In 1987 my first true love was a girl named Claire. We were very happy together until one day she left me for a guy who worked on the local dodgems – a guy who could swallow 50p coins in one gulp. I just couldn’t compete with those skills. So before this review I had a cold sweat on that this new game from Hailstorm developers would be a warts and all story about my first doomed love. Of course it isn’t that, but what they have produced is a game that is still giving me cold sweats, and a feeling that I never want to hear the name Claire again.
Claire: Extended Cut is a retro styled, old world pixel art mixed with a blend of new world tech. It has reminded me a lot of the famous Monkey Island series, not in tone and content, but with the design and look. The developers have called the style a 2.5D effect, whereby they’ve given the tradition old school 2D effect a new upgrade with real time lighting and false depths. But what is it?
Well the story starts with Claire as a child in her home woken up by strange noises. She gets up and finds her house deserted, with bizarre things happening around her. We then suddenly find her in her late teens visiting her sick mum in hospital. When she goes off to get a cup of coffee, the strange events happen again and the hospital becomes decayed, abandoned and dark figures appear from the darkness. You find a dog and you both explore this strange new world. Why has this happened? Where has everyone gone? Why are there no stars in the night sky anymore? As you explore you try to find out the answers to some of these questions and avoid the monsters stalking you in the shadows.
The game plays like a mix between an old school adventure game, with it’s exploration, puzzles and collection of items, and a bit of Silent Hill with its horror influences. You control Claire by moving her around from room to room looking for a way out. There’s a sprint button and jump button to escape any provoking horrors. You collect items that help move on the story, like keys or notes, and there are health items and recharges to stop you panicking. Now here comes my first moan about a section of the game I found horrible. It’s a common gaming trait overall and that is inventory management. I hate it. I can’t stand balancing my items; what to throw away, what to keep, what to use quickly….it drives me mad. Claire has an inventory that for me is very clumsy to use – it fills up very quickly and you can’t stack the same items on top of each other. Also when the inventory is full, and you try to pick an item up in the game, it won’t tell you what the item is unless you get rid of something from the inventory. Can I not see what is in front of me? Why do this? WHY god damn it????. And breath, rant over.
The strongest element by far is the story. It weaves a tale that takes all the horror clichés and turns them on their head. The more you involve yourself in the game, the more emotionally invested you are to the narrative. It’s all told through text and no voice work, and it mixes time periods and worlds in a really clever way. The writing is sharp and knowing, and, without ruining anything, there are some great surprises. Characters you meet are interesting and well thought out, plus you get quite attached to Claire as you progress throughout the game. This year I’ve experienced indie games dealing with adult themes a lot – especially to do with childhood trauma – and this game doesn’t shy away from that too. It too does it well, being very effective in the way it is told.
In the looks department Claire does embrace its retro style to the limit. I thought I was back in 1995 for a moment, on an old PC trying to get my CD ROM drive to work. Unhappy times. For me I’m a bit tired of the whole retro look and it nearly makes me switch the game off straight away. But that would be a shame because there is a lot to like here and you would miss out on a great story. I couldn’t tell the difference between 2D and 2.5D I ‘m afraid, but that’s not saying it isn’t there. The game though does have some nice visual surprises sprinkled around that made me smile and at times jump.  There is also a lot to like in the sound department, with brilliant effects from the dogs expressive barks, growls and whines to the horrible groans of the approaching monster. The soundtrack is also retro inspired again and is very catchy in its composition.
Overall this is a game that I’ve very much enjoyed my time with even though I found the first 30 minutes a real slog, failing to be inspired by the look or the content to play on further. But play on I did and as I progressed it hooked me with its story and drive. Gameplay wise it’s pretty basic, and at times you really can get lost. I was wandering around for about an hour looking to find the library before I just got lucky. There are a lot of little secrets and surprises that cropped up along my journey that you might miss the first time around in a play through. But will you ever go back a second time?
Claire is a unique game that I really enjoyed, even after my first 30 minutes of apathy and there is a lot to get stuck into here if you’re a fan of this type of game. But like my ex-girlfriend, you might just make a decision on looks alone.
