I went into Sandfall Interactive’s 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 without knowing exactly what to expect. Having seen little beyond the first trailer, I knew it would be a very stylish RPG with some interesting takes on turn-based combat, but that’s as far as my gues🐼ses went. What I experienced was one of the most thought-provoking, beautifully crafted, and satisfyingly challenging experiences I’ve had in tඣhis medium.
Clair Obscur is a game that has you begging for answers from the very beginning. Why is Paris now an island in the ocean? Why is every single character calling it Lumiere? What are these strange powers of summoning objects from thin air that normal people seem to possess? What is that massive ꦦmonument in the distance with a ‘34’ written on it, and why is that huge woman standing up and replacing it with a ‘33’? Why are all these people turning to dust?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Will Make Turn-Based RPGs Mainstream Again ꦬ
Turn-based is back i༒n a big way thanks to the upcoming Clair Obsꦅcur: Expedition 33.
The worldbuilding is exquisite. You’re presented with familiar sights redefined by totally unfamiliar events. The tone and langඣuage throughout border fantasy and sci-fi without fully committing to either, while Clair Obscur’s main narrative hook (the annual destruction of every person of a certain age𓄧, with that age reducing with each passing year) is utterly gripping.
Main character Gustave is a man who is in his last year of life as prescribed by the n🉐efarious Paintress and her monument. Your aim, guided by Gustave and his allies in the ill-fated Expedition 33, is to journey to the monument and destroy the Paintress for good. Narratively, you are doomed to fail, but it's in the acceptance of this fate that the game is able to deliver its most magical moments. As Gustave tells himself and his allies time and time again, it’s all for 📖those who come after.
The inspirations here are clear and resounding. Clair Obscur feels in many ways like a spi𒀰ritual successor to Final Fantasy 10, another game that deals in pilgrimages, grief, and the bonds between travellers.
Gustave fits the mold of a classic main character. He’s charismatic and brave, but also layered and far from a stoic wall against the trauma thrust upon him. He works especially well as a POV protagonist who is able to view his allies and everything they have been thr♉ough from a nuanced, almost nurturing perspective. He’s not afraid to clash with Lune, the curious yet determined academic, while his strong friendship with Sciel is an endearing and charming alliance, and his non-specific brotherly/fatherly love for Maelle, the youngest expeditioner by far, are true highlights of an undeniably fantastic ensemble. The dynamics here are a joy to discover, with the narrative constantly and consistentl💖y delivering lovely tidbits of storytelling.
Much like in Baldur’s Gate 3, many scenes intrinsic to the cast’s character development take place in camp, otherwise known as your general base of operations. It’s here that we unpick more of their lives before the expedition, their likes and dislikes, and what makes them tick as people. These scenes never feel superfluous, making the characters feel more realistic as travellers on a dangerous, almost suicidal mission while also teaching us more about this odd world. While there is plenty of melancholy to be found in these instances, it is the flashes of hope that every single character isn’t afraid to express in the face of their ownඣ demise that shine brightest. It is beautiful, poignant, and unexpected all at the same time.
Exploring The Unknown
The gameplay loop is a standard one, which is refreshing considering how many risks were taken with other aspects of Clair Obscur’s game design. After the prologue, your eponymous expedition begins in earnest, with your party taking on the dangers of the continent. You have a world map to explore, gradually make your way north through a linear set of areas, each containing plenty of goodies to discover, nefarious enemies called Nevrons to take down, and usually a satisfying boss fight to ov𒀰ercome at the end.
Many of theꦿ locales are standard video game fare: a grassy paradise, a raging battlefield, and a dark cavern, for example. Breaking these up are wondrous, beautiful areas that can be explored for exploration’s joy alone. When I entered Flying Waters, a land of aboveground coral and seaweed and flying sea creatures, it felt totally alien. I realised that this world is pulling from a more obscure book of tropes and dreams. The world constructed here is a stunningly new take on established tropes that leans into the utterly surreal while combining it with the familiar. It mirrors the ambition of Clair Obscur’s narrative in more ways than one.
These are sprawling areas full of twisting turn🍷s and forks in the road, which is made only more notable by the total lack of a minimap. For the most part, I was able to appreciate this decision as a purely narrative one; you’re playing an expedition into unknown lands, after all. However, with the game hiding so m⛦uch behind these twists and turns, it becomes a serious evoker of FOMO and frustration, the one big drawback and annoyance that I wish I didn't have to deal with.
