Claire a la Mode is the latest game from Colorgrave, makers of Curse Crackers and the excellent Prodigal. This is a follow-up to CC and repeatedly references that game’s protagonist, although I had forgotten her name and didn’t realize there was a connection until most of the way through, so you’ll be fine if you haven’t played it. There’s a stronger connection in terms of gameplay, since both are GBC-styled puzzle platformers that are fairly quick to play through but have a lot of optional content.
Claire consists of about 15 levels divided across three chapters. Each chapter has two or three playable characters who all have their own gimmick, and while every level is beatable with every character, most levels have collectibles that can only be reached by a subset of them. That’s a positive in the sense that it adds replay value and helps the characters feel distinct, but also a negative in that you’re sometimes left unsure if you can’t reach a collectibles because you’re not approaching it correctly or because you brought the wrong character. Fortunately, there’s plenty of game here even if you decide to just ignore all of the collectibles. Levels usually contain a dozen or so different screens and almost always have a minigame or boss fight that’s never used again. Finishing the game also unlocks a host of challenge modes if you want to keep playing past the credits.
The moment-to-moment gameplay will be very familiar if you’ve played CC or any GBC puzzle platformer. Everything other than bosses dies in one hit and you mostly interact with the world through jumping and throwing things. Dying immediately because you brushed against an enemy can be frustrating, but there are plenty of opportunities to stock up on lives and losing one typically just means being warped back to the start of the screen without resetting the enemies. Boss fights usually do require perfect play, but none of the ones that kick you out after a death have very complex patterns, so it’s usually not too hard to figure them out before you lose many lives. All in all, nothing revolutionary, but it’s well done.
Claire also continues Colorgrave’s streak of excellent soundtracks. There’s a ton of variety here, and while I don’t know if either the music or graphics could actually run on GBC hardware, they at least look the part. The story, meanwhile, has more going on than just about anything you’d have seen in those days, but isn’t anything mindblowing by modern standards. There are a couple of fun characters and some funny scenes, but it likely won’t stick with you unless you make the effort to read all of the collectible books. I didn’t, and that may be why I have no idea who a few of the antagonists were.
Conclusion
Claire a la Mode delivers a few hours of platforming that are somehow nostalgic and innovative at the same time. The game does just about enough to justify the price tag and is enjoyable throughout, but I think it needed a more substantial closing chapter that used all of the characters to really take it to the next level. As it is, it’s pretty good.
Rating: 80%
Time to beat: 4-5 hours to play through once without going too out of your way for secrets
Pricing: $15
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