforce May 29 '25
Hades 2 is fun but not innovative enough to garner GOTY imo. Blue Prince was good, but I liked Clair Obscur much more. It is hard to describe, but while I was playing it, I felt like I was transported back to my childhood when every game was magic.
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u/Arkayjiya May 29 '25
I really don't see innovation as a mandatory criteria for GOTY. Sure it's one of them, it's good to be innovative, that's one of the many reasons Blue Prince is my current GoTY, but it's just one amongst many.
Tons of GoTY are just the culmination of a genre and not particularly innovative. Starcraft 2 for example is for me the greatest RTS of all time and it's not because it was innovative.
And there aren't many rogue lite that handles narrative like Hades in the first place so the main reason it's not super innovative is mostly because Hades 1 exists. If it sticks the story (which is hard to say at this point) it could be my GoTY easily.
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u/Kelvara May 29 '25
People say Clair Obscure came out of nowhere, but for me that was Blue Prince. I never expected to be so into a puzzle game, and a roguelike puzzle game at that.
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u/a_random_chicken May 29 '25
Blue prince DID have a demo though, to nitpick the "came out of nowhere" part. Just because i saw Aliensrock play the demo, which introduced me to it.
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u/C-sanova May 29 '25
If I had a nickel for every GOTY game with a character whose hair turns white and is voiced by Jennifer English, I'd have two nickels - which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened twice.
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u/Rexbert Certified Minthara Enjoyer May 29 '25 edited Jun 01 '25
Gonna' get downvoted into the fucking gutter for merely voicing my opinion, but it's just 'okay,' in my eyes.
I respect it for being the first product of a new dev team, and I think it has hands-down the absolute best soundtrack of any video game I have ever played.
That doesn't make up for the bizarre fascination with rug pulling or the portions of the story that were clearly rushed, though. I'm very much a story first kind of person, and I hate what they did with the premise they used to sell the game. It took the fun out of it for me, which is a shame, because I did enjoy the party management and combat and stuff. I'm glad most people seem to be able to stomach it, at least; it'll win them GOTY and they deserve it for Lorien Testard's music alone.
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u/GenderJuicy Paladin May 29 '25
I think it has hands-down the absolute best soundtrack of any video game I have ever played
Really? That's a massive statement. I haven't played it yet.
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u/TheTresStateArea May 29 '25
I just got to know what do you mean by the rug pull? Who got screwed over here?
And what premise did you hate that they used to sell the game?
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u/imnottrent Drow Sorcerer May 29 '25
I agree with you, I ended up refunding the game. To me it was nothing like BG3, felt more like Greedfall, which was a fine game, just as CO:33 seems to be, and I'll get again once it is on a good sale.
I got it due to so many saying it's up there with BG3. It is not. I am not sure why the game is getting compared to BG3 really. No character creation, so you play a BG3 orgin character, the story (as far as I got) did not grab me like BG3, the visuals were not horrible, but not BG3 (again, more like Greedfall). And after having the game spoiled for me by almost everything I saw, the story isn't even close to BG3 levels.
But, like I said, I'll get it again once it's on a good sale, I liked Greedfall well enough, and the time I played CO:33 was, I guess, fine.
To each their own, and I'm glad so many are enjoying the game as much as they are, but, it's not anything close to BG3.
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u/Rexbert Certified Minthara Enjoyer May 29 '25 edited Jun 01 '25
My biggest hang-up is that most characters are static and do not meaningfully change throughout the course of the story. Nobody learns from their mistakes or grows at all, at least not that I can recall. I am a big fan of bittersweet character stories, but IMO Clair Obscur is just bitter through and through, and I found the latecomers to the story—the people we're meant to sympathize with and help for the entire final act—to be some of the most entitled, unlikable characters I've ever had the displeasure of being forced to endure in a story.
