ii) What's the benefit to equipping pictos once a character learns the lumina? The game said that some pictos affect stats but I don't think I have any of those yet. Is it just the stat benefits?
Its mostly the stats, and the stat benefits will increase as you progress.
But also for a lot of the game it's also going to be the Lumina cost. There's a lot of situations where I'd leave a Picto equipped even though the passive stat bonuses weren't as great, simply because otherwise it would eat up like 15 of my Lumina points.
so again this is my understanding, I need to watch a lore video because I'm not sure I understood everything. But basically I was really disappointed that the twist is none of the world is "real." I was super intrigued by the paintress, what's going on with her, what is her story, what is her goal. Then felt let down by the answer. I HATE the "it was all a dream" trope.
I quite disliked the ending. Or more precisely, I feel that the whole third act was a huge letdown that really took the wind out of the game's sails. I kept watching in hopes of of a double-switcharoo, since I couldn't believe they'd really go for, what was essentially a variation of "it was just a dream all along" trope, which has probably one of the most tired cliches in the realm of storytelling.
Yes yes, I know it's all an allegory for grief, loss, letting go blah blah. My issue is that they really didn't say anything particularly original or interesting about any of that, while the original premise of a doomsday clock that causes a society struggling for its existence to become ever younger, was an absolute homerun. Basically a perfect "elevator pitch", that's intriguing enough to get almost anyone curious about the game. Too bad that concept was almost completely squandered away, since in the end, none of that history, lore or the struggles and sacrifices of the Lumierians meant a damn thing.
I also understand you can debate if they are fake or real. My stance is that they are fake. It feels like none of the previous stakes mean anything. On top of that I think the Maelle ending somewhat assassinates her character...or maybe that's not the right word, the writers are free to have her want this choice...but it's an ending that I think is somewhat a disservice to her story arc. Basically a red pill/blue pill ending.
I believe the game failed a bit here by entirely putting E33 and the canvas itself on the sideline for the endings.
Again absent of looking up the lore, not sure I understand what "Expedition 0" is supposed to be or who Simon is. Also didn't understand the other sister, I thought it was weird that she had almost no role.
You can (and will) switch them in and out constantly.
Its mostly the stats, and the stat benefits will increase as you progress.
But also for a lot of the game it's also going to be the Lumina cost. There's a lot of situations where I'd leave a Picto equipped even though the passive stat bonuses weren't as great, simply because otherwise it would eat up like 15 of my Lumina points.
Yeah, I can totally understand where you're coming from, though I think to boil it down to the "it's just a dream" trope isn't entirely accurate or clean. The most intriguing thing about this world for me, and what I TRULY TRULY hope they go into in the future, is the war between the artists and the writers in the "real world". I think this element shows that it's not a dream, so much as it is MAGIC, which to me is a totally different thing. I don't see the Dessendres as Dreamers in kind of a David Lynch sense, but more akin to Gods creating a whole universe. From there, whether or not what we see is real is a matter of our own perspective.
I hope that makes a lick of sense to anyone living outside of my own head.
I will say, there is an endgame dungeon that makes it pretty clear to me that, even though this world and its people are 'created', they are very much real. I also think the way that the true Renoir interacts with characters like Lune and Sciel backs that up. He isn't dismissive of their stories as if they are fake.
All of that said, I went with the Verso ending because at that moment in my playthrough, I also felt like this world was "fake" and that his ending was the "healthiest" option. But I find myself battling with that idea more and more as time goes on.
Personally, I ADORE stories like this where you question what is and isnt real and what it truly means to be alive, so its right up my alley.
I also like that there isnt really a "good" ending, that both are WEEEE and WOOOO to paraphrase Esquie.
yes when I heard someone say something about the painters versus the writers, it felt like almost a throwaway comment. Okay, what's going on there? That sounds interesting? But then nothing more about that? But maybe that's for a sequel I guess.
And if that's the case I think it's dangerous to have multiple endings. I've already suffered enough on that front with other series, especially Dragon Age. If you have a sequel, you either have to pick a canon ending...or you have to ignore both endings and move on entirely to another world. In rare cases a game will ask which ending is your canon, but then that becomes VERY messy fast.
If it's a gods created the universe thing then I think that makes everyone worse. That's IMO.
