At least post some screenshots anon. I thought this was some sort of dating simulator. It's some sort of western action JRPG by the looks of it. Is it fun?

>>1130 >At least post some screenshots anon. I thought this was some sort of dating simulator. I wanted to feature some of the nice fanart that's been made, but out of all the options, the only art that doesn't have some kind of spoiler are character focused pieces like the ones I included. I took a few screenshots of my own as I played, but those are pretty much all spoilers too. >It's some sort of western action JRPG by the looks of it Yes, it's pretty much a JRPG made by French devs who were inspired by games like Final Fantasy. Your team for battles consists of 3 characters, and as the story goes on and the team grows, you can choose which combination of characters you want to use in battle. Turn order is determined mainly by a Speed stat. There is an elements system that affects all characters, but each character has a unique weapon and a unique gimmick that affects how they attack. Here is an example of what I mean, spoilered just in case you want it to be a surprise when you play the game. Though it is about one of the characters you see in trailers, so you may have seen gameplay already: Maelle is built around the Stance system. She starts a battle Stanceless, which gives no bonuses and no drawbacks. When she uses a skill, depending on which one it is, she can go into a Defensive Stance (where she deals less damage but takes less damage from attacks), an Offensive Stance (where she deals and takes more damage), or Virtuoso Stance (where she does a ton more damage). Maelle can't stay in the same Stance for two turns in a row, she must go from one to the other or she just goes back to being Stanceless. For example, if you go into Offensive Stance, you want to try and use a skill that brings her into Defensive or Virtuoso. There are Skills that cost AP to use and skill trees where you purchase skills and choose which ones you have equipped at any time. And on top of all of that, there are items you can equip to each character that affect how they perform in battle. There are a lot of opportunities for customization. >Is it fun? Yes, it is. Gameplay is clearly optimized to be easy to use without being oversimplified. Battles are not based on random encounters, so you can sneak up behind enemies and start battles by attacking them, making things feel smoother and less irritating for many players. Since each character on your ream is unique, you have to think about how you approach enemies, but once you get familiar with everything, you can almost autopilot through the easier battles. The menuing is satisfying and easy to use. You don't scroll through a list of attacks and choose one, instead you just push one or two buttons on your keyboard/controller after moving the cursor onto the enemy you want to attack. The animations are detailed but not to the point of being distracting; characters grimace and stand differently when they are at low HP, for example. They also yell out to each other by name to warn about incoming attacks, which can be sort of helpful if the incoming attack is slow, but it mostly just provides atmosphere and makes the game feel more alive. You can run outside of battle as much as you want, as there is no stamina bar. They clearly made efforts to ensure playing the game wouldn't feel annoying or tedious.

>>1130 Excuse the doublepost, but I forgot to mention another fun aspect of the game: the dodge/parry system. Unlike other JRPGs, you dont have to take damage from attacks. If you dodge or parry the attacks, which requires the right timing, you can nullify incoming damage. Parry the attack perfectly and you can perform a counterattack. It's an engaging way to keep players focused on the battle at all times and add tension.

>>1130 >>1143 >Action JRPG >inspired by Final Fantasy This doesn't play like FFXV and NuFF7, does it?

>>1145 Nope, it doesn't. You move your character in a 3D environment and initiate battles by hitting enemies in that environment, but once the battle starts, everything is controlled by menu selections. The action part comes from the active role the player has to take with dodging and parrying, which requires correctly timing button presses. Also, firing off an attack requires the player to do a simple QTE, but its the same one every time, and you do damage even if you mess it up.

>>1147 Ah, so it's a timed hits/block/parry/dodge system like Paper Mario and Shadow Hearts. Sounds fun.

>>1152 Yeah, Paper Mario TTYD is actually a pretty good game to compare the combat to.

>Look up a torrent >40 fucking gigabytes I haven't played a single new long-length realistic 3D game made after 2010-2012 because of this. That hasn't changed even after I managed to scrounge up a half decent PC

>>1181 >I haven't played a single new long-length realistic 3D game made after 2010-2012 because of this. Should I mention that FF13 was 40 GB in 2009? Or does that end up proving the point because FF13 is a 60-70 hour game while E33 is a 30 hour game?

