Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review

I never understood role playing games when I was a kid. All those numbers, the need to constantly adjust your squads, it always went over my head. Admittedly, I do have a soft spot for Final Fantasy VIII, the first RPG that resonated with me, but that was less to do with its mechanics and more because of the vastness of its world, the bold character designs, and storytelling that nothing else at the time could compete with. Still, I balked at the stats and the time needed to see it all, it was a lot for my young mushie brain to take in.

Maybe it’s because I’m older, maybe a little bit wiser (though that’s debateable), but something finally clicked with me with the genre a few years ago, and it started with Persona 5 Royal. When the 100^th hour of my campaign ticked over, a time period I was afraid of at first, I realised that all it took was a game that grabbed me by the hand and pulled me through a psychedelic wonderland with style instead of jumping me with elaborate mechanics and stat building. I wasn’t afraid of them anymore, I was fascinated. It all finally made sense.

Ever since, I’ve seen RPGs in a new light. Older titles feel fresh to me, games like Baldur’s Gate III and Metaphor: ReFantazio are playgrounds to feed the imagination. But a common thread among many of these experiences is characters that feel wild, creations that can be difficult at times to relate to, full of ridiculous dialogue and equally weird designs. That’s through no fault of the developers, that’s just the nature of role playing. We want to escape, to feel powerful and otherworldly. You can’t fault anyone for wanting to escape given the world we live in now. But I knew deep down that I wanted something bolder, something that tugged at my emotional core in a significant way. Enter Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

It’s a lot on screen, but it all makes perfect sense

Inspired by the Belle Époque French era, a time of technological, scientific, and cultural innovation that began in the late 1800’s, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 introduces us to the land of Lumière. This compellingly gorgeous reality finds its remaining residents haunted by the looming visage of the Paintress and her clock-tower like monolith. At the end of every year, the Paintress stirs and paints a new number across her rocky canvass. In turn, everyone of that age fades away from reality in a shower of smoke and rose petals, never to be seen again. Those that remain created Expeditions, a team of those who have a year left to live, that venture towards the monolith in the hope of stopping the Paintress and her curse.

Gustave is one such expeditioner, devoted to the task of ending the Paintress as he heads out as part of Expedition 33, mere moments after watching the love of his life vanish before his eyes. The task seems impossible, and upon landing across the sea that divides his broken home from the Paintress’ ethereal land, the realisation of how uncompromising the world surrounding the monolith is sets in very quickly. Thankfully he’s not alone, fellow expeditioners Maelle and Lune are by his side early on before being joined by other colourful characters as the path ahead becomes clearer, but there are plenty of bumps in the road that await them.

If that sounded a little vague, that’s for good reason. The opening few hours of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 set a sombre, violent tone that flows throughout the majority of its play time (roughly 30 hours if you follow the critical path), with a number of twists and turns to the story that continually surprised and shocked me. To explain it any further would ruin those moments, I’ll leave that to you to explore and discover this breathtaking world and uncover its secrets yourself, but safe to say the trailers and previews do not give away any of these surprises and I’m grateful for that.

So much of the scenery is drop dead gorgeous

Breathtaking is an appropriate term to use. So much of Clair Obscur left me in awe, whether it’s watching these characters survive impossible odds to the impressive monster designs that would make Hidetaka Miyazaki proud. I lost count the times I turned a corner and stopped to take in the environment, the sun setting across vibrant forests or snowy landscapes, the vastness of the surroundings off in the distance. The screenshots across this review don’t do this justice, nor represent how believable these characters are in the face of unimaginable horrors.

Early on, Gustave (voiced by Daredevil’s Charlie Cox) faces a situation no person ever should, which causes him to fall silent in shock. It’s a reaction I can relate to, a wave of fear that disconnects you from reality. It’s so rare to see that kind of emotional response to a situation within something born from fantasy, never mind in a video game, without falling into the obvious traps that can occur when exploring the darker territories of emotion. There are no obvious quips, no lines of dialogue that make you cringe, this is a carefully crafted script that wants to make you feel in a way you can connect with.

Cox is joined by a stellar supporting cast, lead by Elden Ring’s Jennifer English (who puts in the performance of her career as Maelle), along with Lord of the Ring’s Andy Serkis and voice actor of the moment, Ben Starr. Everyone has a scene that brings the best out of them, to the point you can feel the emotion pouring from the screen. That may sound cliched, but that’s far from what happens within a story that never failed to captivate me nor slip into potential tropes.

As a turn-based action RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feels both fresh and familiar. For the vast majority of the experience, you’ll be guiding a team of three into battle, with traditional mechanics that will allow you to attack, defend, and heal in all the ways you would expect, your usual health pools and attack points determining how you’ll push through. Every character has six available spell or action slots that can be swapped out with plenty of other abilities, with unique skill trees that hold a wealth of options to choose from that you can decide how to unlock.

Each character skill tree is unique

But here’s where some of the similarities end, as French studio Sandfall Interactive make an important distinction to what you may be familiar with thanks to the game’s dodge and counter mechanics. At any point during an encounter, you’ll be able to dodge almost every move an enemy will throw at you. Dodging might sound like a basic concept, but there’s a lot built around it. Unlike many other RPGs that may revolve around countering attacks, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 allows you to evolve dodging beyond simply avoiding pain. Combined with abilities that can heal you or provide bonuses, it’s a powerful option to have within your arsenal. Suddenly, giant boss battles that may seem daunting at first feel winnable no matter the situation, as long as you can adjust in time.

