The following contains spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
There are a lot of things to praise about Sandfall Interactive's debut game, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but it wouldn't be the game that it is without its story. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's prologue alone should be enough of an indication that players will be in for quite an emotional roller coaster for the entirety of the game's narrative, and that proves to be true all the way up until the credits roll. What ultimately makes Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story so excellent, however, is not just how well it is written, how many plot twists it holds, or how great the voice acting is, but how it hits home on a level that many of the best RPGs simply don't.
The power of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story is in how personal it is. Long before its emotionally charged narrative concludes, players will likely find themselves personally connecting with each one of its characters, as they all tell the story of an experience that almost everyone in the real world has had or will eventually have. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not just a story about some heroes setting off to save the world. At its heart, it is a story of people who find it difficult to cope with the death of a loved one, making Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's narrative one that applies to a universal experience.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wears Two Influences on Its Sleeve and Keeps One in Its Pocket
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may not be at all ashamed of two of its most prominent influences, but it keeps one other tucked away in its pocket.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Story Is Powerful Because It's Personal
The Core Theme of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Story Is Grief
While it isn't revealed until very late into the story, the core theme of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story is grief. The game's narrative begins by making the Paintress out to be a simple antagonist who wipes out everyone of a certain age every year during an event Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 calls the "Gommage" with seemingly no reasoning behind it. However, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 begins foreshadowing the truth of the Paintress very early on, when Lune can be heard saying, "She looks sad," in reference to the Paintress.
As it turns out, the entire world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not real. In the real world, a group of people called "Painters" have the ability to paint entire worlds on canvases and see those worlds come to life. A Painter named Verso (one of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's playable characters) is actually the one responsible for painting the world of Lumiere onto his canvas, but he unfortunately died in a tragic fire. Unable to cope with the loss of her son, his mother, Aline Dessendre and the Paintress herself, entered Verso's canvas and then reshaped it to immortalize his memory.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 begins foreshadowing the truth of the Paintress very early on, when Lune can be heard saying, "She looks sad," in reference to the Paintress.
In other words, Lumiere and the world that surrounds it in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are all subjected to the Paintress' unchecked grief. Rather than accepting the loss of her son and allowing herself to grieve so that she could move on, Aline immortalized the memory of her son within a magical canvas and transported herself to that world where she would never have to admit that her son was actually gone. In this world, she could be with him forever, even if it killed her in the process. As Verso intimates during Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's ending, remaining in a canvas for too long will eventually claim the life of the Painter.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Story Touches on Something Everyone Deals With
This is why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story is one of the best video game stories in recent memory. It's not just well-written and well-acted; it touches on something that everyone deals with in real life. At the end of the day, everyone has lost someone, and if they haven't yet, it will happen eventually. When it does happen, it's one of life's most difficult things to deal with, as stories like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have shown. However, one thing Clair Obscur is not afraid to admit is that unchecked grief is a powerful, destructive force. Rather than remain in denial, one must grieve, but eventually accept the loss and embrace the future.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