>>1182 >while E33 is a 30 hour game? My playthrough was 70 hours. I didn't spend time trying to 100% all the items or grind to max level or anything. All of this time was spent doing the main story and the optional content (that adds to the story and gives very useful items). So I wouldn't say 70 hours is inflated too far beyond the dev's expectations. I actually explored the map they put together, and there were even a couple things I didn't do. If someone just stuck to the main story, it's difficult to say, but it would likely be more than 30 hours.

>>1182 Well I think the last game I played was Portal 2. That was 5 gigabytes and released in 2011. It's been all indie games since then.

>>1184 I forget, why did people hate Portal 2? Was it just the humor or something? Hipsterism because normalnigs liked it and kept going "the cake is a lie"? Seemed fine to me, and co-op puzzles were fun.

Doesn't seem to have any DRM free options. Tried pirating it and running it in a bottle, but I get a fatal error crash on startup every time even after installing all dependencies. Doesn't look like I'm gonna play this one, which is a shame because I like timed hit systems. However, the game just appears average and is probably just hyped up because standards have fallen so much, so I'm probably not missing out on much.

>>1191 >Doesn't seem to have any DRM free options. Tried pirating it and running it in a bottle, but I get a fatal error crash on startup every time even after installing all dependencies. That's a shame, hopefully a solution is found someday. >the game just appears average There have been anons who have said the same, and I really think it depends on how far you get in the story/how far you watched someone else go in the story. Because before certain events happen and certain facts are revealed, the story can seem pretty average. Even taking that into consideration, the overall themes have certainly been done before: family, protecting your home city, securing the future, defeating a big bad enemy, a mission with a low survival rate, etc. But the fact that the writers don't try to reinvent the wheel while delivering their clear messages makes the story enjoyable. There are certainly instances of symbolism and foreshadowing, but the writers don't put the player on some metaphysical, psychedelic trip that requires a 30 minute lore explanation video to wrap your head around. >probably just hyped up because standards have fallen so much I'm not involved enough with social media to know exactly why the game has garnered a lot of hype in those places. But maybe people have been thirsty for a game without a lot of the typical propaganda that is in games nowadays, whether they realize it or not. So they found E33 to be pretty refreshing.

>>1191 >which is a shame because I like timed hit systems Have you tried Resonance Of Fate or Time And Eternity? >>1194 >But maybe people have been thirsty for a game without a lot of the typical propaganda that is in games nowadays, whether they realize it or not. So they found E33 to be pretty refreshing. That is pretty much the reason and the justification. It's even why Bear Sex 3 won GOTY despite being rather mid, even compared to the previous BG games.

>>1198 >Have you tried Resonance Of Fate or Time And Eternity? No. Though I do like timed hit systems they seem pretty rare. Most of my experience with them is from the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series, and some other JRPGs that I had blind faith as a child that I would do a little extra damage if I hit the X button right as an attack connected. I tried playing Shadow Hearts via emulation once, but I got all the way to the top of the tower and then there was a consistent freeze when loading the next cutscene, and I haven't had the motivation to try again years later since my saves are long gone.

As many of you have probably heard by now, Expedition 33 has been nominated for several categories at The Game Awards 2025. These include: <Best Game Direction <Best Narrative <Best Art Direction <Best Score and Music <Best Audio Design <Best Performance (Benn Starr, Jennifer English, and Charlie Cox) <Best Independent Game <Best Debut Indie Game <Best RPG And of course Game of the Year , going against Death Stranding 2, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades II, Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II None of this comes as a surprise, given how popular the game has been on social media and among the normalfag gaming crowd. It is pretty impressive that 3 out of the 6 voice actors for Best Performance are from E33, though. Which categories will the game win? Is it a strong contender for GOTY? Will you be voting for the game in any of these categories (even though audience choices only count for 10% of the final decision)? The game is also one of the options for GOTY for the Steam Awards. Do you think it could win there? Or in any of that competitions categories?

