Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025)

What a fucking incredible, bittersweet and HEARTBREAKING ride this game was.

When Clair Obscur won GOTY last year I was so sad and disappointed because I was rooting so hard for Death Stranding 2.

After beating it, I totally get it (even though DS 2 was my favorite game by a not so large margin). The storytelling, visuals, SOUNDTRACK, voice dubbing, locations, everything. It really is something else.

2025 truly was a remarkable year for the gaming community.

Hmm this was a tough one for me, probably sitting between a 6-7 for me. For the most part I completely understand why this got so much acclaim, it's a well made game with a lot of pretty art, cinematic moments, and a decent emotionally driven story that can appeal to a wide variety of people. The gameplay is also pretty easy to pick up and get used to. But idk I just did not have all that much fun with it, it got to the point that I spent like 3 months playing this game just because I would often just not feel like coming back to it which is pretty rare for me since I tend to always focus on just one single player game at a time, so I just kinda delayed all my other backlog items lol. Idk it just ended up feeling like work a lot of the time, the open world was just not appealing for me and as someone who wants to experience everything the devs had for the gamers, I went everywhere and often it just felt like areas that I had to get through like 4-10 fights just to get an item or cosmetic and maybe occasionally get some bits of lore/world-building. The gameplay also was all over the place for me. On one hand I enjoyed the satisfaction I'd get from the parry system, but occasionally it would end up just being replaying a fight again and again cause if I missed one parry an attack would wipe my party and that just wasn't super enjoyable. I know I could just level up health and defense a lot but then that just makes the fights go from their already long lengths to even longer. I also am a fan of turn based rpgs and I think this one is a decent one but the amount of power parries hold often make the early to mid game feel like you don't really need to care about the turn based part. As for the story, I was also mixed on it lol. I didn't really care for most of the emotional moments, but enjoyed the characterization for the main characters. I found the main plot twists interesting though I was not a fan of how the ending tied everything up (though I respect what they were trying to do).

Now I've said a lot of negative things that make it sound like I hated this game, but I didn't. I did have fun every now and then and never felt like just dropping the whole thing. I respected a lot of their approaches to boss designs though sometimes I felt like certain ideas didn't really work for me (I thought Simon was the best fight while also being unnecessarily extra with how hardcore it was). I enjoyed the overall concept of the world and enjoyed learning more about the characters. Absolutely would recommend others to play it cause of how appealing a lot of this is, it just did not fully grab me like it did others.

Art isn't perfect. Art moves you and makes you uncomfortable. And man did this game's story alone moved me to tears. Of recent times, it has the best art direction and audio score as well. I liked the gameplay enough to go back and continue playing post endgame.

Shoutout to these beautiful hard hitting quotes (and to the amount of philosophy and emotion baked into the characters):

For those who come after

Tomorrow comes

Death is a friend who will welcome me home

This is a premise is good that as an amateur novelist I'm kicking myself not having thought of the core concept, or at least something similar, first.

Don't want to spoil too much, but this is a deeply resonant story about loss, the grieving process, and cycles of trauma. There's also a lot to unpack there in terms of our duty to honor the sacrifices of past generations while selflessly living our lives as a gift to the next. Its third act is divisive as it majorly switches gears and denies the conventional ending we've all come to expect. The game still would have been a masterpiece with that ending, but I admire the hell out of the developers for what they did instead.

At first, it took me through a loop and I wasn't sure how to feel about it, but this is a sign of strength as it left me pondering and thinking, which is what art should do. And ultimately, despite pulling the entire narrative rug out from beneath us, so to speak, it ultimately lands back on its feet, with a beautiful ending that ties these seemingly disparate threads back together perfectly.

The best thing the choice of the two endings does is demonstrate just how easy it is to become stuck in the cycle.

Grief is messy and horrible to deal with and there's no way around it. But getting stuck in grief, letting it take you down along with the one you lost, ultimately dishonors the person you lost and harms those who come after you.

When one falls, we continue.

I don't give out 5 stars very often (only 9% of the 200+ games I've rated) & this year I've given out two! (KCD2). What a phenomenal year for gaming this has been.

Aunque acabé un poco enfadado por Simón y su estúpido diseño, es de las mejores cosas que he jugado en los últimos años. Estoy enamorado de su OST, de gran parte de su sistema de combate (con sus pegas) y aunque su historia del todo no me ha encantado, si reconozco que es arriesgada y original. Me ha parecido una experiencia increible que sobresale con mucho de lo que se ha hecho en los últimos años en los RPG por turnos. La banda sonora sigo disfrutándola varios días a la semana y creo que me acompañará para siempre. For those who came after.

You've probably heard countless other people already talking about this game and giving it incredible amounts of praise to where it may be getting annoying. Doesn't matter. If you haven't tried this game out, you are absolutely missing out. This may be my favorite game since Nier Automata in terms of gameplay, story, surprises, among others.

