The conversation around “Clair Obscur” has blown up for bigger reasons than it just being a great game. It’s a great game that harkens back to the golden age of JRPGs in a way that even other throwbacks couldn’t do—all that while being sold for 50 bucks.

One of my favorite things about the game is how it manages to slowly unravel its mysteries while leaving burning questions unanswered, a constant and satisfying plot progression that I haven’t experienced since “Horizon Zero Dawn”. It also balances tragedy, action and humor surprisingly well, giving each element room to breathe without any jarring cuts from one to another.

The story begins in the city of Lumiere, which is like a stylized version of early 20th-century Paris. Gustave and his foster sister, Maelle, are discussing the day’s festivities before they’re set to leave on the 33rd Expedition. Before that, however, they must attend the annual Gommage.

The opening scene does a phenomenal job of showing you how grim this world is, despite its beauty. Every year, the being known as the Paintress displays a number in descending order on a giant monolith. When the Gommage happens, everyone of the age of the painted number disintegrates into flowers. For Gustave, he must say goodbye to the love of his life.

Death is embedded in the culture of Lumiere. The oldest people left alive are only in their early thirties, and a select number from among them are sent on expeditions to take the Paintress down and end the cycle of death. The sense of duty the expedition members have is compelling, they’re working to save everyone left alive in Lumiere while knowing that over 60 expeditions before them have tried and failed.

Of course, the thing that gave this game notoriety from the start is that it uses a turn-based combat system modeled after classic JRPGs. While the player’s party is limited to three characters, the developers went the extra mile to make sure each character feels distinct. Gustave is a straightforward fighter/support character, Maelle switches between various stances with each move, Lune is a mage that creates and consumes resources to empower each spell, and so on.

It makes the combat feel a lot more varied than most turn-based RPGs and even though the game doesn’t have many party members, each one feels potent in their own way and capable of dealing loads of damage. While combat is strategic, there’s another layer that the developers have added.

The game also features an expansive world map full of optional content and bosses. Similar to classic “Final Fantasy” games, the player gains access to more areas of the world map as the main story progresses. However, this is where my biggest gripe with the game comes in. A lot of the optional content in the world map is balanced for a post-game party, not impossible to do before the end, but I wish more areas were balanced to be played alongside the main story progression.

Parrying and dodging are a huge part of combat. It could serve as a barrier for those who just wanted a pure RPG with no reflexes needed, but the good news is that you don’t have to be anywhere near perfect to get through the game.

Sandfall Interactive has succeeded in its mission statement by creating a beautiful, modern take on the games they loved when they were growing up. It feels like the kind of game people wanted from the recent “Final Fantasy” entries, but “Clair Obscur” goes beyond being a standout game. It is a product that makes a bold statement in a time of growing greed and chasing trends in the games industry.

Rising prices and microtransactions have been justified by publishers to make up for increased development costs caused by larger teams and better tech. The indie market has already shown that smaller, more focused teams can make great games at a lower price, but the division between indies and larger budget “AAA” games has remained.

A great indie game is all well and good, but they can’t compare to what industry giants with budgets in the hundreds of millions can do, right? “Clair Obscur” has cemented itself as an important game because it breaks that mold. It was made by a small team, using a lot of talent who had never made a game on this scale before, and they knocked it out of the park.

I don’t believe this was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, but the result of a team that knew exactly what kind of game they wanted to make since day one and had the freedom to do it. They did so away from the stifling environment that a huge team under a gargantuan publisher can create. Without any executives stepping in and saying that things need to be scrapped or retooled to meet market demands. Sandfall Interactive knew the appetite for a game like this existed, and they served it up on a silver platter without excessive monetization schemes or a premium price tag.

The future of the games industry has been mired in doubt and worry as staggering waves of layoffs and game cancellations have filled headlines over the past few years. Veteran developers from multiple studios have been saying that the model of exponential growth could not sustain the industry for long, and they’re being proven right more and more with every passing month.

The message I want this game to deliver to the world of video game development is that it’s worth getting away from giant publishers with lofty ambitions to make something that is laser-focused on delivering the kind of game that people want but isn’t being made anymore. It is worth taking that risk, especially in a time when even successful games are having their development teams gutted by layoffs just because they didn’t meet the expectations of executives who demand more and more.

By the time I saw the credits roll on this game, I was floored. I saw the end of an emotional journey in a mind-bending world, and it’s something that will stick with me for years to come. There’s plenty of creative space for sequels, but I just want to see whatever is next for Sandfall.