>>1446 It won EVERYTHING, apparently.

>>1714 Seems like it won every category it was nominated in, besides Best Audio Design. I'm not surprised that it won in several categories, nor am I shocked that it won GotY. But this many awards? Out of the 10% contribution from fans, many votes probably went to E33. The journos and other people selected to determine the other 90% must have also been interested in maintaining the continuing mainstream praise of the game, and decided to give it almost everything.

>French game >no faggots Impossible.

>>1959 The faggots is, and will always be you, the player all along

To anyone who's played the game and liked JRPGs, how does it compare to the best of the genre? It seems a solid amount of people who sing the praises of this game don't really like more typical JRPGs.

>>1989 I've finished the game, both the main storyline and pretty much all the side activities. I'd be interested to what games you think are the best of the genre, anon. Or any other anon that has an opinion. But that aside, I do think Expedition 33 can stand among the best of the JRPG genre, even the most nostalgic and longstanding titles. One aspect of JRPGs that players like is customization, and E33 goes in-depth with it. It goes beyond simply equipping items and gaining abilities from said items. The Lumina system allows multiple characters to make use of part of a Picto's power. And the player can strategize about which characters directly equip which Pictos to gain it's full benefit. Explore more and gain more Lumina points and you can give your party members a ton of extra stat boosts and powers. A popular topic online is how OP you can make your party such as having the ability to instantly revive after dying, and with the right combinations with other Pictos, party members can become nearly immortal but the player doesn't have to go down this path to be OP. Just putting points in the right stats and thinking critically about which abilities to use can lead to fun, powerful builds. Related to this, each character has a unique way that they fight, and all of them are enjoyable. It's not uncommon for JRPGs to give each character some special exclusive power or moves that help them stand out or be super useful in specific situations. Most of the time, only a few of the characters are actually really fun to use, while others are so bad that they are clearly untested or intentional jokes. But in E33, all of them feel satisfying and useful. Some characters require a bit more forward thinking and strategizing to work, but never so much that the average player would avoid using them entirely, or feel too intimidated to learn. With a bit of consideration and planning, it's easy to combine Pictos together with certain characters to create some interesting builds. For example, there is a Pictos that makes a character unhealable but takes reduced damage. There is also another Pictos that makes the character unhealable but raises attack power. Put both of these on a certain party member and you can dish out insane damage, because his play style is already based around taking as little damage as possible, so you should avoid taking damage anyways. The game also does well with introducing the easier to understand party members first, with the more complicated ones coming along later. On top of all of that, equipping certain weapons not only changes the elemental affinity of the character's basic attack, but it also enhances certain stats. There is a ton of customization for the player to sink his teeth into, while also choosing how deep to go. E33 also reduces the pain that comes with grinding, something that JRPG players usually appreciate. If the player goes along the main story's path and defeats enemies along the way, without skipping over too many fights, party members will usually be at a reasonable level for the stronger encounters, such as bosses. Battles also move quickly when you are in them. A combination of a couple buttons or keys is enough to pull off a move. And if you know which keys activate which move, you can navigate through the attack menu in half a second and end easier fights in a very small amount of time. Explore a bit, look around the world, do some extra fights, and not only get rewarded with items but with some extra experience points as well. The quick time system is also designed well. Oftentimes in JRPGs, quicktime events seem annoying and forced. In E33, they are very easy and your character will do damage even if you fail it. In fact, you can't really fail the QTEs for attacks. You just miss out on bonus damage. The ability to dodge and parry pretty much every single attack in the game is a fun departure from the typical JRPG system of watching your characters get smacked in the face with a claymore and being unable to do a thing to stop it. >It seems a solid amount of people who sing the praises of this game don't really like more typical JRPGs. I don't look on social media enough to see any specific trends about what games E33 fans usually dislike. But the reason may be due to how E33 clearly focuses on fixing several of the annoying quirks of JRPGs. Hours of grinding, navigating long list-like menus during battle, constantly taking damage with healing being the only remedy, etc.