Clair Obscur is a turn based RPG game that heavily takes influences from all the greats that have come before it. It utilizes a dodge/parry time based mechanic that gives you a chance to take on almost every enemy from the start, but can quickly get you taken out and realize that's not an area or enemy you should be messing around in yet. You get three party members that you can have in the field at any time, and multiple characters to choose from to fight with. Thankfully experience is shared between them, so even when not using a character they will still level up. You find "pictos" which are essentially perks throughout your journey that you can then assign to your characters to really customize your character and party build. These were a lot of fun to play around in and you can create some really wild builds. There's an overworld map to explore and you gain abilities to explore more of it as you progress, with finding towns and other locations on the map that then go into the close up camera behind your characters as you explore.

I won't say much of the story, apart from the fact there are some major twists and turns that you don't expect at all. The characters are all really well written, with the dialog feeling really natural between them. There are some big time actors (Charlie Cox of Daredevil, Andy Serkis of everything) that were pulled in to do the voice work and really brings these characters to life. The music here is incredible and thankfully it's on Spotify to listen to outside of the game!

I think my play time was about 65 hours, with doing a lot of level grinding and a good portion of the side content/end game content. I didn't do everything as there is a LOT of content yet at the end for additional challenges. Given this game is $50 USD to buy outright, on Game Pass, AND Playstation Plus you have no excuse not to try it out. You'll be hooked almost instantly!

The crying was real. Damn.

So, what I didn’t like...

• Some scenarios were like nonsensical long corridors, reminded me of FFX or FFXIII (but in bad a way).
• It really needed a mini-map
• It was weird the lore started to be about a family drama. I just… didn’t expect that.
• Honestly some of the characterization looked like lazy writing – I know as a player you are supposed to fill in the blanks, but scenes like when Sciel is immune to the mask, or the whole The Writers concept not being fully developed felt weird. As a Dark Souls fan (ugh, there it goes, the FromSoftware fan) I do believe this kind of writing where things are not spooned to you in the mouth word by word, is a hit or miss… and it missed for me on this one.

What did I like?

• The music was s u p e r b. Every song, like for real. The addition of electric guitars in some songs was really a great decision. It was worth playing with the music on high all the time (sorry neighbors).
• I said characterization was weird sometimes but I did love the cast. All of them had interesting reasons to fight for what they fought.
• The voice cast in English and French were both AMAZING. I decided to stay on French but honestly any would do.
• The gameplay was fun – it was a nice fresh mix of Dark Souls, with classic RPGs with some action elements. I did find some parts unforgiven but most of them optional so whatever. I played mostly parry, and used dodge in some combos that I just found not worth investing learning the parry timings lol.
• The ending broke me – I found it compelling and it was such a powerful message. I particularly connected with thing about immortality really existing through all the things we leave behind in the material world once we are gone, such as art, and how that can create another’s one reality. But at the same time, it was a critic to fantasy/art as a way of escapism, and accepting reality for being able to move on.

So, even though I do found some of the technical aspects wonky and some things were underexplained, I am totally mothertucking gaggity gagged gag gag gag that this is the first game they ever worked on. That was everythingggg — like, absolutely gagged, boots the house down, mama.

I say 5 stars. Okurr!?

Any praise I could give this game has already been said enough here already, so I'll instead give my thoughts on the things I did not like about the game. Despite me giving it 4 stars here, I'm a bit conflicted on that rating and it would probably be a bit closer to a 3.5, but certainly not a 3. The reason for that being that while there's alot about the game I like, there's a few things I REALLY don't like about the game. I'll ignore the story for a bit and state that Act 2 just kinda really sucks from a gameplay perspective. I'm not going to tag non-story spoilers but I guess if you care about gameplay aspects then read with care. At the end of Act 1 you're more or less close or pretty much consistently hitting 9999 with at least one of your characters (Maelle). And it doesn't take long to get two of your other characters to also start hitting 9999 consistently. Unfortunately, Act 2 is quite long and you aren't allowed to go over the damage cap until you finish Act 2. And this sucks. For the entirety of Act 2, you're getting more Pictos and weapons that you can't really do anything with because you're already hitting 9999 with everyone. Combat degrades into just using your best multi-hitting skills with each character and rolling over normal encounters. Bosses are fine but are still dull because you can't really experiment with setups or anything because anything you do is hitting 9999 by this point, and you kinda need to for some bosses else they take quite a bit (on expert at least).