There are major attacks that, if not avoided properly, can leave your team in considerable pain with untold status problems. Thankfully you also have options in countering, to take no damage and dish it out instead. You’ll eventually come across Gradient attacks, even bigger damage dealers that can be countered in style that are both satisfying to pull off and watch in action, especially towards the latter half of the game as encounters ramp up.

Most enemies have a tell, a way to either weaken them or find the pattern to avoid what they dish out. Some enemies, however, twist those against you. When you first see them, all the prior lessons learnt will have you prepped, only for them to throw you for a loop, fake an attack or counter a strategy by healing or shielding a fellow enemy instead. These clever loopholes (if you will) play across each new area, meaning you’ll have to adjust your strategy with each new wave of enemies you’ll come across. No relying on old faithful, you’re better off constantly adjusting your loadouts per character to make the most of the new equipment and items you’ll come to find.

Each member of the expedition feels unique and rewarding to play too. Gustave is a powerful fighter that dishes out some major damage once his mechanical arm is fully charged, while Maelle excels in sword fighting and can alter her output depending on the stance she takes. Lune, my personal favourite and clutch character for most of my journey, can deal massive elemental damage but can also heal or revive teammates (and now you can see why she’s my top choice). The rest of the cast have their own distinctive abilities, and many can fuse said skills with each other if you build them correctly to deal even greater destruction.

Even the overworld map is a joy to view

If your starting team of three fall, the remaining members will take over for one last stand. It’s a nice touch, meaning everyone in your squad serves a purpose and gives you a second chance, though I would have preferred the opportunity to tag characters in and out during a fight instead. I largely settled on my squad for the latter half of the game, built around Lune, meaning those left behind didn’t get much playing time. It’s a missed opportunity to allow players to adjust strategies during a fight. Yes, you can change things up when you’re not in a battle, and the number of options available to you as to how that comes together are immense, but I’d have preferred that fluidity in team composition to match the efficiency of the combat system.

Resting at an expedition flag resets all enemies in the area, the dreaded Dark Souls twist, but it’s hardly an issue when most can easily be felled once you level up. There’s plenty of opportunities to do so, given the game’s rather generous amount of experience points, along with abilities called Pictos and Lumina. Pictos are discoverable within the world and any character can hold three at one time, each providing buffs or unique bonuses. Once a character has mastered a Picto, they’ll unlock it for the rest of the team and the added passives that come with it. You’ll then have a pool of Lumina points per character to equip Pictos, some of which can be deal breakers in the late game.

Potions do exist and can be used during combat, but you won’t be able to buy them from stores, which means relying more on abilities to heal and defend. That’s a vital distinction compared to my time with Persona 5 Royal, where I spent arguably too much time cooking food. There are stores, however, and they are largely run by the Gestrals (think a mix of The Legend of Zelda’s Koroks and Gorons), that provide some much-needed, surprisingly amusing moments amongst Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s often brutal set pieces. They aren’t the only scenes that made me smile, the entire cast has moments of light, deliberately designed to soften the edges and (again) make this cast more relatable.

All the above comes together within a user interface that mimics the best of Atlus, that unique flair that makes you feel a part of the experience instead of just selecting a bunch of text within menus. More titles are starting to follow this model, incorporating it into the action, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 does that and then some. Every piece of the UI feels arranged by a paintbrush, emphasizing the setting to great effect and remaining easy to follow in the process both during and out of combat.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hits all the right notes it needs to, despite some technical snafus born from a visual identity that will push PCs to the limit (whether the same problems rears its head on consoles remains to be seen, but they are hardly deal breakers). It’s a package born from passion, you can see it in every motion captured smile, every rose petal as it drifts across the screen, coupled with a musical score that had chills running down my spine.

A few smiles are shared between the pain and the tears

There’s so much more I could talk about, there’s a significant amount of quality content left once the credits roll, but most of it falls within spoiler territory. Rest assured, every little detail exemplifies how clever, bold and enjoyable Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is, but it’s the story that’s the glue which keeps this canvas together. Sandfall Interactive has crafted a gritty, hauntingly beautiful tale of family, loss, and hope in the face of fear. It’s a tragic tale that had me tearing up, an ending that had me at a loss for words in all the right ways, wrapped within a confidently formed RPG that Sandfall should be proud of.

Final Thoughts

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the kind of game that, if you can go in as blind as possible, you’ll be truly rewarded. Every moment feels meticulously designed, more so than just the intricate combat systems. Every cut scene has meaning, building blocks that form complex character relationships without the need to state the obvious. The world building of Clair Obscur is second to none, the journey never failing to capture the imagination as the hours tick by. And once the mysterious threads begin to take shape, it feels fresh and rewarding, the little moments holding greater significance across the journey once the origins are laid bare. It’s a journey I will long remember, and one that the rest of the industry should learn from; do not be afraid to take chances.

Reviewed on PC // Review code supplied by publisher

Click here for more information on WellPlayed’s review policy and ethics