On this blog, I normally write reviews about games, series, and movies. I never thought I’d end up writing a review about art, but that’s exactly what Sandfall Interactive’s game, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, is. True to the spirit of the game, it’s as if the developer used graceful brushstrokes to turn a blank canvas into a hauntingly beautiful fantasy world that will stay with me for a long time.
This review is entirely spoiler-free, so don’t worry, mes amis.
As Someone in His Thirties, I Already Feel Old, and According to the Rules of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, It’s Time to Die
The inhabitants of Lumière live under the shadow of the mysterious Paintress, a godlike figure who paints a new number on her monolith each year, counting down. Everyone whose age corresponds to the number abruptly dies/vanishes during a phenomenon known as the Gommage.
It wasn’t much of a problem in the early years, when the number was still high. But the community is starting to feel the pressure now that people in their early thirties are already being taken. Many expeditions have tried to reach the Paintress and put an end to the tragic phenomenon, but none have ever returned.
And so, it’s now up to a new group of brave expeditioners, in a literal race against the clock. Gustave, 32 years old, knows he has one year left to live before the Paintress erases him too. Together with a small group, he embarks on this suicide mission.
Themes Like Grief and the Process of Coming to Terms With Loss Are Central Here, and You Feel That
Even though Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a fantasy game, it often hits disturbingly close to reality. The game, its dialogue, and its characters are raw.
One of the first things that stands out is that our protagonist isn’t the typical video game hero. Despite Gustave’s bravery in setting out on this expedition, we also see him deal with setbacks and fear in a deeply human, believable way.
When no trace remains of countless earlier expeditions, it makes perfect sense that the protagonist isn’t thinking, “We’ll just take down the Paintress and get on with our lives.” Despair, frustration, and emotion rise to the surface quickly, and the way Sandfall Interactive portrays that hit me hard.
Characters interrupt each other, cut each other off; they don’t wait their turn like scripted NPCs politely delivering their lines. It feels real, and because of that, some moments cut straight to the bone.
Jennifer English With the Performance of the Year?
This is partly due to the fantastic writing, of course, but the voice acting plays an equally important role. Normally, I prefer to play games in the language of the setting or vibe, which in this case would mean French. Upon seeing some of the English voice cast, I had to make an exception, though.
One name that immediately caught my attention was Ben Starr. In my review of my first ever Final Fantasy game, XVI, I praised him for how he brought Clive’s emotions to the forefront. In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, he plays the more restrained Verso, but in this role, he is also incredibly convincing.
However, the one who really moved me was Jennifer English. No game has ever made me cry, so for me, teary eyes are the highest compliment. The emotion English injects into her character, the 16-year-old Maelle, made me tear up more than once.
Through her performance, I felt every frustration, every moment of sadness, and every flicker of hope as if I were standing right beside Maelle. It is truly a phenomenal performance, and I hope the voice actress, known for voicing Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3, will be recognized and awarded for it at the end of the year.
Next up on the List of Highlights: The Combat
In addition to a captivating story and convincing voice acting, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 delivers top-tier combat. The game blends turn-based attacks with real-time defense, creating a best-of-both-worlds experience that’s incredibly satisfying and never gets old.
Parrying or dodging enemy attacks is consistently thrilling. Each battle challenges players with meaningful choices; do you play it safe and dodge, or take a risk and go for a parry? The latter requires much tighter timing, and a single mistake can cost you dearly, sometimes even your life. But when you nail that perfect parry and follow up with a crushing counterattack, it feels amazing.
I played the game on the standard difficulty, which felt just right. Unlike many games in this genre, Expedition 33 never forced me to grind before boss fights. Enemy attack patterns struck the perfect balance—not so complex they became frustrating, and not so simple they felt predictable or dull.
Every time I lost a battle, I knew I’d do better the next time. Without needing to grind, I rarely needed more than two or three retries before an enemy’s moveset started to feel familiar. It was always rewarding to reach that point where you could anticipate most of their attacks and finally get your revenge.
