Introduction

As an avid fan of RPGs, I’ve never been opposed to playing one made by a smaller studio. Unfortunately, when an RPG is developed by a small team, they can be good but often just lack the backing and money needed to be great. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 proves that there is literally no excuse for any small team to make anything less than greatness. If you really don’t want to read a long review (even though mine tend to be shorter already) I’ll skip to saying this: it’s not only one of the best RPGs I’ve played this year, but in my entire life.

Gameplay

Have you ever played Shadow Hearts, Legend of Dragoon, and/or Lost Odyssey? Those games didn’t just have players hit one button on a static menu to unleash an attack or magic spell, players had to be constantly paying attention to either block attacks or combo attacks. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes a bit of those games for the core gameplay and it works wonders. Battles are still turn-based affairs. You have a team of three (more as you progress are added as a reserve team) and battle several enemies. Similar to the games I noted above, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has you actively hitting buttons for a variety of reasons. Regular attacks don’t need any input from the player but skills do where you get a QTE that pops up allowing you to either get the most of that skill or gain extra incentives. It isn’t hard to master these combos and rarely you’ll miss but where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hooks you is when the enemy attacks.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn’t an easy game unless you put the difficulty down to story mode. However, when the enemy unleashes attacks, this game becomes an entirely different beast. Enemies can almost always do tons of damage upon attack but you have several means of countering. You can either parry, dodge or jump. The dodge mechanic allows players to avoid damage and has a big window of opportunity. The same can be said of jumping which also allows you to attack back via your ranged weapon. The real challenge (and one I loved as a Dark Souls fan) is the parry mechanic. The game will often tell you how slow or fast an enemy will attack but it will be up to you on how to time said attack. If you can successfully parry the enemy, you’ll unleash a strong counterattack that can sometimes do tons of damage paired with the right situations. However, miss those parries and you’ll be open for damage that can kill even high-level teams quickly. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 doesn’t force you to ever use either dodge or parry but those who want the most out of this game will quickly learn what works best for them and to do the most damage. I won’t deny it never grew tiring to see my entire 33rd Expedition unleash a counter together.

When you aren’t fighting for your life, you’ll be exploring and leveling up. Let’s start with the easiest to talk about, exploration. Players will navigate pretty linear locations but don’t mistake that comment that there isn’t much to explore in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I often would find tons of secret areas or items when I really scoured the environment. You will be fooling yourself if you think areas just are straightforward paths. They can be navigated like that but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 rewards players who look around with either lore or items. If I had any gripes with the exploration in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 it would be when you need to do precise jumps, these are often very floaty and can be a bit annoying. These aren’t too often but trust me, go on YouTube and you’ll find some hilarious jumping sequences in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Aside from exploration, you will also need to level up your character and this is surprisingly robust. Every character upon leveling up gains 3 attributes that can be strengthened. These all affect you in ways like increased health, attack, luck (which is important) defense, and speed. Every character can be increased in similar ways but you’ll soon learn each character gains more from specific stats. One character might be best to level luck and might (attack) to do the most damage while another might revel in defense and might. There’s no reason not to try out different combos as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 offers items to respect your character.

In terms of equipment and skills, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is truly a breath of fresh air for RPGs. Players will find items called Pictos which act as equipment in the game. These Pictos can be simple like giving you extra AP (action points) per turn or be complex like giving you more attack but equally making it where you take more damage. Matching these Pictos up with the right characters can make you into a literal walking tank and I found myself using some Pictos that come with luck for maximum damage. Weapons are also not simple as they may do a lot of damage but have varying elemental boosts. Your best bet is to have several weapons strengthened at one time to plan for any situation. Bosses I struggled on only to beat them in a few turns by changing my team’s gear and skills. Speaking of skills, every character has a skill tree that allows them to use various abilities and skills crucial to their character. Did I also mention that every character has specific special traits (like Gustave can utilize a special attack that strengthens depending on the number of attacks he’s unleashed) which gives a lot of flavor to mixing a team composition up? Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 offers an absurd level of customization and you’ll soon discover that there is no one way to maximize efficiency.

