Summary
- Active combat system in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 keeps players on their toes.
- Each playable character in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 operates uniquely, beyond typical class roles.
- World map in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 offers a distinct flavor and adds intensity to exploration.
It's already been halfway through the year, and players are still talking about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 since it launched in April. Will that remain true until the end of the year, or will some other RPG sweep the awards talk, such as The Outer Worlds 2, Borderlands 4, or Pokemon Legends: Z-A?
8 Strongest Characters In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Ranked
From NPCs to party members, these Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 characters can demolish small cities if they want.
What about the rest of the time? Is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 going to reach critical mass and be talked about for ages, similar to pinnacles in the RPG realm like Final Fantasy 7, Baldur's Gate 3, and Persona 5? Only time will tell, but for now, let's go through everything Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 does right.
There will be spoilers.
Active Combat
Can’t Get Tired Of Turn-Based
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is well remembered for a number of reasons, but its lasting legacy has always been its active combat. Decades later, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 seemingly draws on Mario’s past with its turn-based battle system. Certain skills demand precision from players, and the right timing will increase attack power.
More importantly, timing dodges or parries in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will help keep the party alive longer. This active style battle system keeps it from getting old as players constantly have to stay on their toes instead of mashing the same few attack buttons from menus over and over again. The combat design is simple and complex all at once.
Every Playable Character Is Different
Going Beyond Classes
Turn-based battle systems can liven things up with a class system, Final Fantasy being one of the biggest examples. Even if classes aren’t part of a battle system, most turn-based RPGs have characters that may have different roles, but execute the same way. That’s where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 differs from the past, crafting a unique character model all its own.
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Every playable character in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 operates differently from the last. For example, Lune could be called a mage-like character, but her spells create something called Stains, which are used to create more powerful attacks. With Monoco, players can steal enemy abilities and also have to manage a wheel that can strengthen certain attributes. Some characters are easier to understand than others, but they all have value beyond typical class roles.
The Last Best Game With A World Map?
Hopefully Not
It has been a long time since an RPG, Japanese or otherwise, has used a world map in its traversal system. Even Final Fantasy hasn’t used one in their main games since Final Fantasy 9 on the PS1, although it has popped up in some spinoffs like World Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy aside, the world map of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 helps give it a distinct flavor above other modern RPGs.
It’s an open world with plenty of places to go, but it never feels daunting. It’s mysterious and draws players in to research more and more. The entities that surround the world map are intense before players can take them on, like Sprong or Serpenphare, who are two of the strongest bosses in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It just goes to show that the future of RPGs and gaming is not fully in the pocket of open-world adventures. There are still ways to make world maps compelling.
The Art Style
Not A Graphical Powerhouse
With such a meteoric rise to success, it’s hard to believe that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was not developed by an AAA studio like Square Enix. Sandfall Interactive calls the game AA at best, and there are things that make it seem less like a big-budget game. The graphics do not push the boundaries on PC or current consoles, but it doesn’t have to.
It will age like a fine one, a favorite drink among the French, because the art style is distinct and off-putting. There’s no symmetry to characters, enemies, or the world. It’s foreign, frightening, devoid of bright colors, but fun to explore regardless. The lack of faces on some enemies adds a layer of Soulslike horror to the project, which could not have been a mistake. Even though Sandfall Interactive calls Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 AA, it is a AAA experience through and through.
The Music
Feel It In Your Soul
The design is something to behold, but it may not hold a candle to the music. There is so much of it, and it’s not just one genre either. Monoco’s battle theme is a great example of electronica. The standout piece of the entire game is “Lumiere”, which is remixed and reused several times throughout.
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Make the most of your five-party system with these build types in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Sandfall Interactive cheekily knows how much fans love the soundtrack, even going so far as to promote a joke trailer for the vinyl starring Ben Starr, who plays Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Jennifer English, who plays Maelle. Thanks to the composer, Lorien Testard, fans will be listening to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s soundtrack for years. It might be the game’s greatest legacy.
Coming To Terms With Loss
Metaphors Upon Metaphors
Finally, there’s the story of love, loss, and revenge. It’s all one big journey for the Dessendre Family getting over the death of their beloved Verso. The heartbreak of his death was so great that Aline, the mother, created this world to carry on his legacy forever. This causes a rift in the family that creates a war within the painterly world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
The most tragic thing is that the citizens of this world have no idea they aren’t real. Questions about humanity and what it means to be alive will crop up. It’s a real existential crisis, but as grim as the game can be, it’s not afraid to throw some humor in too, like Monoco’s need to battle, or Esquie’s dreamlike wonder. While the end message is a bit muddled, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can be studied and used as a great metaphor for things that players will all experience in life.
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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
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