“Enemy attack patterns struck the perfect balance—not so complex they became frustrating, and not so simple they felt predictable or dull.“
When it’s your turn to strike, you can take your time and choose from a variety of options: attack from range, go in with a basic melee strike, or unleash powerful special skills. Each action costs Action Points, which you build up by dodging, parrying, or landing hits. Managing your Action Points is crucial, and I loved that there’s no mana system involved in combat.
In games like Persona or Metaphor: ReFantazio, managing mana often feels like a chore. Instead of thinking “How can I deal the most damage?” you end up thinking “How can I save my mana for the next battle?” That’s not an issue in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, because everything revolves around Action Points, which reset at the start of each fight. That means you can go all out in every battle, unleashing your strongest moves without hesitation.
The same logic applies to items. Healing items, revives, and an item that grants extra Action Points to a teammate are all replenished after resting. It’s fantastic.
Party Members Have Unique Mechanics That Make Each Expeditioner Feel Distinct
Every member of Expedition 33 comes with their own unique battle mechanics. For example, Gustave builds up Overcharge with every attack, and once it’s full, he can unleash a devastating special move. Maelle, on the other hand, uses a stance system: certain attacks shift her into a defensive stance, reducing damage taken, while others switch her into an offensive stance, boosting her damage output. The real goal, though, is to get her into the Virtuose stance—where she can dish out serious damage.
Later party members (which I’ll leave up to you to discover) also come with inventive mechanics and signature skills. Unfortunately, you can only bring three characters into battle at a time, so some will have to sit out. Luckily, there’s a smart design choice at play: if all three active members fall in battle, the rest of your team steps in for a “last stand.” It’s a great decision that encourages you to make use of your entire roster, not just your main trio.
On the other side, enemies have elemental strengths and weaknesses, and can use buffs and debuffs. That means it’s sometimes smart to swap out party members temporarily, making sure you have the right tools for the job. Especially in tougher boss fights, bringing the right build into battle can make all the difference.
The Variety of Builds Is Massive, and Crafting a Successful One Is Incredibly Rewarding
Through familiar skill trees, you can equip your party members with a solid mix of offensive and defensive abilities each time they level up. And leveling happens at quite the pace: nearly every time I reached a new save point, I could upgrade my team.
You’re not just unlocking new and more impactful skills—you also get to assign three stat points per level to attributes like Might, Agility, and Defense. Standard stuff. But Pictos; that’s where things really get interesting.
Each party member can equip up to three Pictos. These grant a passive stat boost plus a unique bonus, and the possibilities are wild. Want to deal more counterattack damage? Easy. Prefer to generate Action Points when taking damage instead of parrying? You got it. Feel like gambling, with attacks that either hit for 50% or 200% damage? Totally possible.
Use a Picto in four different battles and it transforms into a permanently unlocked Lumina, letting you assign the same bonus to other characters. Higher-tier bonuses cost more Lumina Points, which you can find throughout the open world.
And if that’s not enough, the game also throws a ton of unique weapons your way. Each character gets their own arsenal, earned through exploration or combat. Weapons come with their own bonus effects, similar to Pictos, and can be upgraded using materials found in the world.
I had one character built around a basic melee attack (which costs no Action Points, but does generate them). Thanks to his setup, he could hit twice per melee attack. A Lumina gave him an extra Action Point per strike, and his weapon added yet another follow-up hit after each melee. That meant I could start each battle by performing a basic attack that instantly earned four Action Points. Combine that with the AP you start with, or gain through dodging and parrying, and by my second turn I could pretty much always unleash my most devastating move.
And by the way, those heavy-hitting attacks? They look flashy as hell and I’m so here for it.
Everything Looks Stunning; From Character Models to Environments to the Explosive Combat
The already fantastic, dynamic combat gets pushed to an even higher level thanks to two key elements: the visuals and the audio. I’ll get to the soundtrack in a bit, but first, let’s talk about the visual masterpiece Sandfall Interactive has delivered.
From the very moment you boot up the game, the visuals hit you. Character models and facial expressions look sharp and lifelike, and the environments are just as impressive. Everything on screen, from start to finish, looks absolutely breathtaking.