I don't know if I've said this here before but, it's my opinion that, while I HOPE im wrong, I don't think we get a direct sequel to this, and instead "Clair Obscur" becomes a new RPG property akin to Final Fantasy or (maybe more accurately) Persona where we get completely different stories with some loose ties that bind.
But thats pure guesswork, and they could EASILY go down the direct sequel route.
I agree with both of you about the ending. I thought they landed the ending, though. Even though it is a "this is a dream world" ending, I think they handled it entirely differently than I was expecting. The third act really needed to have the Reacher level as a main quest and I think should have had more Clea and Simon that isn't locked into the endless dungeon. I admit that I did not realize how much of a roll Clea especially had on the state of the family outside of the Act 2 ending sequence. I had to do a little bit of lore diving after I beat it for it to fully sink in how she was the only one keeping the family afloat against the writers. I wish there was more to that as well.
I went with the Maelle ending because I sympathized with her that she had no real life left outside the world and her real family was Gustav and the crew. I know it's the unhealthy choice, though, and after seeing it play out, I immediately started the save file back up and picked Verso. I agree with Rachel, I did not like the shift in Maelle but I understand why it happened. Her trauma throughout the game really messed up her character. She just devolved into needing the canvas world and no one was going to stop her. Verso, though I question his methods and reasoning, feels like the right ending. The family can move on finally. His soul isn't trapped anymore.
But that is my favorite part of the game. They all feel like real people, which is why just picking Verso's ending was so hard. Everyone on Lumiere felt like a real person with real agency. They were so well written and acted that even as characters within a fake game, they felt real. I didn't want to lose them, just like Maelle. I think they did enough to make me question who was more real. Still would have preferred a little more with the "real" characters to make that decision even harder.
Funny enough, by the end my favorite character was Renoir. Real Renoir. Painted Renoir is a bastard, but that was Aline projecting I think. Real Renoir just wanted to get his family back on the path of healing and moving on in life. His wife was killing herself in grief and his youngest daughter was losing herself into the painting after losing his only son. By the end I wanted to pick a Renoir ending, which I guess is Verso's.
Both endings had parts that I cannot get over:
- The paint mark stare in Maelle's ending. So haunting, so devastating. Almost a jump scare for me in a dark basement at 11pm.
- Lune's stare at Verso in his ending. She knew he played them, she knew he lied to their faces multiple times and all she worked for was nothing. Devastating as well.
I don't know if I've said this here before but, it's my opinion that, while I HOPE im wrong, I don't think we get a direct sequel to this, and instead "Clair Obscur" becomes a new RPG property akin to Final Fantasy or (maybe more accurately) Persona where we get completely different stories with some loose ties that bind.
But thats pure guesswork, and they could EASILY go down the direct sequel route.
I forgot to mention that I hope this game proves the RPG formula 100% still works. You don't need ARPG. I understand there was a timing mechanic, parries etc. But I don't think of it as ARPG. Some series don't seem to think this genre is viable. I mean we already do have examples like Persona, but hopefully this also helps.
I am also very glad they have difficulty options because, while I very much enjoyed the basic difficulty level, Christina isn't a big fan of the timing based combat, so she just drops it down to Story and can still enjoy the game.
I didn't like the direction of the story for Act 3. There was a lot of things that got set up that I was intrigued by. Without spoiling, there's a certain type of story direction I've grown to dislike, and this game has it.
Kind of reminds me of FFXIII @The Eye in the Sky! - really cool premise but then needs to tie it all together in the end.
Again just watching the game as a let's play. I bet the gameplay is fun. I also need to watch some sort of lore video because there are some threads I don't understand fully.
I am also very glad they have difficulty options because, while I very much enjoyed the basic difficulty level, Christina isn't a big fan of the timing based combat, so she just drops it down to Story and can still enjoy the game.
There is a really good side quests that gives you 100 lumina (more skill points)
Help but dont kill the white gestrals even if you can attack them. You'll need to help most of them. There are 7 in total. You can at least do it with 6, maybe fewer. Leave the one in teh graveyard alone, you can turn in the quest (Act 3) without talking to the one in the graveyard, if you beat him and help him (kill him) you get auto powerful pictos
The alt reality took a lot out of me and Im not sure why. It's like none of this matter, it's not real, but that shouldnt matter because its a game anyway. None of the characters are real, but Im putting myself into the fictional world once, and then I have to put myself into another fictional world within the fictional world.
