This is not very often when your publisher asks you to cover a game on an alcoholic snail that is spawning through the country in an endless war against slugs. When you get this kind of pitch, you take it immediately. Even prepared with this synopsis, I still do not think I could have been ready for Clid The Snail, a double-sleeved shot game from top to bottom that has more style and is more sullen than any business. Although he has his problems, Clid The Snail is a good effort of Weird Beluga and puts them on the map as solid developers.
Clid is a snail with a big cannon who likes to war in the forces of slugs riddled with plague outside the Citadel of snails. Peace-loving snails hunt clid for his warlike manners and he begins to explore a world populated by other insects, critters and creatures while seeking to prevent slugs from destroying everything and putting an end to the plague.
The highlights of CLID are that this post-human world is rich and full, while having a sullen style that works very well. The cards are very detailed and the world of insects and anthropomorphic rodents is fully realized and quite original, with traditions and a story far beyond what such a game should require. The story itself is not as innovative as the world on which it is built, but it is certainly an interesting story that has done a good job to keep you on your guard.
Where CLID hits a wall, it's in the gameplay itself. I really believe that Weird Beluga was looking for a level of challenge to the FromSoftware in his gameplay - punitive mechanics in a dark and sullen world. Unfortunately, they landed on an almost impossible gameplay that seems to punish you to have dared to try. Your endurance never allows you to dodge long, your weapons always take too much time to load or are just not powerful enough, and the bosses are always too powerful and the fights too long. Even running around the world, you always need several shots or careful investments for killing an enemy that will overwhelm you and will kill you easily. Although something like Demons Souls or Bloodborne is extremely difficult, you are still sufficiently equipped to develop a strategy that will allow you to earn efficiently, even if it requires a little work. In Clid, there is no Grind, just a constant restart and an attempt to memorize the patterns and I hope you do not zig when you should zag.
Although the gameplay itself is intrinsically too difficult, it is always promising. The world, the characters, level conceptions and enigmas / labyrinths all work on its advantage. There is room for clid patcher and make your gameplay work better with other positives. A different level of difficulty, additional bonuses for weapons, a potential weakening of some bosses - they are all options that would raise this giant game. I will not pretend to know how fixes like this would work, but even start by making it more acceptable for casual players would do wonders for Clid The Snail.
In the end, I'm a fan of where Weird Beluga targeted but not as much as the place they landed. While the world in which CLID lies is full and realized, its unique characters, its excellent level design and surprisingly good tone, the gameplay itself, and not the slugs powered by the plague, seems to be the greatest factor dissuasion that Clid must overcome. No matter how Weird Beluga wants to tackle that, whether it's leaving it as much or correcting it, they still stay very innovative and exciting developers. As for the player, if you think I'm just weak and you can better manage the punitive level of play, you should definitely take over. Otherwise, maybe see what they do before you dive into this strange and unique incursion into the game.
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