Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a new IP created by Sandfall Interactive, and it’s one I’ve fallen deeply in love with. I did a preview for Clair Obscur a few months back and enjoyed it, but the full release has blown my expectations out of the water.

Expedition 33 is a traditional turn-based RPG, with some unique mechanical twists. Combat is far more active than typical games of the genre, utilising quick-time events for skills, and a Parry and Dodge system for defence. The quick-time events are simple, but they feel more interesting than outright relying on potential RNG for the potency of attacks, and there’s an unbelievably satisfying rhythm to getting them consistently, while the defensive mechanics are what make the gameplay come full circle. Enemies each have unique attacks and patterns, and you can either Dodge them, with a more forgiving window, or Parry them, which leads to an immensely powerful counterattack if the whole attack string is parried. This is a system which is only deepened by progression, too. As you get further into the game, there are a couple of other mechanics involved, such as Jumping and Gradient Counters, which are specialised defensive options for specific attacks. These are slowly introduced, along with a consistent difficulty curve, to make progression feel far more meaningful.

On the topic of progression, character progression feels fantastic. As they level up, they gain Attribute Points and Skill Points. Attribute Points can be spent on upgrading different attributes, which affect their stats, such as their health, defence, and damage. Skill Points are spent on Skills, which can be used in combat, akin to spells or magic in other RPGs. There’s a nice scaling strength to these, as more expensive Skills further in the tree are more typically powerful, but even the early skills can have some utility in the late-game. Along with these, characters can get new weapons, which come with an associated element, attribute scaling, and a passive. While certain enemies are resistant or weak to certain elements, the main selling point for a weapon is its passive effect. These typically buff or alter the associated character's unique gimmick and abilities — e.g. Lune can collect Elemental Stains to buff her skills. There are a lot of weapons for each character, and combined with the skills and attributes, builds can be made in a multitude of ways, making playthroughs incredibly unique.

The final pieces of the puzzle for character progression are the Pictos and Lumina systems. Pictos are equippable items which come with an associated stat boost and a passive ability. Some of these are incredibly strong, and are oftentimes the truly build-defining parts of a character build. Luminas are unlocked by using a Pictos in four battles, and allow other characters to equip the associated ability, without the stat boost of the Pictos, for a set Lumina cost. The stronger the ability, the greater the cost. As you level up and explore, you’ll obtain a lot of Lumina points, meaning you’re able to equip a very high amount of Luminas. This system is utterly fantastic, if a tad daunting initially. There’s so much variety in your options that it never feels like you’re being railroaded into a single build.

The story and characters are Expedition 33’s high point, but it’s hard to delve too deeply into why without some major spoilers. Players take the role of Gustave, a 32-year-old who’s about to depart on the titular Expedition 33. Each year, a mysterious woman known only as The Paintress paints a number on a monolith, and everyone who is the same age as the number is erased. This number decreases by one each year, meaning the Paris-inspired city of Lumiere’s population is dwindling. The Expeditions were created to send a group of people to the mainland, to defeat The Paintress, and bring an end to the Gommage (the erasure of Lumiere’s people). It’s a pretty simple concept, but don’t let it turn you away: as the game progresses, the story takes some unique turns and manages to continually add to an ever-deepening mystery.

The characters are also utterly fantastic, both in their writing, visual designs, and performances. Gustave and Maelle (Gustave’s adoptive younger sister and another member of Expedition 33) have a believable relationship, and it’s a dynamic that had me smiling whenever they were both on-screen together. The rest of the party members feel just as fleshed out and important, too: nobody gets sidelined, and everyone has their own unique motivations and realistic relationships with the other members. Their designs are also fantastic, incredibly memorable (which is helped by the plethora of unique unlockable costumes and hairstyles). It’s hard to delve into what makes these characters so good without delving into spoiler territory, but I can say I’ve never felt so closely attached to a party of characters in all my years playing videogames.

Presentation-wise, the game is unreal. It takes place in a dark fantasy belle-epoque France, taking a lot of heavy inspiration from French folklore. The art design is wonderful: each area stands out, and the enemies and other creatures (such as the wonderful Gestrals) have a really unique feeling. On top of this, the music may be one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. On top of being varied, this level of variety never feels like one part takes precedence over another. There’s just as much care put into the incredibly dramatic combat tracks as there is in the more emotional ones. It’s impressive seeing the sheer number of tracks, too. There are 154 songs (going by the Spotify album), and they all feel as though they’ve been made with genuine love and passion.

That’s what puts Expedition 33 so far out for me: passion. It’s easy to see in every single part of this game how much the developers love the project, and videogames as a whole. There are a lot of references and moments inspired by its contemporaries, but it doesn’t ever feel like it’s doing too much. It’s a genuinely beautiful game. It’s not only the likeliest contender for my game of the year, but it has also managed to find its way towards the top of my favourite games of all time. Even if you’re not a fan of turn-based RPGs, I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was more than worth your time and effort.