When you finally are allowed to go over the damage cap, it becomes more a nuisance to look over everything you got and try to figure out what works and what doesn't in a build. It certainly would have been nice to.. I don't know, allow me to break damage cap a bit earlier and maybe have an entire act to experiment with pictos to figure out what I like and don't like? Act 3 opening up into letting you do what you want before finishing the game doesn't really work because you have so little to work on with what works and doesn't. Suddenly you've gone from 9999 to the game expecting you to be doing damage in the 100k's. You just kinda stumble until you figure out a good build and skill set up and just as much stumble around the world doing whatever. I REALLY didn't like the way Act 2 and 3 were paced, especially when alot of the side content in Act 3 is just enemies and bosses you've already done before but with more hp and maybe some extra adds. There are notable exceptions to the content in Act 3 but apart from that, I was not particularly excited to do much of it. Alot of it could have easily been spaced out over Act 2 but their decision to keep the damage cap just kinda ruins that. And ultimately, if you do end up doing the all side content, you just end up completely facerolling the final boss which puts a damper on the atmosphere and impact of the story in my opinion. And I guess the answer to fixing that is removing your ability to go over the damage cap but that's... really boring.

I'm all for games letting you break them and having a robust system that allows you to experiment and do your own thing, but the way Expedition 33 did it just did not work for me at all. As for the story... well, It was fine. I think Act 1 is really strong but my interest gradually waned and declined the further I got and didn't really make me feel much. The twists just kind of went over my head and I've concluded that the world they've created along with the music easily clears just about every other aspect of the game. I know everything I've said makes it seem like I hate the game but I don't. When the combat works it works very well and the characters are all memorable and likeable enough. Though I am upset they killed the best character and replaced him with a witty not as interesting one We definitely need more games like this and I hope the team continues to cook up more interesting stuff.

So yeah, finally beat the Paintress, only for my Xbox to freeze/reset on me. So yeah, had to face her AGAIN. I'm not sure how many swear words I was screaming, but I don't think I woke up my wife.

I did beat her again, because by this point I've figured out all her move patterns and timing to almost parry/dodge most of them, but damn, was I pissed! Haha.

For the majority of my life, I held a deep desire to be enveloped in the video game zeitgeist. The concern to be outside of the conversation was real.

I haven't been aware of 33's inner workings before and after release, only witnessing a trailer at some juncture of lost sleep, life stress and parenthood. By all accounts, 33 easily impresses without needing to know the whole picture, let alone sales.

I've had a conversation recently, where I pawed at my limited understanding and comparative titles. A half baked, well meaning excitement that missed the mark of accuracy, based on the reception that followed. I felt silly for a moment but undamaged. The bastion of knowing I held dearly to, was a phantom of immaturity.

Video games are an ocean now. I'll sail my little ship, enjoy what I can and be happy for the rest.

OK. Here it is. For those who come aft... I mean, for those who already finished the game. Here's a 3000 words essay about the debate that is wrecking the fandom: Which ending is the good ending.

It's in spanish but you can use your browser to translate if you can't read that language.

Yes, I know I already wrote thousands of words analyzing the themes of the game. I just can't stop thinking about it.

Appena ho messo piede nel mondo di Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, ho capito che non sarebbe stata una semplice avventura. Il momento che mi ha colpito di più è stato il plot twist in cui si scopre l'esistenza di un "mondo dentro il mondo". Questa rivelazione ha aggiunto una profondità inaspettata alla narrazione, facendomi riflettere sul confine tra realtà e finzione.

Tra i personaggi, Renoir mi ha particolarmente affascinato. La sua visione del mondo e le sue motivazioni risuonano profondamente con le mie, così come quelle di Verso. Le loro morali mi hanno spinto a interrogarmi su temi complessi, rendendo l'esperienza ancora più coinvolgente.

Il sistema di combattimento inizialmente mi è sembrato opprimente. La necessità di rimanere costantemente aggiornato su tutti i Picto e Lumina era stressante. Tuttavia, una volta compreso come far ruotare efficacemente i personaggi, il combattimento è diventato estremamente divertente e coinvolgente.

Giocando la prima versione, ho riscontrato diversi bug, come finire sotto il suolo o rimanere bloccato tra i cadaveri. Anche la gestione di Picto e Lumina avrebbe potuto essere più intuitiva. Nonostante ciò, questi problemi non hanno offuscato l'esperienza complessiva.

L'ambientazione mi ha conquistato: una Francia d'epoca mescolata con elementi futuristici e magici. La colonna sonora, in particolare la traccia "Une vie à t'aimer" durante la bossfight contro Renoir, è stata una delle migliori che abbia mai ascoltato negli ultimi decenni. Essendo un grande fan di questo genere musicale, mi ha profondamente emozionato.

La trama mi ha toccato nel profondo. Mi ha spinto a riflettere su questioni morali e filosofiche, come la gestione del lutto e la scelta tra vivere nei ricordi o lasciar andare i defunti. Inoltre, mi ha fatto interrogare sull'esistenza dei personaggi di finzione e sulla loro consapevolezza di sé.

