Clair Obscur: Expedition 33is an incredible experience already, and developer Sandfall Interactive has been diligent about improving the experience since launch. Sandfall has proven that it’s open to introducing new features that elevate the gameplay experience and give players more options to enjoy the game. One missing feature that I’ve completely changed my tune about after initially thinking I wouldn’t have very much interest in it is a co-op mode.Clair Obscuris an excellent single-player experience, and the logistics of implementing a co-op mode are kind of tricky by design.
Recently, after seeing that there was a pretty functional fan-made co-op mod available, I thought it would be worth testing out to see for myself how a multiplayer experience would feel. I have to tell you, I was completely wrong, and now I’m hopeful that developers will consider implementing a proper co-op mode in their next update. After the most recent 1.3.0 update, whichadded difficulty modifiersbased on two of the most popular community mods, it isn’t out of the question that Sandfall would implement a co-op feature, even if it is highly unlikely.
How Co-Op Can Work For Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Local Co-Op Gives Different Players Control Of Their Own Character During Combat
If you’re scratching your head about how a co-op mode would even work inClair Obscur: Expedition 33, look no further than the co-op mod created by userjinxos on Nexus Mods.Clair Obscurhas a very active mod community, introducing features such as anextensive photo mode, enhanced weapon descriptions, and even difficulty modifiers and parry/dodge timing adjustments that were fully implemented into the game in the 1.3.0 patch. Sandfall including these difficulty updates is a sign of good faith for the community, andcould even indicate they’re receptive to including other popular features.
The current co-op mod works in a pretty straightforward way, but it’s restricted to local multiplayer with multiple controllers plugged into the same device. The mod enables three-player local co-op, with unique functionality during both exploration and combat situations. The biggest concern I had about a co-op experience was how exploration would work, seeing asexploring the Continent is a very singular experience.With this co-op mod, you simply transfer control to another player to give them the reins, which is likely the only way it would work without completely redesigning gameplay with co-op in mind.
While the exploration side of co-op is a bit lackluster, combat is where a co-op mode starts to get fun. Players each control their own dedicated character in the party and areresponsible for their dodges, parries, attacks, skills, etc.Taking down enemies as a group is the main appeal of a cooperative experience, even if it is limited to local gameplay.
A co-op mode forClair Obscurwould let players share in the frustrations of battle, theheartbreak of the story, and everything in between. In my view, it would be an excellent permanent option that gives all players more ways to enjoy the game,even if it is limited to local co-op.
Adding Co-Op To Clair Obscur Would Be A Game-Changer (Literally)
Cooperative Multiplayer Would Give Players New Ways To Enjoy Clair Obscur
I would be interested to see how Sandfall might approach a proper cooperative multiplayer option, or if they could take it beyond a local situation to include some sort of co-op “matchmaking” feature. It might be a pipe dream at some level, especially given the nature ofClair Obscur’sgameplay, which is clearly designed for a single-player experience.A co-op feature would not necessarily be too difficult to implementif the studio emulated the community mod’s approach, but I imagine Sandfall would want to improve on that substantially if they wanted to do it justice.
Personally, I think a co-op mode would give players a unique new option that would also increase replay value considerably, especially if there was a way to play with others online. Even if Sandfall incorporated some sort ofElden Ring-style cooperative mode that allowed players to summon help for specific major boss fights when co-op is enabled, that would add a ton of variety and excitement to the combat side of things. Depending on how it’s implemented, co-op could be a complete game-changer forClair Obscur: Expedition 33, even if the likelihood of that happening is low.