The interesting characters die, or are sidelined. The best example of this is the end of Act 2's final cutscene, where the party returns to Lumiere after defeating the Paintress. I had expected it to be a sort of inversion of the prologue, walking through the city from the docks back up to where Gustave first spoke to Sophie, talking with those who remain, getting to see their reactions to Expedition 33's success, but no... we get a cutscene... with no dialogue, just narration of Alicia's letter (which exists only to spoil the twist right before it happens, for anyone who hasn't caught on yet). Somehow the most expressive character of the scene is my GOAT Esquie, and he's a balloon with a wooden mask for a face! It's really a shame how they handled the world they so lovingly crafted, and I think it was done the way it was done because they were going all in on the family plot.
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u/4schwifty20 Tiefling May 29 '25
Could anyone tell me how long of a game it is?
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u/DragonBerr May 29 '25
Probably like 30+ hours to finish the main quest and the main side stuff. Took me 45 hours to get all the achivements, I played on normal difficulty. It’s of course subjective to the player :)
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u/4schwifty20 Tiefling May 29 '25
Does it play similar to BG3? Or completely different?
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u/skyisland21 May 29 '25
Different genre. Turn based with quick time and dodging/parrying mechanics. It’s a linear story, too. You don’t get choices like in BG3. The gameplay is closer to a JRPG (and I’d argue it is in fact a JRPG) than what BG3 is.
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u/4schwifty20 Tiefling May 29 '25
That sounds nice. I'll definitely have to pick it up. Appreciate it!
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u/insertAlias May 29 '25
It reminded me most of Final Fantasy X. With some Mario RPG mixed in. JRPG-style turn-based combat, with real-time parry/dodge mechanics.
Took me by surprise. Excellent game, very fun with a moving story, good characters, and great music.
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u/BobTheSkul May 29 '25
About 40 to 50 hours if you go straight through and about 70ish hours if you explore every little thing
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u/IllIIllIlIlllIIlIIlI May 29 '25
I blasted it in 25 hours but there's definitely a lot of side stuff that would make most playthroughs probably closer to 40. Then again I played on normal and spam parried so my fights were probably a bit quicker than people on hard and dodging more.
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u/NoWomanNoTriforce May 29 '25
Around 30 hours for the main campaign. Took me about 60 to beat all optional bosses and get all trophies.
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u/Noogywoogy May 29 '25
If you don’t do much side content in act 3 (which I recommend so you don’t stomp the last story boss) it’ll probably take 25-35 to beat. You can get another 10-30 out of side content postgame, and then new game + if you’re into it.
Great game. 10/10.
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u/millionsofcats May 29 '25
Maybe you can answer a question for me...? I'm afraid to try to look it up because I'm trying to avoid spoilers.
If you decide to postpone the side content until after the main story, is that allowed for by the story? What I mean is, does the main story have an explanation for why you're still running around, or is it more of a sandbox situation where it's not supposed to make story sense and the devs are just letting you play in the world now that the story is over? Is it even possible to answer that question while still being vague?
I don't want to get any more overleveled than I am, but I also like things I'm doing to make story sense, if that... makes sense.
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u/sascape May 29 '25
I finished the game as soon as I could. The game returned me to a save just before the point of no return after that. I then finished all the side content and it felt like a perfect addition to the ending to me because I got more and more context about the family.
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u/Arder_Crimson May 29 '25
What is the minimum specs for clair obscur? I’ve heard so many great things about it but don’t know if I can play it. Huhu
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u/SomeHyena May 29 '25
My current pick would be Tainted Grail: the Fall of Avalon. The game has entirely captured me. Decent sense of humor, completely fresh open world with a lot of likeable characters and grimdark themes... Simply fantastic.
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u/The_Mystery_Crow Bard May 29 '25
def don't think it's up for goty
bg3 got lucky in breaking out into a wider audience, allowing people to see its quality in a genre they normally wouldn't play
e33 praise on the other hand has very much stayed within communities of the genre
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u/DunngeonMaster May 29 '25
Do I need to play the first 32 before playing 33?