Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review: A dazzling descent into fantasy and fate

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Fantastic story with secrets, surprises, and twists at every turn
• Exciting and fun battles with a mix of tactics and well-balanced reactions
• Interesting characters who go through their own development
• Well-written dialogues and successful voice acting
• Atmospheric soundtrack

Cons

• Relatively short playing time for the main story alone (but not a full-price title)
• Minor technical problems
• Even on the normal difficulty level, some battles are almost unfair (but always doable!)
• Level sections are rather tubular

Our Verdict

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a magical, gripping, and technically impressive RPG that delivers a rich story, clever gameplay, and enchanting atmosphere—despite a few rough edges from its small-studio origins. Fans of complex fantasy and mystery-laden role-playing games will find much to love.

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The French role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is fast becoming the surprise hit of the year. On release, the game earned some top ratings, and in our test, we’re very enthusiastic about this mix of magical game world, brutal battles, and mystery.

This success is all the more astonishing when you consider that the title comes from a fairly small development studio called Sandfall Interactive. It also happens to be their first game. In this review, we’ll explain why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a must-have for every role-playing game fan.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: A story to fall in love with

The first trailer for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wowed with its creative setting, which opens up an exciting dilemma. A major catastrophe nearly wipes out humanity, leaving it stranded in the city of Lumière.

However, the last survivors are anything but safe, because across the sea a huge monolith protrudes from the old continent. In front of it, seemingly asleep, lies a huge, cloaked figure: the painter. Every year she awakens and writes a number on the boulder, and shortly afterwards all the people who have reached the age previously written die.

At the beginning of the game, this number changes from 34 to 33, and our main character, Gustave, has to watch his great love, Sophie, die and be blown away by the wind, as she is one year older and is consumed by the painter’s curse. But is it a curse at all, or is there something else behind it?

That’s precisely what Gustave has to find out. He joins Expedition 33. Every year, an expedition group sets off for the old continent to find out the secret of the painter and stop her from wiping out further generations. Otherwise, humanity’s days will soon be numbered when the countdown reaches zero.

Gustave is joined on the journey by his sister Maelle, who is actually far too young for the expedition but is determined; the inquisitive Lune; the optimistic Sciel; and other adventure-seekers (or rather those who are tired of life).

Numerous dangers await them on the continent, including deadly creatures such as the Nevrons, which can range from giant stone creatures to creepy ghostly beings. Although not all of them are hostile, some are even peaceful and want to help. We have yet to find out exactly why.

Kepler Interactive

An old man poses the greatest danger, possessing the ability to wipe out the entire expedition in a single stroke and appearing to have escaped the painter’s curse. What is his goal, and why have almost no survivors returned from previous expeditions?

The game answers most of these questions, which we encounter in the course of the story, in a satisfying way and makes us want to keep playing to find out more. The game leaves certain aspects unresolved, allowing for individual interpretation. There is a balance between the provided answers and your own creative interpretation.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: Approachable characters with deep traumas

In addition to the numerous secrets, which we don’t want to give away here, the highlight of the story is the characters. Every character in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 comes across as well thought out and multi-layered. They also experience a wide range of emotions, and thanks to the fantastic staging, we feel and sympathize with everything.

While Gustave seems confident at first and hopes to make a difference with the expedition, the horror of the continent quickly plunges him into a mix of despair, survivor’s guilt, and fear. Then he is once again determined to at least protect his little sister.

Kepler Interactive

His sister, Maelle, on the other hand, seems distant and less open, but she actually has a big heart and is also deeply shaken by the losses the expedition has suffered. Plagued by nightmares, she wants above all to try to protect her friends and will herself play a bigger role in the story than initially suspected.

Lune stands out as the most enigmatic character due to her remarkable abilities, inquisitive nature, and unwavering determination to persevere through the journey, even in the face of others’ despair. But she finds it hard to accept that they were not prepared for the dangers of this unknown world.

With each additional party member, the troupe around Gustave grows and is expanded with new personalities. The superbly written dialogues help us build relationships with the characters and learn what drives them. And desperately want them to survive this crazy journey.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: These battles have it all

In terms of gameplay, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 combines classic role-playing game virtues such as a relatively freely explorable game world, grippingly staged cutscenes, character development, item search, and, of course, the battles.

These are turn-based, so when we encounter an opponent, we switch to a new screen. There we combine normal attacks, powerful abilities, and items to survive against the various monsters. Understanding their weaknesses and exploiting them wisely is the most important aspect.

Kepler Interactive

The developers combine the fairly static gameplay, in which we have to decide how best to proceed move by move, with additional quick-time events in which we have to dodge, parry, or strengthen attacks. We can also shoot freely to hit particular weak points.

This makes the whole thing much more varied and exciting. What’s more, by dodging perfectly, we can also complete fights without taking any damage. Additionally, using perfect parries can trigger powerful counterattacks from the entire party, which can sometimes be decisive in battle.

Each character has their own unique strengths, which can be combined with the attacks of others. Gustave builds up his overcharge meter for particularly strong attacks, marks enemies with shots so that further attacks do more damage, and strengthens his allies with buffs.

Lune in turn, uses elemental attacks that