I think it would have hit better if there were better foreshadowing. I had some idea something weird was going on with the burned woman looking so much like Maelle, and Renoir, Gustav and Verso all looking a like, but that was it. We had no idea that this was a fake world built to help with grief until we're 90% done with the story. There is a very famous jrpg that does something similar, but it works a lot better in there because it's not the whole world, but more just one character and it isnt quite the same.
I still liked the characters a lot, but we get very little of the real world people it makes the reality of the situation fall flat. While I feel bad for what has happened and put these people here, we really dont get to see any of their struggles. I think this game could have done very well to have interludes about the real world and have us get to know the those characteers while also hiding the connetion between it and the painted world
Overall its probably an A- for me, the gameplay and music are top notch. Characters are really good, story ends up being a let down at the end but still worth playing
I cannot agree that the canvas is a "fake world". Created != fake. These "fake" characters had real lives, feelings, emotions, and memories. To call them "fake" is to completely deny the conflict of the final moments of the game. Don't be such a Verso.
I cannot agree that the canvas is a "fake world". Created != fake. These "fake" characters had real lives, feelings, emotions, and memories. To call them "fake" is to completely deny the conflict of the final moments of the game. Don't be such a Verso.
oh i picked him because i think he was right but in retrospect it feels almost like a trolley problem. Do you choose the path that is healthier for 1 specific person, even though that means you commit mass genocide akin to what you've spent the whole game fighting against?
The fact that theres no clean answer is what elevates the ending to the highest tier for me, but I can totally understand it being a strike against it for many. Heck, thats why focus groups have caused us to get so many "happy endings" tacked on to otherwise fantastic films.
As I continue to reflect on the game, I have almost convinced myself that Maelle's ending is the "true" ending (if we were to believe in such a thing). I keep coming back to that stare that Luna fixes on Verso in his ending.
Verso has lied and manipulated these people to get to this result...and in fact had achieved his goal at the end of Act II, only to be thwarted by Maelle's Paintress abilities. He had his chance at his ending, and failed. To turn around and have him pull it off again doesn't feel as clean as Maelle getting her wish, with the drawbacks it entails. Why even have a third act really if it isnt to end up there?
oh i picked him because i think he was right but in retrospect it feels almost like a trolley problem. Do you choose the path that is healthier for 1 specific person, even though that means you commit mass genocide akin to what you've spent the whole game fighting against?
The fact that theres no clean answer is what elevates the ending to the highest tier for me, but I can totally understand it being a strike against it for many. Heck, thats why focus groups have caused us to get so many "happy endings" tacked on to otherwise fantastic films.
I think if there had been more hints, we got snippets of the outside world and characters it would be harder to pick between the two endings. I do like that there is no real happy ending, even Maelle's feels wrong. This game could have done so much more with exploring how one deals with grief, but instead we got a quick wikipedia summary. But either way, still loved my time, the characters are well developed and fun and it is highly recommended. Perhaps now that we know what paintings are, like you or someoen else said, could be more games not a direct sequel. But we explore different painters and why they paint to escape from the real world and the twist of this was a "dream" doesn't have to be hidden anymore. More insight and getting to know the painters I think would be fantastic.
Did you catch that Esquie was Verso's doll and Monoco was the family dog? A game where the painted characters are based on people the painter knows. Maybe their ideal version or the version in their head vs the real life version which falls short in one or multiple ways.
I could not disagree with this more. Its there all over the place throughout the game, from the very start, with every human character. Its just not as OVERT that this is the theme until after the end of Act II.
I think this is why they are so adamant about shoving a New Game+ in your face after you finish it. So you can revisit the whole story in a new light and seeing that its been there the whole time.
I could not disagree with this more. Its there all over the place throughout the game, from the very start, with every human character. Its just not as OVERT that this is the theme until after the end of Act II.
I think this is why they are so adamant about shoving a New Game+ in your face after you finish it. So you can revisit the whole story in a new light and seeing that its been there the whole time.
Im sure there is some, we know something is up and going on, but we know very little about
Verso and his real family, we dont get really any glimpses to the real people. First I remember hearing about Clea is after Act 2.
