Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

It’s not always going to be bleak. At least, that’s what half of the population of Lumière believes. The other half resign themselves to the fact that death will come sooner rather than later. Formed 100 years ago, every year since has seen the Paintress ticking down a death clock from 100 to zero. As soon as she paints on the death clock, everyone in Lumière corresponding to that age dies. 

We’re now at number 34, and everyone turning 33 is preparing to die. But not before sending out yet another group of expeditions to investigate the death clock and bring an end to the Paintress. Everyone who’s gone on the expedition has failed to return. So, will Expedition 33 be any different? Juxtaposed between hope, misery, and grief, we step into the complicated world of Lumière and try to outsmart fate one last time. 

Here’s everything we thought about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in our review below.

Never Lose Hope

If the premise of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 doesn’t already steal your heart, you must be one hard-to-please gamer. I was immediately star-struck after the first reveal at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 event. “Star-struck” because this instantly looked like a Triple-A RPG. Little did I know that it’s, in fact, an indie game, and a debut game at that, by Sandfall Interactive. 

I mean, what gusto is there to design a game so bold and innovative? What confidence to borrow from some of the most popular and familiar JRPG genre tropes, and yet, manage to sculpt an entirely unique thing of beauty? Make no mistake, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is, by no means, out of this world. Its execution, however, molding the familiar and the bold result in, perhaps, one of the most unforgettable games you’ll play this year, perhaps ever.

A Hopeless World

I was initially skeptical that the premise was only an eye-catching guise to bait gamers into giving Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a try. But my, oh, my, does the prologue deliver, and then some. Picturing a world where you’re living under the oppression of an inevitable end, I was expecting a heavy, melancholic vibe. I was expecting hopelessness that dictates not only the atmosphere and areas around you, but also the lives and personalities we meet. 

Can you even dare to be happy in a world like this? Can you have kids and have a family? And true to form, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 features desperate folks living skeleton lives of what could be. They cling to a flailing sliver of hope of the expeditions that have proved fruitless so far. Thanks to top-notch writing and stellar delivery, you really feel in touch with the cast’s demise. And yet, a few still haven’t completely let go of the possibility of salvation. They stare out into the mainland that awaits Expedition 33 in earnest and with a desire for success. 

Even in a hopeless world, there are one or two people strong enough to carry the burden and push forward for the whole. 

Parts of the Whole

But it’s not just the story — the strong writing and cathartic delivery — that elevate Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to the towering heights it stands at. The music score is a treasure to behold. Every piece feels meticulously designed for the fluctuating moments of hope and despair that you experience. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 mixes brilliant piano melodies with a deep longing, haunting vocals that must be what feelings sound like, and faster-paced string pieces and guitar solos, soaring you across its story beats and battle moments. Not a moment feels dull, despite the specific, sad tone that’s perfectly fitting of the times. 

For the cherry on top, or the cake itself, is the wondrous Belle Époque France environmental designs. A world devoid of humans yet filled with such an intense breath of life and death. It’s thanks to the attention to detail in the character designs, their surreal expressions from the arching of the eyebrows to the swelling of tears in the eyes. Monsters feel like a living nightmare, terrifying to face and satisfying to beat. And the environment aptly portrays the hazardous journey Expedition 33 must take, with piled-up, gory-ridden bodies and biomes dripping with atmosphere. 

The story, music score, and visuals serve one another, each intriguing, heartbreaking, and stunning in their own right. 

The Downside

We’d be nitpicking any downsides, but it’s still good to put them out there. Drawing the conclusion, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 drops the ball a bit. Its ending, sure, is unexpected, but unsatisfying. This is a game that leans heavily on its mysteries and unending questions. And it’d have been okay to begin filling in the gaps midway toward the end.

But Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 keeps its cards hidden until the final moments, revealing a deck that, quite outright, seems drawn from out of nowhere. And yet, this still isn’t enough to take away the cherished moments you share along your journey with your party by the campfire and on their most heartbreaking quests, drawing closer and closer to The Paintress’ quarters. 

Turn-Based Action

Enough of the story, though. Let’s get to the meat in the pie: the combat. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 uses turn-based RPG combat and bits of real-time action. It gives you a pretty decent bag of tools and abilities to mix and match and customize to your liking. Each of the five characters in your party, in addition to their unique personalities, has their unique attributes and skills. Plus, they play differently on the battlefield, including powering up in different ways. Since you have three active party members at a time, switching them up on the regular helps to keep things rolling. 

Once an enemy touches you, they get the first move, and vice versa. At the simple press of a button, you can launch a basic attack, a regular attack, or build up to a special attack. But timing is key to avoid taking damage. I’m confident you’ll get acquainted with damage-dealing soon enough, with the real trick coming in on the defense. There are four defense options: dodges, parries, a special parry for enemy special moves, and a special jump to dodge massive AoE attacks. Each has its tight timing window, with parries being more difficult to master. And because enemy attack patterns vary, it can sometimes get your blood boiling to lose a battle because of imprecise timing. 

Perfect Timing

And hence, the occasional successful parries truly are a dopamine hit. Not to mention the climb up to mastery level. In turn, you earn Attack Points for successful parries that feed into progression. Feel free to tinker around with more stuff: skills, Pictos (passive buffs), Luminas (passive buffs for Pictos), stats, abilities unlocked by skill points, etc. All of these are fairly standard in the JRPG world, Final Fantasy and all. So, you shouldn’t struggle to find your footing within the first couple of hours.

The most important thing is that when it clicks, it really clicks. Combat is flashy and quite the show-off with its over-the-top magical abilities. You truly feel like an all-powerful mage or fencer, dancing between the different abilities your party members provide you and unlocking more exciting tools your skill trees have to offer. 

There’s far more to love in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, like the random trinkets you’ll find wandering off the beaten path. You’ll find journals, for instance, left behind by previous expeditions, letting you know of the challenges they faced and secrets to defeating certain bosses. Plus, the world is such a beauty, wandering away to take it all in is a no-brainer. 

Verdict

You can definitely nitpick and find fault in some of the gameplay elements of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Yet none of the faults you find, I can assure you, will be enough to write off just how good this game is. Every design choice, every combat mechanic feels put into the game with purpose. It feels like the developers had a vision and executed it to perfection with boldness and innovation. 

Sure, they may have borrowed tried-and-tested ideas from Final Fantasy and other JRPGs. But they didn’t forget the one rule to creating a true masterpiece, which is ensuring the end result can stand on its own two feet. From the setting to the story and combat, everything fits perfectly into place. You’re taken on a most heartbreaking time among the people of Lumiere to try and save them from near-certain doom. The music score and visuals serve the story with grace, donning a sad and haunting tone. Meanwhile, the combat is well-executed, ensuring steady challenge with room to grow and progress. 

It’s only towards the end that I was a little thrown off by the story choices to tie up loose ends. Otherwise, I greatly enjoyed my time in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, short and sweet, and will gladly be returning for more playthroughs.