Consiglierei Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a chiunque desideri vivere un'esperienza videoludica intensa e significativa. È anche un esempio di ciò che Ubisoft potrebbe realizzare se lasciasse più libertà ai suoi sviluppatori.

In conclusione, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 è un'opera che, nonostante alcune imperfezioni tecniche, offre un viaggio emozionante e profondo, lasciando un'impronta indelebile nel cuore di chi lo gioca.

I made it through Act 2 and defeated its boss on the second try (normal difficulty). It was a good boss fight, much better than the slog of a dungeon leading to it.

I think that "boring" isn't the right way to describe the combat, because some combat encounters can be very energizing. "Tedious" might be a better word for it.

Tedious in the sense that when there's too much of it, it becomes repetitive and can wear you down. I was ready to call it quits right before reaching that boss fight...

Hopefully the rest of the game keeps giving me cool boss fights and more of that rollercoaster of a story, and less repetitive encounters

This is probably one of the best articles I’ve come across (always love reading a Willa Rowe piece) for its discussion of the thematic core of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and why I think Act 3 and the game’s dual endings are compelling and effective at tying off a tread that is being pulled throughout the entire game.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s style is its substance

I don't even know whether to rate this game as AAA or indie...

Let's rate it as AAA because it's much closer to it... not in all aspects.

So... where do we start? Optimization.... Just great work! A small studio beat the corporations and proved to me that my GTX1070 hasn't seen its limit yet.

Even on minimum-medium settings the picture is simply awesome, despite small flaws from the upscaler and FPS drops while close-up cutscenes, in any case, super good.

Also, unlike SOME OTHER MODERN TITLES, YES, OBLIVION, I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU, there is no shuttering here. When you have less FPS than usual... you have... less FPS than usual. The picture doesn't tear or chew, you just see that it has become a little less smooth and that's it, without interfering with the comfort of the game.

And so, from performance to graphics! I would say... it looks like pre-rendered games of the last generation, but I was shocked when I realized that it was on the game engine! In real time! There is like... only 2 or 3 pre-rendered videos I spotted...

So, after I talked about the insignificant aspects... the real part what games about. Visuals, music, story... well, and a little gameplay, I'll start with that.

Yes, this is a JRPG, BUT with additions in the form of real-time mechanics. It's hard to get used to, but... it plays lively. I like turn-based games and adding parrying with dodges and jumps to it is a good way to liven it all up.

Visuals... well, I talked about graphics, but the visual style itself is very cinematic and realistic-fantasy. The faces are really alive, the magic and monsters are juicy, with a lot details...

Music. Oh, damn... how many more of these geniuses are sitting on SoundCloud? When I found out how the main composer was found, I was shocked... how many more such talents are among us... music.... lively, perfectly complementing the atmosphere.... ATMOSPHERIC.

I really love instrumental music, and especially when something extra breaks in. Strange electronic sounds... or maybe French vocals? Oh, vocals... I have played in english localization (what a sinner) but still... good, really good and alive. I easily imagine thet it is people talking, most of the times.

In any case, the review will drag on for hundreds of lines, which you wouldn't want...

So, the plot, direction and all that! The direction is extremely talented, again, everything looks cinematic and you want to believe it. Not like this is truth, but like in theater... you believe it.

The cutscenes here look like a movie, they don't irritate with their length or vice versa, I don't know...

I rarely advocate such cinematic games, but this one is really good. The plot is interesting from start to finish, it is deep and with a HUGE TWIST, but despite this the game explains everything and personally I didn't go to the depths (to look for your stupid notes (there is no notes lol)) and understood EVERYTHING, FROM BEGINNING TO END. This is complete story, totally. I understood who is related to whom, what happens and where... for me this is also a rare feeling.

In short, connoisseurs of beauty, those who want to see a beautiful story - buy it. Oh, you can't? Let me remind you, there is no some D-thing in the game, act if you are rooting for art = free.

I also advise those who have already completed it to read:

Did you watch the credits carefully? I noticed there a section about Service Dogs... of which there are two. Monoko and Freya, I think. Everything is simple with Monoko, he is in the game (and outside of Canvas, by the way, he is also a dog) and he is on the developers' website... but the second dog is not. Does anyone know where she is? I have already written a letter to the developers, but I wonder if anyone else was interested in this?

I, like many others, am extremely impressed with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Captivating story, some of the best turn based RPG combat, memorable characters, naturalistic dialog, beautiful art design, tremendous OST etc...Check, check, check. It basically ticks all the boxes in what you want from a turn based RPG.

Even more impressive that it comes from a first time studio who's employees certainly have chops at some of their previous employers. The main team is small and they outsourced work with other studios to help complete this passion project. Usually games don't come together THIS well. Even from extremely experienced teams. It's a pretty stunning game and a true accomplishment from Sandfall interactive. What can you say except, "Well Done."