Now did I miss something? Maybe/probably, I played a lot of this in the morning, but it just felt so rushed that the problems of the real world never had a chance to properly develop and be shown. Perhaps if Act 3 was longer story wise and not just side quests. I didnt do many of the optional bosses, I know you can fight Clea and Simon and maybe you get more development from beating them. To me its oh here are these real characters from the outside world that are struggling in a fight against the writers, a mom who is depressed and reclused herself, a dad who is trying to get his wife back, and a sister who is trying to keep it all together, boom FIN. For me that was too fast. We didnt get to know these real characters and their struggles
I think we are all in agreement that Act 3 should have been fleshed out a little with the character stories being main story sections. Lune's about seeing her parent's expedition and coming to terms with it, etc. Monoco reviviing Noco. More of the real world would have been great to give depth to that side.
I agree with Vash, though, the ending was done so well. It does take a second play through to really see what was in plain sight the whole time. I have been getting the Reddit r/Expedition33 topics shoved in my face due to the game being the only thing I've been reading about online but so many people have connected dots I haven't considered. I missed some clear things during the play through that adds depth to every character. The problem is what we agree on, there needed to be a little more in Act 3. Some of the things we now know are locked in areas that you really need the endgame or new game + to see.
I'm not ever the type to replay a game, but I seriously might to talk to all the strange child statues and whatnot. There is so much lore built in that went over my head at the time.
I think we are all in agreement that Act 3 should have been fleshed out a little with the character stories being main story sections. Lune's about seeing her parent's expedition and coming to terms with it, etc. Monoco reviviing Noco. More of the real world would have been great to give depth to that side.
I agree with Vash, though, the ending was done so well. It does take a second play through to really see what was in plain sight the whole time. I have been getting the Reddit r/Expedition33 topics shoved in my face due to the game being the only thing I've been reading about online but so many people have connected dots I haven't considered. I missed some clear things during the play through that adds depth to every character. The problem is what we agree on, there needed to be a little more in Act 3. Some of the things we now know are locked in areas that you really need the endgame or new game + to see.
I'm not ever the type to replay a game, but I seriously might to talk to all the strange child statues and whatnot. There is so much lore built in that went over my head at the time.
Thats kind of disappointing as I dont replay games and its such a dated design when we have so many more options now of games we play. Its when I get annoyed at newer mario games (though did love Wonder) at how easy they are and people say oh there are tough levels, but its not until near the end or the post game....sprinkle those in. Wonder did have some of those sprinkled in and its a big reason I loved it
Maybe I will years down the road, though not sure I'll still have my save file. I do like the ending, it was how they got there though that was my problem, it was just rushed. I know Im being harsh, but I still give this game an A- and everyone should play it. Im more likely to point out things that I didnt like in depth in a game I loved than a game I bounced off of
The turn based fighting is intense - since you can legitimately dodge almost any attack, the enemies typically do more raw damage so if your timing is off or you can't quite figure out the attack pattern, it hurts.
I thought I was going to hate this because I'm not huge into quick time events. But it added such a massive layer of complexity to the game. it made it a combo Persona/Soulsborne to me. Persona in the style, soulsborne in that if you mess up, you'll get roasted by the boss. Kept me fucking engaged.
It does, but it expects you to complete almost all post-game content to survive it. Trying to decide if I want to do that because I usually find post-game content tedious...but it IS fun hitting for millions of points of damage.
This is good to know. I'm at this point now, where I need to decide what to do. I thought about hopping into NG+ after some end game questing, but I'm finding a LOT of the end game questing far outlevel me. So I need to find actual side quests within my level. I almost wish there was a site that had levels for each area dictated out so I know exactly where I CAN go and when. I finished the game with all characters around 50-52.
I think it's the controls being a little clunky and not friendly for platforming that made the beaches annoying. The climbing one took me an hour of painful attention lol. I had found that beach RIGHT after changing the running to toggle instead of hold lol. Boy was that a mistake
I also understand you can debate if they are fake or real. My stance is that they are fake. It feels like none of the previous stakes mean anything. On top of that I think the Maelle ending somewhat assassinates her character...or maybe that's not the right word, the writers are free to have her want this choice...but it's an ending that I think is somewhat a disservice to her story arc. Basically a red pill/blue pill ending.
I thought this was actually done surprisingly well for the trope it is. The power of grief and loss and dealing with it. A parents struggle. I sibling feeling guilty. Putting the power of the red pill blue pill in YOUR hand.