And the same goes for combat. The action is flashy, spectacular, and just a joy to watch. Your party members move with style and grace. Lune, the mage, floats elegantly in place as she hurls ice spires or blazing firestorms at enemies. Maelle’s piercing attacks are full of finesse. Gustave, when Overcharged, literally summons lightning from the skies. Each move is more dazzling than the last.
You could say that the Paintress at Sandfall Interactive, responsible for the design and art direction of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, is somewhat of a divine entity in their own right.
The Theme Music of the Main Menu Is a Taste of What’s to Come
The first thing you hear when you start the game is a beautiful soundtrack. And fortunately, that’s just the beginning. I’d place this game’s soundtrack right up there with the likes of Persona, The Witcher 3, and the Final Fantasy series. It doesn’t get much better than this.
The diverse battle tracks are all energetic and hype-inducing, just in case you needed even more motivation to dive into the next fight. Emotional moments in the story are enhanced by powerful music that perfectly complements the narrative; everything just falls into place.
“Emotional moments in the story are enhanced by powerful music that perfectly complements the narrative; everything just falls into place.”
You can even collect tracks throughout the world and play them at your camp. Yes, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a camp! That special place where, in the best RPGs, some of the most memorable moments unfold, and this game is no exception.
Personally, I didn’t have much use for the track collection, since I immediately fell in love with the first available song Lumiere. But if you’re into variety, you’ll definitely enjoy gathering and playing all the different tunes.
Exploring the Open World Is Engaging, but Navigating the Hubs Is a Bit Trickier
It was bound to happen; we’re finally hitting a tiny downside. I’m not a fan of the lack of a map in the various hubs. These enclosed levels can be fairly large, packed with multiple paths leading in different directions. Without a map, navigating could get a bit annoying, and it didn’t really encourage me to explore within the hubs, as I was afraid of getting lost or running in circles. I can’t think of any reason why the hubs would be better off without a map.
Thankfully, The Continent—the open world that connects the hubs—does have a map. It’s minimal, but at least it lets you see which areas you haven’t visited yet. And trust me, it’s worth visiting every area. Even places that aren’t required for the main quest can offer glimpses into past expeditions or introduce you to creatures who can share more about the world.
In addition to the interesting lore that’s worth seeking out, both the open world and the hubs are packed with Pictos, weapons, fresh haircuts and outfits, and upgrade materials. And of course, there are plenty of challenging fights, because the toughest opponents aren’t found in the main quest; they lurk in the open world. Brave players can take them on early, gearing up with the spoils of victory before facing the required bosses. And there’s nothing more satisfying than wiping the floor with a cocky boss using your newly acquired skills and overpowered gear.
Some Loose Scraps
- Clair-obscur is an artistic technique that uses strong contrasts between light and dark.
- Defending in real-time in turn-based games is something I hope to see more often. For starters, in Persona, for example.
- I also want an Esquie in my life.
- A small reminder that this masterpiece was created by a team of just 30 people.
- Monoco, one of the party members, is named after Sandfall Interactive’s office dog, who serves as Sandfall’s Happiness Manager.
- Speaking of Monoco, he really reminds me of Rafiki from The Lion King. I wonder if that’s intentional.
- The game is full of French references, like outfits with baguettes, a fantasy version of the Eiffel Tower, and mimes you can fight.
- You can talk to your teammates at camp multiple times in a row. It took me a while before realizing this, since you usually have to wait for new story beats.
Conclusion
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of those games I didn’t want to end. The story is intriguing and original, and the characters and their interactions feel so authentic that they’ve moved me many times throughout.
The balance between real-time defense and turn-based attacks feels just right, and it stays enjoyable all the way through to the final battle. The endless possibilities for customizing your party’s builds ensure that you can truly express your playstyle, making sure each playthrough will feel fresh and exciting.
Your eyes and ears are in for a treat, as the stunning, stylish graphics are matched by equally stylish music. This elevates both the epic battles and the intense story moments, bringing them to life in even greater fashion.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 might just have one of the strongest cases to be crowned Game of the Year come the end of the year.
