Clea review

Clea tells the story of Clea who lives with her parents and brother in Whitlock Mansion. Clea’s parents have been experimenting on Chaos Servants. Unfortunately, the servants have escaped and are on the loose in the mansion. They will hunt Clea if they spot her; so make sure to listen for their footsteps, peek under doors and escape the mansion.

Clea is a 2D exploratory platformer where you need to navigate the Whitlock mansion without being caught by the Chaos Servant roaming around the halls of the creepy mansion. Unfortunately, Clea is a young girl without any defensive skills. You’ll be able to pick up arcane candles which will gives players a bit of rest as lighting one will repel enemies in the current room; change room and it won’t be available anymore.

Additionally, players can look ahead or behind them with the LB and RB respectively in order to see if a monster is creeping in. Players need to find keys in order to unlock various locked doors throughout the house in order to progress forward and subsequently escape.

The developer claims that the enemies roam the halls dynamically in real-time, however after a while, I noticed the hunters were always in the same spots in the few times I progressed forward. You can hear them make noise as they approach so you have a bit of time to react. Chaos Servants can also kill you when you’re opening a door trying to escape.

Clea has a unique paper-like aesthetic; it’s a bit difficult to explain, but it’s a bit reminiscent of movement seen in Nintendo’s various Paper Mario entries. Considering the game is set in a haunted, creepy mansion, the color palette is limited; the halls are dark, brown-ish and drab… properly creepy. The soundtrack is somewhat enjoyable, a bit forgettable as you’ll need to focus on the noise as you need to detect if and when a Chaos Servant is nearby. Using headphones is a must.

Clea is an interesting game as a whole; it doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Controls feel a bit loose and there’s a definite lack of scares as you’re being hunted down the halls of the Whitlock Mansion. If you’re looking for a bite-sized experience, Clea is sure to fill that void.