Recently, I've been playing Pokemon: Legends Z-A, and struggling slightly to get to grips with its meta-shifting move away from turn-based combat. Away from my Switch, I've also finally got around to playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ahead of what I predict will be a slew of Game of the Year wins. It's rare that two such different takes on turn-based RPGs occupy so much space in my head at once – and that makes the gulf between the two even more apparent.
I'm completely absorbed by Clair Obscur. I've never had any great interest in the classic JRPGs that inspired it, but I've been completely sucked into its world. There's no corner of The Continent that I'm not poring over, no fight I'm not actively seeking out. I'm dangerously invested in its characters, and desperate to find out what happens as I approach its finale. Even before I booted it up I was already fairly sure that Sandfall's debut would dominate GOTY conversation, but now I'm convinced it'll be the name to beat.
