Claire a la Mode

Rory told me to put a review here or i'm going to be in big trouble.

Colorgrave was cooking with this one.

doughnut skip this one ✨

High octane baking action. Not particularly difficult, but still a bunch of fun regardless.

Overall love the game. If you've played ColorGraves previous game CurseCrackers, Claire is more arcady and faster paced, which for me was just a little "too" fast. Took me a bit to get used to and even by the end I still wouldn't say I was 100% in the groove like I eventually got with CurseCrackers. The pixel graphics go for a different aesthetic and are a bit less detailed but still look very nice. Music is a master class as always. Some repeat songs or remixes, but they are all bangers. Looking forward to their next game!

Playing through Claire a la Mode has been one of my favorite gaming experiences of this year. It brings out so much nostalgia while offering a breath of fresh air and a really amazing vibe. The art is incredible, the characters feel complex and interesting, running through levels feels fresh and new with each character you try. The world feels lived in, even just by running through the levels. I cannot recommend this game enough, I'll be trying to 100% it, and I've added every game this dev has made to my wishlist.

Yeah, I don't know about this game, dude. Pretty sure my issues with it are "skill based" so I'd hesitate to say I don't recommend it (another plea for a "neutral" rating). But on the other hand, the controls genuinely never felt as tight as those for Curse Crackers, despite the game demanding pixel precision. Seriously, what [i]is[/i] up with the "run" in this game and the character whose dash is so far and fast that it feels like a death wish? Anyway, I know there are people for whom this is a non-issue, but at least as far as I'm concerned, this one isn't for me.

Claire a la Mode is a colorful action sidescroller with a huge cast of characters from Colorgrave's universe, stage design similar to the Kirby games but with faster-paced gameplay spread out across 15 stages (each with a boss) and a final boss stage. Pros: - Graphical style looks great, focused on colorful tiny sprites with lots of personality. - Music slaps hard. Guitar riffs in the first few stages? Oh yes. - Lots of playable characters with unique primary skills that all play slightly differently. - Each stage has hidden items to collect, adding to replay value. - Lots of fun extras in the game's hub world. Challenges, bonuses, unlockables, etc. - It's easy to skip dialogue or scenes. - Did not encounter any glitches. Cons: - Quitting the game and returning will dump you into the game's hub world for the first time with no guidance. Normally finishing each level will just send you into the next one. It took 10 minutes for me to figure out where exactly I had to go to get back to the level progression (it's in a building with 15 mirrors that function as doors to each stage). - Stages are inconsistent with their invisible upper ceilings. Sometimes it seems like there is none. Other times you will unexpectedly bonk your head above the screen and fall to your death as it causes you to fail a jump. - Final boss has a steep difficulty curve and unclear instructions on victory conditions. You are expected to die a lot: this is the only fight which does not make you restart from the beginning after each death. There is a huge number of projectiles to avoid, but there is seemingly no way to damage the boss... [spoiler]The game gives you a hint: "Get them home" and you're supposed to figure out from this that you aren't actually supposed to deal damage this fight. Instead, you need to pick up each statue of your friends (game doesn't tell you you can pick them up), carry them all the way to the left, and chuck them into the portal. Videos on youtube suggest a lot of other people were confused by this fight. You CAN knock the head off the enemy knight, which led me to think there was some way to damage it. But no. I wasted dozens of lives trying to find a weak point, before finally doing a search and discovering that there was none. A better hint, or even starting you off already carrying one of your friends, and having the camera pan to the portal, would have communicated the rules of this fight far better.[/spoiler] YMMV: - This game is fast-paced. Even your character's jumps occur very quickly and have almost no air-time. If you are coming from other platformers like Mario or Sonic, this may take some getting used to, especially regarding jump timings. - This game is part of Colorgrave's expanded universe. There are LOTS of characters and cameos whose extended stories all move forward slightly. People familiar with them will probably love seeing them return. Newcomers may feel a bit lost and overwhelmed with it all. - No health bar. One-hit deaths. Die in a stage and you'll go back to the start of the room. Die in a boss fight and you must start from the beginning (bosses all take 3-5 hits). Fortunately the game is generous with the extra lives, and there are blessings which can help you earn even more. - Lots of witty banter between all the characters. But again you can skip it if you aren't interested. Overall I had a great time with Claire a la Mode.

A nice platform game! A lot of playable characters

I should state first that I was a Kickstarter backer for this game, and I was not disappointed. Claire a la Mode is another solid entry to the Colorgrave catalog of games. It's quick, fun and easy to pick up and play for the night. Lots of fanservice and tie-ins to the previous title, Curse Crackers: from whom the Belle Toils. You don't need to play CC to enjoy this cute little puzzle platformer, but I highly recommend playing it just for it's own merit. Claire a la Mode is a different game comparatively but still has that flair that CC had. The story had this unexpected Sonic Heroes/Adventures vibe to it that I really enjoyed. Each character has their own dialogue at certain checkpoints and I really appreciated the extra insight. The soundtrack is next level as always, love the remixes. This title has local multiplayer and online through steam remote play. Definitely worth picking up if you like fast paced platformers and collectables. Solid 8/10 for me, although it is short it is very fun and has lots of replayability.