Graphics

Again, small studios often sacrifice something for their games. If the gameplay is okay the graphics tend to be good or vice versa. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s visuals are comparable to a triple-A title and seeing that this game only had 33 people in the studio (thus the title fun little trivia there) it amazes me Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks so brilliant. From the various locations to the character designs, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is gorgeous. I love the small details like how dirty characters get when in battles and get beat up. There are never areas that lack individuality or uniqueness, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 bursts with individuality which is so rare for any RPG.

Sound

Where do I begin to express my extreme love for the sound that is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? We can start with the voice acting which may surprise some who does what. We have Charlie Cox (Daredevil: Born Again) as Gustave, Andy Serkis (Lord of The Rings and dozens of other roles) as Renoir, and plenty of others who may not be famous but I pray they will be after their work here. I think it’s always impressive when voice actors/actors see a project and immediately feel drawn to it which says a lot about what they saw in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The voice talent does wonders pushing their roles through and making you care about every character, even the ones who only show up briefly.

Now as good as the voice work is the music is where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 shines like the literal sun. When I first booted up Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on my PS5 I couldn’t hit start game right away. That wasn’t because it wasn’t installed but because the song that played just went into my heart. Usually with any RPG, there are a few tunes that are okay at best but after my time with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 I can say every single tune is on another level. Battle themes change per region you’re in and when you’re experiencing story-focused moments, the songs just capture your ears. If I needed to compare the OST to another game, I’d say the Nier titles probably are the closest comparisons I can think of. Get some incredible headphones or stereos as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s OST needs to be heard in the best quality possible. I need this soundtrack today and as of writing this review, I probably already have it either downloaded or brought.

Story

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s story is almost like a good fever dream if that makes sense. The premise is dark but simple enough. For 67 years, those who remain on the island Lumiere undergo the Gommage. The Gommage seems to be a curse thrust upon the inhabitants of Lumiere where she paints a number on a large statue that decreases and those of that age disappear. Expeditions have been sent out to see if there is a means of ending this event but all have failed with only remnants of their explorations being discovered. Gustave and several others are dubbed the 33rd expedition and venture out into the unknown despite the seemingly impossible task ahead of them.

From there, my spoilers will stop because Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an experience I feel best experienced without much knowledge. Every ounce of this tale is intriguing and oddly says a lot about treasuring life and what we dictate as a society as longevity. Beyond the relatable themes, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is strange as it consistently pours out new information, unknown concepts, and almost baffling concepts. You’ll hear terms thrown out like Gommage, Luminas, Pictos, etc. Yet, nothing in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is made without purpose and as you progress, those same terms begin to reveal themselves slowly. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 rarely misses a beat with its storytelling and those who love deep lore will want to squeeze out every ounce within.

Aside from the story, I loved the main cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. From the very human Gustave to his tough but still young sister Melle, the characters have depth and realism behind them. Gustave early on almost loses himself but Lune (another of the main cast) saves him not with words of wisdom but words of conviction and strength. The writing in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 flows with a natural order that’s akin to talking with another person. There aren’t constant jokes or well-timed anecdotes, instead, characters will express themselves sometimes with quivering lips and fear. I want to dive further into some of the later characters and even the “main baddie” but I won’t. Again, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is best experienced without spoilers and I would be remiss to spoil the story in any way.

Overall Impression

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reminded me so much of other games but all the best pieces of said games, were thrown into a blender and made into a delicious smoothie. From the rhythm-like dodging/parrying system to the Dark Souls’ level of difficulty at times, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could seem to lack identity but like a good drink, all the parts are a perfect recipe. I really can’t stress how little Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 does wrong in my mind and maybe that’s me gushing but I can’t think of a recent game to capture me like this. I loved Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and I bet many of you who buy it will too.

Conclusion

I’ll say it, again, with conviction, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the best RPGs I’ve played in my entire life. From the first day I saw trailers a while back, I knew Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had the potential to be special but the development team at Sandfall Interactive took those high anticipations and crafted them into a reality. There was never a moment while playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that I felt anything less than pure enjoyment and as hard as I try, I can’t think of many RPGs (even JRPGs) that gave me that feeling. If you love RPGs, JRPGs, and/or ARPGs download or buy Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 right now and trust me, you will not be disappointed. If Sandfall Interactive ever read this review let me say thank you for really making one of the best RPGs ever.

―Aaron