I think this may fall victim to watching vs. playing personally. Watching you can't get as invested in the characters YOU controlled for 40-60 hours. In the end, choosing whether they "live" or "die" is a choice I didn't think would affect me as heavily as it did.
yes when I heard someone say something about the painters versus the writers, it felt like almost a throwaway comment. Okay, what's going on there? That sounds interesting? But then nothing more about that? But maybe that's for a sequel I guess.
I thought the same, honestly. I am hoping the Clair Obscur world is explored more in sequels. It ties into what I'm going to say to Vash's statement below, but in the end, I hope there is a connection we explore, because I'm hooked on the need to know more.
I don't know if I've said this here before but, it's my opinion that, while I HOPE im wrong, I don't think we get a direct sequel to this, and instead "Clair Obscur" becomes a new RPG property akin to Final Fantasy or (maybe more accurately) Persona where we get completely different stories with some loose ties that bind.
I am actually hoping that they DO do it that way. Linked but unique games. I'm not a fan of direct sequels because they almost never work. God of War remake is probably the one example I can think of. I liked the Jedi Survivor games but the sequel was meh to the magic of the original.
So I'll say this. I personally HOPE they DO create a new IP in the ilk of FF or Persona called Clair Obscur. This game proved turn based games are still incredibly fun, even if Square Enix believes they're dead. But I think they have created a little bit of original Assassin's Creed too, in that they have a "real world" story to tell too. Most of the original team DID work at Ubisoft after all.
The concept of writers and painters and the fact the story takes place in the past (Verso's headstone in the Verso ending showed he died in 1902? Early 1900s at least. And there is a mystical quality in being able to enter paintings. The writers vs. the painters can easily be another assassins vs. the templars. Next game could easily explore how the writers can enter their works too. The canvas also seem to resemble the animus, so there is another corollary to what the devs knew.
As I continue to reflect on the game, I have almost convinced myself that Maelle's ending is the "true" ending (if we were to believe in such a thing). I keep coming back to that stare that Luna fixes on Verso in his ending.
Verso has lied and manipulated these people to get to this result...and in fact had achieved his goal at the end of Act II, only to be thwarted by Maelle's Paintress abilities. He had his chance at his ending, and failed. To turn around and have him pull it off again doesn't feel as clean as Maelle getting her wish, with the drawbacks it entails. Why even have a third act really if it isnt to end up there?
This is an intriguing stance. I haven't seen the Maelle ending and I don't think I will until NG+ decisions. I think the Verso ending is the smarter choice based on outcomes. Yes, it cancels the world as we know the people in it. Essentially erasing their existence. It's a little FF10. It was all a dream.
To me Maelle wanting to keep the painting alive literally is what her mother was trying to do. It consumed her parents. I think it's a metaphor for letting go and moving on instead of living a lie of convenience. Also a metaphor for her ability to create worlds of her own. The characters don't have to be gone.
I dunno, maybe I'll feel different after seeing the Maelle ending, but I feel letting her move on and live her life is better than keeping a lie alive.
Im sure there is some, we know something is up and going on, but we know very little about
Verso and his real family, we dont get really any glimpses to the real people. First I remember hearing about Clea is after Act 2.
Now did I miss something? Maybe/probably, I played a lot of this in the morning, but it just felt so rushed that the problems of the real world never had a chance to properly develop and be shown. Perhaps if Act 3 was longer story wise and not just side quests. I didnt do many of the optional bosses, I know you can fight Clea and Simon and maybe you get more development from beating them. To me its oh here are these real characters from the outside world that are struggling in a fight against the writers, a mom who is depressed and reclused herself, a dad who is trying to get his wife back, and a sister who is trying to keep it all together, boom FIN. For me that was too fast. We didnt get to know these real characters and their struggles
The third act did feel a little rushed. But I think it was intentional. There weren't any deadlines or publishers forcing deadlines and crunch. So it feels intentional to me. I think Clea is supposed to be an antithesis or Alicia. Showing she's trying to help from the real world and not within a fake one. She'd moved on from the Verso's death and the canvas. Popped in to get her mother and father out. Told Alicia to stay out. We find out it was Renoir who asked Alicia to pop in and help get their mother out. I just think Clea was a foil for the other option.
It felt to me they wanted to build the player's connection with the characters and use the twist and reveals as motivation one way or another and not to take you out of the action filling in the real world happenings. We were told what we were needed to show a character's motives. And I think it was enough.