You are also the latest expedition in a long line of precursors who are brought up again and again ไas leaving behind information for our pa🏅rty to make use of, so why not fold a minimap into that? It makes little sense as it is.
A New Canvas
Combat is also a fresh twist on classic turn-based RPG systems. Each character has their own mechanics to use and then exploit - Gustave can build up a resource and then spend it for powerful attacks, Maelle’s ꦗabilities will put her into specific stances and gain bonuses from other stances, giving her a dance-like style, and the late-game Monoco has a huge range of skills based on the Nevrons he defeats (a la Final Fantasy’s Blue Mage class). Developing your own strategies is remarkably natural - it doesn’t require deep thought💧 and poring over skill descriptions, it just arises out of inevitable experimentation.
Each fight🏅 requires a bit more attention and effort than others in the genre. While Clair Obscur is still a turn-based affair with a row of goodies facing off against a row of baddies, you’re also expected to☂ pay close attention to the attacks you’re using and those of your foes.
Many attacks require QTE-style inputs for maximum damage and efficacy, but these elicit far less stress than what you’ll end up dealing with on the receiving end. Dodging and parrying attacks is a core part of the combat system, with dodges being easier to pull off thanks to larger success windows and parries leading into vicious counters that end 🎉fights quickly. Learning how and when to dodge and parry is a twist to the paradigm 🌠that makes every new enemy encountered a satisfying mystery to solve.
Working out how to coordinate characters is the first key to success in battle, and this is propped up wonderfully by the equipment systems at play. Not only♍ do weapons come with very specific buffs and alterations that can reward or punish your playstyles, but the Pictos (read: magical accessories) you acquire can further shape your strategies. For example, if you’re dedicated to parrying and think dodging is for scaredy cats, you can outfit your team with abilities that strengthen and reward your parries, rather than wasting equipment slots on skills that reward the safer strat꧂egy.
The sheer range of customizability here is very impressive, and those who opt for the harder difficulty will be highly rewarded for some serious investment and thought. I only dabbled a little in optimisation and found the resulting easier successes incredibly satisfying - I wen꧅t all-in on the Burn status effect and by stacking every buff to it that I could find, I ended up immolating every challenge the game threw my way with ease.
Painting The Picture
Like any RPG worth its salt, the core of the game is its cast, and Clair Obscur excels here. The expeditioners live totally alien lives, but the writi🍸ng makes them incredibly relatable. They speak so openly of grief and loss, passions and hope, and how they cope with this melange of emotions.
While all are committed to the same cause, some of the most touching moments in the game come about when one falters or another shows their weakness, and🅺 these sce⭕nes leave deep impressions. I cannot reveal too much about the story woven here, but it’s something that will stay with me for a very long time to come; the writing and performances are deep, mature, and layered, with every second of every scene being sculpted with impressive purpose.
ꦅAdding to this is the shockingly stellar graphical fidelity. Something that stood out to me from the start was just how expressive the characters were, with their eyes, mouths, and even cheeks moving in the most realistic of ways. One could forget they were playing a video game when Clair Obscur is at its most enthralling. Lip sync sometimes felt off, but only intermittently.
The voice cast is yet another massive positive to highlight. There are no bum notes here - from the main characters to incidentals, the talent and direction are wonderf꧒ully strong. Jennifer English (who you might know as Shadowheart from Baldur’s Gate 3) as Maelle delivers the standout perf🧸ormance as perhaps the most complete, complex, and fascinating character.
Sandfall Interactive’s debut is a triumph. Everything about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is either a fresh reboot to soothe the traditionalis⭕t’s soul or an exciti🐓ng, bold leap into new territory, and the result is a piece of art that pulled me in and refused to let go.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Played on PC
- Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive The𝐆mes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 🐲 Sa🌄ndfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- ⛎ Kepler Inte🥃ractive
- Engine
- 🙈 Unre𝄹al Engine 5
- Enthralling and mature narrative
- A fantastic and challenging combat system
- Impeccable art, sound, and voice direction
- Really could have done with a minimap
- Some lip sync issues
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