>>2023 >QTEs That term has a really bad stigma. Are they really more like QTEs than like a timed hits systme like I guessed here >>1152 ?

>>2025 True, the term does bring a bad taste to people's mouths. It's just the term that came to my mind in the moment. But since these "QTEs" are so simple and cannot be failed, I would consider them more like a timed hits system than actual QTEs. They really are just there to make the player feel a bit more involved in battle. There is even a setting that makes it so the button presses are auto completed, though they will never hit the golden area and give that extra damage.

>>2025 >>2026 Here, I ought to have posted this link earlier. This video shows the very first battle of the game. It might be helpful in showing how these indicators act during battles. Again, it is at the very beginning of the game, but if you are avoiding any kinds of spoilers before you play, I wouldn't recommend watching it. Also, it's been awhile since I played through this tutorial, but the menu does refer to these button presses as QTEs officially. https://yewtu.be/watch?v=nHo_sJmQ2DM

>>1989 It's okay, the main appeal of the game in terms of gameplay is the min maxxing your characters build and doing integer limit damage aka billions. Even the devs acknowledge it by adding an option to multiply the base HP of enemies up to x100 to allow for more damage min maxxing. Can't say about the story because I've skip story cutscenes of video games since forever, It's all just bloat to me.

>>1959 Exsqueezei moi, monsieur, c'est "faguettes." >>1989 <To anyone who's played the game and liked JRPGs, how does it compare to the best of the genre? It seems a solid amount of people who sing the praises of this game don't really like more typical JRPGs. I would say it's alright, but it only got traction from normalfags due to <Ubishit but not Ubishit so they can enjoy without the stigma, much like if Dan Brown's airport novels were renamed so they can pretend to be high literature <Marvel capeshit involvement with Charlie Cox and Andy Serkis It's entirely due to the aesthetics. <muh timed presses Yeah, not as innovative as people paint it. And I'm not even going to reference Super Mario RPG or Valkyrie Profile. The first game that came to mind when I saw Clair Obscur was my playthrough of MARDEK RPG growing up (sad the author went mad and got mindbroken). A Flash game beat this title by almost two decades in mandating button presses. It ALSO has the Lumina/Picto system, albeit more character-specific as CO's version is more casual. I wouldn't be surprised if the devs played MARDEK growing up and decided to make a higher production version of it. <hours of grinding, navigating long list-like menus during battle, constantly taking damage with healing being the only remedy That tends to belie that old RPGs, like old, are getting cherrypicked to try to puff up Clair Obscur, and much like urinalists outing themselves as being awful at Devil May Cry when they complain that there isn't music during combat, grinding and healing in modern JRPGs these days tend to expose that the players aren't actually learning the games' systems on how to avoid damage and perform well in battles; each title tends to have their own way of doing so, whether it be move and combo synthesis, row and area placement of combatants, and stagger/stun meters to name a few. CO's popularity amounts to being the "I want to have Japanimation cred but I only want to watch Cowboy Bebop" of vidya and it really shows through how small the players' reference pools are. Yakuza 7 and 8 upshine it by several lightyears but oh no, they have easy peasy Japaneasy in them, can't have that!

>>2051 >Yeah, not as innovative as people paint it. I don't think people are calling it innovative, at least not here, as much as people want more games to do it because it's more fun than standard JRPG faire where you just navigate a menu to the best option over and over. Bug Fables wasn't particularly innovative by using a timed hits system, and hell, its entire aesthetic is also ripped from Paper Mario. But people still wanted those things, even as a ripoff, because they're fun.

>>2051 The characters in the game look "normal", unlike what you usually see in JRPGs, who look like Europeans with "Asian" traits. The difference is most prominent in the eyes. They have more emphasis. I mean, look at him. The guy LOOKS like someone called Gustavo Gustave. >swf Holy shit I remember playing that a decade and a half ago for a grand total of 5 minutes. I hated the fact it was mixing in hand-drawn graphics and pixel art.