ALL this said, I have but two minor gripes about this game.
Being unable to have auto audio. It was a little painful having to click through every line of conversation like it was pre-audio acting JRPG. I get it for unvoiced scenes, but I like taking a drink or a bite of food while cutscenes play. Hopefully they patch this in.
Lack of being able to effectively pause the game. I can't stand it when games don't think of this. Yes, I can pause cutscenes, but I need a way to pause the game if one of my kids or wife needs something. On PS5, I found a work around was hitting the PS button to go to the PS menu auto pauses the game, but that's not effective. Just allow us to pause at any time.
That's it. No other gripes with the game. Controls were a tad clunky, but nothing that killed it for me. This game NEEDS to win game of the year for what a small team accomplished and show the world that you don't need money grubbing corporate assholes forcing bad decisions on a development team because they want to make another sale.
My take on the gameplay was from relatively early in Act 1 and I think Eye was the first to point out that it starts to feel REALLY good as you progress and I can't agree more.
By the end of the game one of my driving forces to keep going into post-game content was just being absolutely in love with the combat system.
This is an intriguing stance. I haven't seen the Maelle ending and I don't think I will until NG+ decisions. I think the Verso ending is the smarter choice based on outcomes. Yes, it cancels the world as we know the people in it. Essentially erasing their existence. It's a little FF10. It was all a dream.
To me Maelle wanting to keep the painting alive literally is what her mother was trying to do. It consumed her parents. I think it's a metaphor for letting go and moving on instead of living a lie of convenience. Also a metaphor for her ability to create worlds of her own. The characters don't have to be gone.
I dunno, maybe I'll feel different after seeing the Maelle ending, but I feel letting her move on and live her life is better than keeping a lie alive.
I'll tell you that your feelings here are almost IDENTICAL to how I felt in the moment. Its just with additional context provided in post-game content mixed with my just CONSTANT thinking about this game that my views have shifted. And likely will continue to shift in directions previously not considered.
I wonder if this does make a difference or not. I liked the characters a lot but I did feel they got pushed aside in Act 3 which for me didnt make the game reach the highs it can
I thought the same, honestly. I am hoping the Clair Obscur world is explored more in sequels. It ties into what I'm going to say to Vash's statement below, but in the end, I hope there is a connection we explore, because I'm hooked on the need to know more.
Writers vs Painters like someone said sounds like a throwaway, similar to clone wars in A New Hope but could be really cool. I hope now that the big twist is revealed any future games can explore more in depth with the real world vs painted characters. I love the idea of the painted character being the painters vew of that person or what they want from them, only to find out in some way or form they are wrong because it is how the painter sees them and not how the person really is
The third act did feel a little rushed. But I think it was intentional. There weren't any deadlines or publishers forcing deadlines and crunch. So it feels intentional to me. I think Clea is supposed to be an antithesis or Alicia. Showing she's trying to help from the real world and not within a fake one. She'd moved on from the Verso's death and the canvas. Popped in to get her mother and father out. Told Alicia to stay out. We find out it was Renoir who asked Alicia to pop in and help get their mother out. I just think Clea was a foil for the other option.
It felt to me they wanted to build the player's connection with the characters and use the twist and reveals as motivation one way or another and not to take you out of the action filling in the real world happenings. We were told what we were needed to show a character's motives. And I think it was enough.
There werent any publishers but they had been working on it for awhile and may have needed to get it out. If intentional I think its bad idea, but that is just me. It felt like reading the wikipedia summary of the plot of something great. I can appreciate what I read, but it wont have the full impact because that last act was so rushed
@Quagmire I made a little tweak to your spoiler tags to hide minor spoilers, just letting you know so you don't think you're crazy that it's slightly different
@Quagmire I made a little tweak to your spoiler tags to hide minor spoilers, just letting you know so you don't think you're crazy that it's slightly different
The most intriguing thing about this world for me, and what I TRULY TRULY hope they go into in the future, is the war between the artists and the writers in the "real world". I think this element shows that it's not a dream, so much as it is MAGIC, which to me is a totally different thing.
Listening to the Ost now (didnt want to risk spoilers), we need some instrumental versions of the tracks with voices. Worked fantastically on the game, but if I'm listening to it on its own I prefer no vocals
