Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is finally here, and it's surpassed the expectations of many. The French RPG boasts stunning visual design, a compelling narrative, and ingenious turn-based combat, making it a strong contender for 2025's Game of the Year.
It's also a hodgepodge of distinct influences. Naturally, it shares a good bit of DNA with JRPGs and other classic, traditional turn-based games; its unique, stylized approach to battles will likely remind more than a few players of games from the Persona franchise, for instance, while others may be reminded of JRPGs like Final Fantasy 13. Its influences extend beyond the gaming world as well, as several aspects of its story are clearly inspired by other fictional works, such as Attack of Titan. But one less-discussed inspiration, which is nearly ubiquitous in other corners of the industry, also factors into Clair Obscur's game design.
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.
Clair Obscur Takes Important Cues from the Soulslike Genre
How Clair Obscur's Structure and Features Are FromSoftware-Influenced
It would be silly to consider Clair Obscur a soulslike, but it definitely borrows from FromSoftware's tried-and-true design template. For one thing, the game's Expedition Flags are functionally identical to Bonfires and Sites of Grace in Dark Souls and Elden Ring, available as interactive checkpoints that can be used to level up, fast-travel, or rest and restore resources, at the cost of enemy NPCs respawning. There's also the way that Clair Obscur handles resource management: healing supplies like Tints and Chroma Elixirs are replenished after resting at an Expedition Flag—they aren't collected throughout the game world.
These soulslike mechanics greatly impact how Clair Obscur feels to play, especially when viewing the game as a traditional turn-based RPG. In most turn-based, adventure-focused RPGs, item management and accumulation are central parts of the gameplay loop, as buying and finding healing supplies, potions, and the like can lead to pivotal moments on the battlefield. By limiting the pool of consumable items to just those that are replenished at Expedition Flags, Clair Obscur becomes far more flexible and forgiving, while also streamlining traditional RPG systems that can be unwieldy and overwhelming at times.
A similar effect can be observed by the mere nature of Expedition Flags as checkpoints. By standardizing checkpoints and giving players a loose degree of control over them, insofar as it relates to which point they respawn at, Clair Obscur once again exhibits more flexibility than its contemporaries and influences. Players can restart, replenish, upgrade, and fast travel at virtually any point, not being restricted by stringent resources or unpredictable respawn locations.
Clair Obscur's Soulslike Elements Once Again Proves How Widespread FromSoftware's Influence Has Become
Pointing out a game's soulslike elements can often draw some unexpected ire, as many gamers feel that the influence of the soulslike subgenre, and FromSoftware as a whole, is overstated. But this couldn't be further from the case: FromSoftware's work is, in fact, that influential, its mechanical staples so widespread that they have become the modus operandi for many game genres. For instance, checkpoints like those described above were not nearly so common before Dark Souls, nor was the use of triggers and shoulder buttons for melee attacks.
Demon's Souls and Dark Souls have reached a level of influence that is rarely seen in entertainment. It's now at the point where many don't even recognize certain soulslike mechanics or features as being intrinsically linked to Dark Souls; they are simply standard fare for action or adventure games. This may be the case when looking at Clair Obscur, as its checkpoint system and resource-management features feel commonplace, despite their clear parallels in games like Dark Souls.
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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
Once a year, the Paintress wakes and paints upon her monolith. Paints her cursed number. And everyone of that age turns to smoke and fades away. Year by year, that number ticks down and more of us are erased. Tomorrow she’ll wake and paint “33.” And tomorrow we depart on our final mission - Destroy the Paintress, so she can never paint death again.
We are Expedition 33.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a ground-breaking turn-based RPG with unique real-time mechanics, making battles more immersive and addictive than ever. Explore a fantasy world inspired by Belle Époque France in which you battle devastating enemies.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- PC Release Date
- April 24, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- April 24, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- April 24, 2025
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 42.33 GB
- Wiki
