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

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.

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.

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.

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 can slow down, set enemies on fire, or paralyze them. Maelle, in turn, adopts special combat stances in which she either takes less damage, deals more damage, or can perform particularly powerful attacks.

To strengthen our characters, we can level up their abilities, collect weapons and improve them in the camp, and upgrade their attributes. This process is hugely motivating, as it not only makes battles easier but also unlocks new effects and combinations. This instance includes the Pictos, which give us passive values, such as more damage from burning enemies or particularly strong bonuses that we trigger when we activate certain abilities.

The combat system can be a little overwhelming at first, especially if you are not used to turn-based games like Final Fantasy or Baldur’s Gate , in which we also have to act skillfully with our hero troop to win in the end. In particular, the boss battles and enemies guarding treasures can be quite challenging.

With some practice, you can master the art of reacting accurately to enemy attack patterns and combining abilities to maximize damage. The outcome is really satisfying and fun, which means that the battles never get boring. The variety of enemy types in each area adds to the excitement.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: Beautiful game world with a hose problem

The game world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 deserves a mention in its own right because of the careful attention to detail and design. While we start off in a magical and appealing fantasy world with glowing trees, we later enter an underwater world or a rugged mountain range from which we can view the remnants of an ancient civilization.

In addition, there are many other areas that amaze the characters and us as players every time. The world is not completely open but is divided into these smaller regions. These are in turn connected by an overworld, which we can view from a bird’s-eye view and select our next objectives. In between, we can also set up camp, rest, make adjustments to our weapons, and talk to our companions, just like in Baldur’s Gate 3.

In the sections where we explore the world, we can also take a short breather at expedition flags. This is where small mechanics from Soulslikes such as refilling flasks and respawning enemies come into play. Apart from that, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not comparable to Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and so on.

This is also due to the fact that most of the levels are designed to be rather convoluted but can’t hide this as cleverly as other games. Every now and then we accidentally ran round in circles because we couldn’t orient ourselves and wanted to take another look to see if there was a treasure or a special enemy hiding somewhere.

However, these levels are also manageable. Occasionally it’s even worth returning to a section to fulfill a side task or try a fight again that we failed last time. Which can certainly happen, because every now and then a single enemy suddenly raises the difficulty level to an extreme, which almost feels unfair.

However, the game does a pretty good job of repeatedly holding the symbolic carrot in front of our noses so that we can move on and explore more secrets. As a result, the world continues to unfold for us, and in the end we have such a varied journey behind us that we can easily forgive even the small moments of frustration.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: The technology is convincing (with some compromises)

We played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on the PlayStation 5 Pro and encountered hardly any problems. The game looks beautiful, and the strengths of Unreal Engine 5 are particularly noticeable in the detailed character models, the fantastic lighting mood, the rich colors, and the impressive views.

The performance was also very good throughout, with only a few cutscenes experiencing slight stutters. In the battles, however, everything ran smoothly, even when many effects hit the enemies or our characters one after the other.

We would also like to emphasize the soundtrack because it’s fantastic. The studio also brought in well-known voice actors such as Jennifer English (Baldur’s Gate 3), Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), and Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI).

The only drawback here is that although the dialogue sounds great, it is not always lip-synced. This is particularly evident when we click on dialogues instead of merely listening to a sequence. But we usually focus on the characters’ facial expressions and emotions, so you only notice this if you pay close attention.

Dirt, blood, and tears often cover them, adding to the realism and rawness of the scene. It is especially sad that the characters sometimes get stuck on objects or twitch strangely when we attempt to jump over them. This condition also means that you need several attempts to hit the target in jump passages.

These are moments when you realize that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not a AAA game but is the work of a small team. These flaws can be forgiven, however, because in the end what counts most is the vision that has been realized here and the passion with which this world, the story, and the characters have been created.

The wonderful soundtrack also contributes greatly to the atmosphere. Just listen to it, and you’ll get a fantastic feel for the mood of the game.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: Conclusion

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a truly exceptional game because it manages to do something that many big developers and publishers fail to do these days: create an experience that will stay with you for years to come.

Rarely have we looked forward so much to immersing ourselves in a world and discovering more of its secrets. We relish the opportunity to interact with the characters, who consistently deliver captivating moments and unexpected revelations. Although Clair Obscur doesn’t have to compete with Baldur’s Gate 3 and Final Fantasy VII, it’s almost on par with those titles.

It almost creates its own genre and cleverly combines elements from tactical RPGs, adventure games, open-world games, and much more. We can warmly recommend it to anyone who is in the mood for creative and unusual ideas, especially as the current gaming landscape is really struggling in this respect.

What’s more, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 costs $49.99 on Steam, so it’s not a full-price title. Game Pass owners can even play it for free. However, you can expect a slightly shorter playing time (around 30 hours) if you only follow the main story. But the overall experience is absolutely fair and definitely worth the price.