Image: Nintendo LifeIf you've been paying any attention whatsoever to upcoming and newly released games of late, you'll no doubt already know all about Sandfall Interactive's stunning Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Indeed, this very writer slapped a 10/10 score on the new RPG over at our sister siter Pure Xbox, so yeah, it's quite good, is this one. Now, amongst the myriad things that people have been falling in love with in this game, including its incredible story, breathtaking visuals, and amazingly dinky world map (no I'm not angling for a Switch 2 port, you are), is its rather novel approach to defending enemy attacks in the line of turn-based combat duty. Yes, as I've been perusing the endless positive reviews from both players and critics alike, it's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's combat Quick Time Events that keep popping up repeatedly as a main positive that folk reckon make the game exciting in places where other turn-based affairs fall flat. And as one of them there folk what played it, I thoroughly agree. In Sandfall Interactive's game, QTEs are used throughout turn-based battles, but primarily in the defensive aspect of fights. Once an enemy is on the front foot, you need to watch the wind-ups to an attack, register which one it is, and then recall the timings on the patterns of presses required to dodge, duck and even riposte with a few slashes of your own. There are bonuses to be gained from doing it well, the game often throws in surprise timings to keep you awake, and it's all very fancy to look at. Images: Nintendo Life Of course, these sorts of combat QTEs — where you need to learn enemy attack patterns to nail timings on defensive button presses — are nothing new. We've seen them in a bunch of titles other the years (QTEs have arguably been with us since all the way back to Dragon's Lair in 1983, after all). However, it's Mario's various RPG outings, to my mind, that bear the closest resemblance to what I've been treated to in Clair Obscur. In fact, it's impossible to play it and not think about lots of past Mario RPG exploits. If you've played Square's Super Mario RPG, you'll be aware that it's very much a progenitor of these specific sorts of combat-centric QTE mechanics being built into turn-based scraps. In this 1996 outing, timed button presses were used as a means of enhancing attacks - pushing a button just as you connect with an enemy to max your damage output. More rudimentary, certainly in terms of the scope of what happens when you push a button, yes, but much the same seed of an idea working in the same way. The concept was adopted/explored by the likes of Square's Final Fantasy VIII, which arrived just two years after Super Mario RPG. Here, with Squall and Seifer specifically, you could increase the damage dealt by pressing R1 just as you landed an attack. Mother 3 is another Nintendo example. In this game, following along with QTEs to the beat of the music increases your attack's power, and so enemies come with their own theme tunes and everything. This rhythm-based idea has resurfaced in more modern stuff like Crypt of the NecroDancer and its spin-offs. And the indie RPG space has also embraced this QTE-style of combat with the likes of Sea of Stars. Image: Nintendo Life Add in these constant skill checks, moments where the player is required to be engaged in your combat, and you've got an instantly more involving setup, I say. In the Mario & Luigi series, any of the Paper Mario games, or even the much more recent Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, you'll find that Mario has long been a master of the defensive — and often offensive — QTE event as a means of spicing up inherent turn-based drudgery. Now, I mean drudgery with love here, really. I'm a huge fan of the usual ebb and flow of the old turn-based fisticuffs, but adding these little QTE events and rhythm-game aspects adds much-needed fire to battles. It keeps you way more engaged in the moment-to-moment goings on, and gives you an impetus to get involved in learning about enemies. It's also crucial that these QTEs don't end in failure. Missing the beat in Super Mario RPG or Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, sees you lose out a little in some way; your attack whiffed a bit, or you took extra damage you could have avoided. This is so much more preferable to, "No, you pressed the button wrong, you are dead." Also, and specifically in terms of combat, why simply stand still and wait for an enemy attack to play out, or even just have a basic defensive stance to adopt, when you can bounce across multiple enemy heads, pull off exacting counters and otherwise affect the flow of battle through exciting rhythm mechanics? It's a no-brainer, one of those elements I've often wondered why devs leave out and, judging by the response to Clair Obscur — which is currently sat on a Metacritic score of 92 on PS5 — lots of other gamers feel the same. Images: Nintendo Life Sandfall Interactive really goes to town in their sci-fi epic with the QTEs during battle. You'll use them every single time it's the enemy's turn to attack, and these enemies have long lists of moves to try out on you. This allows the designers to work all sorts of mad creature attacks (being beaten with a dead body, anyone?) into the action, as well as tricky defensive timings, making for a more cinematic experience that also seeks to test its players, rather than leading to less interactivity. The key here is in the urgency and effectiveness of what you're doing, then. A real-time or quick-time event will be less interactive, less enjoyable, if it's used as a means of simply making things fancier to look at or more convoluted to achieve. Yes, Heavy Rain, I'm picking on you again. But we can also look at classic examples like LA Noire's "Press X to doubt". That's going too far, you see. They're stripped of their charm when overused ad nauseum for no real reason. Shenmue is another really obvious example of this mistake; I did enjoy its QTEs back in the day, although my gosh, there were far too many and they were for everything! QTE additions, when used well, also have the knock-on effect of actually helping gamers hook up to the lore of the games they are playing, engaging them more in the hows and whys of each character and enemy, as much as they add immediacy to a moment of gameplay. Yes, I know, "QTE's suck" or "QTEs are the lowest form of interactivity!" can often be the most popular of refrains when you discuss these things. Except they don't, and they aren't, when you think about it. An oldie, but a goodie Ok, look, they do and they are. Sometimes. I'm sure we've all suffered through the furniture scene in Fahrenheit, that's one of the worst if we want to start taking shots. However, even more popular fare like Resident Evil 4, with its godawful knife fight, have also put dirt on the QTE's name. There's also Heavy Rain which...you had to sort of be there for Heavy Rain...it was so terribly bad. A QTE for every moment of your existence. No thanks. These things are not good. But, again, I'm talking about combat-specific stuff. Button presses that always require a frisson of skill and timing, awareness of your foe, and so on. Having these constant little skill checks can have all manner of positive benefits that spread throughout a game to make it more enjoyable and engaging. They give players an 'in' where there may not have been one before, a reason — where needed — to stop and think on why a certain enemy attacks in a certain way, which may then lead to picking up on more of the lore and finding themselves evermore engaged. Images: Nintendo Life There's absolutely no doubt that the slickness and cleverness in how Nintendo's various Mario RPGs have utilised combat QTEs over the years has had knock-on effects in other franchises. We've seen Final Fantasy run with it to great effect — although it definitely errs much more on the side of overusing 'em — and there's no doubt Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's devs see that franchise as a huge influence. We should also be careful to give Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 absolute credit in its own right. Regardless of the types of systems or mechanics you put into your RPG, it's only through artistry and heart, proper talent and dedication, that you end up with something that sings like Sandfall Interactive's epic debut. The QTEs may give the combat a kick, for sure, but it's the story, the acting, the incredible world-building and pacing, that all combine into something worth talking about and comparing with in the first place. You can't just slap some QTEs in, no matter how good or clever they are, and expect results, is what I'm getting at. Now, I'm off to replay Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door while I wait for a Switch 2 port of this French fancy stuff. That's right, you heard me, Sandfall. Do it. Have you been playing Clair Obscur? Would you like to see a port on Switch 2 sometime in the future? Let us know! Push SquareYour turn, Square Enix Pure XboxFinal Fancily "Just like with The Messenger, with the genre we want to present our 'definitive edition'" Related Games See Also Share:41 2 PJ is a staff writer across Pure Xbox and Nintendo Life. He's been playing video games pretty much nonstop since the early 1980s, and enjoys boring people with tedious stories about how long ago that really is. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... 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