Summary

  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may be set to win 2025's Best Score and Music award.
  • The game's soundtrack is diverse and emotionally appealing, perfectly fitting the game's themes.
  • The music constantly evolves, changing based on location and battles, earning significant praise.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has already been making headlines for its potential to take home 2025's illustrious Game of the Year award, on account of it being one of the highest-rated games of the year. However, not only is the ceremony still a long way off, but that also means there is plenty of room between now and then for other great titles to emerge that could put up a good fight with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Even if it doesn't end up with the Game of the Year award, though, there is one award that it might already have in the bag.

There are so many good things one could say about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — from its compelling story to its intense and engaging gameplay — but one of its best qualities remains in the background the entire time, though not enough to be forgotten. Of all of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's best features, its music stands out as some of the best in the industry. Having already received immense amounts of praise thanks to its diversity and excellence, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 walking away with 2025's Best Score and Music award seems almost guaranteed, no matter what games may follow it in the months ahead.

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 IP Future
How Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sets Up the IP's Future

Thanks to some intricate and unexplored details only touched on in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the IP has a bright and wide-open future ahead of it.

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Looks Poised to Take Home Best Score and Music for 2025

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Music Specializes in Diversity and Emotional Appeal

What it takes for a game's soundtrack to be truly great may be a bit ambiguous, as all opinions are subjective at the end of the day. However, the objective point of view on what makes a great soundtrack would arguably say that it is unforgettable without taking center stage, it serves as an excellent complement to the gameplay and the story, and it is original in its design and executed well. All of that can indeed be said about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's music, which specializes in diversity and emotional appeal.

There is a lot of emotion conveyed in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's music, which makes sense considering how emotional the game's story is. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story is one that revolves around the frailty and beauty of life, as well as the tragedy of death and the fight to stop it. The game's music perfectly encapsulates those emotions in its highs and lows, with swelling stringed instruments, noticeable dynamics, and even occasional intense, electronic beats when a fight breaks out.

The objective point of view on what makes a great soundtrack would arguably say that it is unforgettable without taking center stage, it serves as an excellent complement to the gameplay and the story, and it is original in its design and executed well.

More than that, however, is just how diverse Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's music can be. Many turn-based JRPGs, for instance, primarily have one song that they use for combat unless players are fighting a special enemy, like a boss. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, on the other hand, has music that not only changes depending on what they are fighting but also on what location they are in. There is not really one battle song in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, nor is there one song for exploring the overworld map. The game's music is constantly moving, regularly evolving and transforming, just as its narrative does.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Soundtrack Has Already Received Praise

Naturally, all of this has culminated in an immense amount of praise for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's soundtrack. It's not every day a video game's soundtrack is singled out this much, but when it happens, it's either a sign that the soundtrack is extremely good or horrendously bad. In the case of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it's the former, and that could be enough to guarantee it the Best Score and Music award at this years Game Awards ceremony.

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
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Turn-Based RPG
JRPG
Fantasy
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 PC-1
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Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
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Released
April 24, 2025
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Developer(s)
Sandfall Interactive
Publisher(s)
Kepler Interactive
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Genre(s)
Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy