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CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33
review | PLATFORM
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Publisher: Keplar Interactive.
Developer: Sandfall Interactive. Released: April 2025. Genre: RPG. Other versions: PS5; PC. Posted 6th April 2026. By Shane Battams © 2026 |
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It’s fair to say the state of the games industry has been troubling as of late. The 2020 pandemic lockdowns saw a spike in interest, but the decline in recent years has led to mass layoffs, iconic studios being shuttered, and many modern releases being viewed with scepticism. During these times, Guillaume Broche would leave Ubisoft and form an independent studio, which would begin work on a new turn-based RPG looking to match the likes of Final Fantasy and Persona. The outcome is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: an ambitious endeavour that mixes old-school fundamentals with modernised mechanics and glossy production values, involving Hollywood voice actors. The result is truly remarkable.
As Lumiere is separated from its neighbouring continent due to a powerful Fracture event, an entity known as the Paintress conducts an annual Gommage, which sees people of a certain age disappear forever. Squads of volunteers are sent to slay the Paintress, but continually fail. This story focuses on Expedition 33, as Gustave and several others journey to free the land from the Gommage. But a horrifying beach ambush and hostile Nevron monsters swarming the island mean it won’t be easy, and Gustave sets off to find survivors or complete the mission. Clair Obscur offers one of the most distinctive settings in recent memory. It’s the mix of dark fantasy and Belle Epoque stylings that creates an ethereal yet captivating atmosphere, keeping players guessing. Lumiere’s bustling city of flowers and banners contrasts with the floating rocks and forestry of Spring Meadows, the first location of the Expedition, and it gets more enchanting as you go.
Clair Obscur is remarkable: its visuals, its story, and its world-building amoun to a truly special game.
Expedition 33 is a story that revolves around loss, the cycle of grief, and finding meaning in your finite life. The setup alone is incredibly interesting, and the story itself proves fantastic. There are shocking twists aplenty, dramatic moments are delivered with care, and the cast of characters proves endearing from first to last. The writing is wonderful: a thoughtful mediation, without appearing bloated or self-aggrandising, and it humanises the drama whilst keeping you hooked. It helps that the slew of talent behind these characters knock it out of the park. Charlie Cox delivers gravitas and emotion without going overboard, Jennifer English’s turn as teenager Maelle is brilliant and forms the emotional core of the crew, and both Ben Starr and Andy Serkis deserve praise for their performances. There aren’t really any characters who grate or prove half-hearted, something of a rarity among modern RPGs of this style.
It helps that the myriad character-building systems are also excellent. Each character is dramatically different from one another: Gustave’s arm allows him to overcharge an attack with patience, Maelle’s attacks see her entering three different stances with various pros and cons, and Lune’s elemental magics can be bolstered by consuming Stains earned on her weapon. All these require careful choices when selecting how you customise each fighter. Weapons come with unique buffs as they level up, along with stat enhancements that you can utilise when assigning attributes. Pictos not only increase character stats, but convert to passive lumina abilities that can be assigned to characters using points. You can build a tremendously powerful trio of abilities and fighters from any of the party you end up recruiting, and it’s so satisfying to see.
It helps that the myriad character-building systems are also excellent. Each character is dramatically different from one another: Gustave’s arm allows him to overcharge an attack with patience, Maelle’s attacks see her entering three different stances with various pros and cons, and Lune’s elemental magics can be bolstered by consuming Stains earned on her weapon. All these require careful choices when selecting how you customise each fighter. Weapons come with unique buffs as they level up, along with stat enhancements that you can utilise when assigning attributes. Pictos not only increase character stats, but convert to passive lumina abilities that can be assigned to characters using points. You can build a tremendously powerful trio of abilities and fighters from any of the party you end up recruiting, and it’s so satisfying to see.
FOCAL POINT: TURNING BACK THE CLOCK
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Sandfall Interactive looked to past greats like Final Fantasy for inspiration, including its turn-based combat. It operates as you’d expect for the most part, as you alternate in trading blows with the Nevrons. However, a few tweaks modernise the system and make it one of the most involved and engaging the genre has seen. If timed right, enemy attacks can be parried or dodged, which, depending on your chosen difficulty, may allow only a narrow window. Dodging sees you avoid damage and is easier to use, while parrying is harder but allows you to counterattack. This injects the combat with a sense of involvement and stimulation that more laborious systems lack. You can earn extra experience points by avoiding damage in a fight, and the satisfying counters never grow dull. It’s a fantastic combat system that evolves continually, providing new mechanics even dozens of hours into the game.
It will take roughly 30 hours to reach the ending, but the world map is teeming with side areas to visit. Some offer a single beautiful scene with collectables, while others feature larger environments with splitting paths and challenges ahead, such as powerful mini-bosses or fun mini-games courtesy of Gestrals, a friendly race of paintbrush-esque creatures who talk in a mix of languages. Eventually, you can explore by air and sea, making the world feel even bigger, and there’s so much to see and do outside of the main story missions. Challenging arenas, powerful bosses and secrets await you in the post-game, which may easily double your time with Expedition 33.
Clair Obscur wraps everything together in a stellar presentation. Motion-captured character models are almost life-like in their animations and expressions. Cool touches include accruing bloodstains as you take damage, or uncollected items being visible in battle. Locations are gorgeously crafted and feature pristine lighting that perfectly showcases blazing sunshine or ominous darkness. Performance mode also sees the game hold 60fps for a vast majority of the time, save for a slight dip here and there. The world map can show some slight pop-in, but it’s very minor. The audio is similarly spectacular, with a beautiful soundtrack that fits every scene perfectly. Sombre piano keys, booming orchestral overtures, or even comedic accordion segments when fighting less world-threatening Nevrons such as Mimes: it’s all perfect. The sounds for attacks, collecting items, even the unnerving Nevron cries: they’re all spot-on too.
Clair Obscur wraps everything together in a stellar presentation. Motion-captured character models are almost life-like in their animations and expressions. Cool touches include accruing bloodstains as you take damage, or uncollected items being visible in battle. Locations are gorgeously crafted and feature pristine lighting that perfectly showcases blazing sunshine or ominous darkness. Performance mode also sees the game hold 60fps for a vast majority of the time, save for a slight dip here and there. The world map can show some slight pop-in, but it’s very minor. The audio is similarly spectacular, with a beautiful soundtrack that fits every scene perfectly. Sombre piano keys, booming orchestral overtures, or even comedic accordion segments when fighting less world-threatening Nevrons such as Mimes: it’s all perfect. The sounds for attacks, collecting items, even the unnerving Nevron cries: they’re all spot-on too.
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of those landmark RPGs that can be held in the same esteem as Final Fantasy VII, Persona 5 or Skies of Arcadia. It’s a remarkable achievement that melds incredible storytelling, captivating writing, wonderful world-building, tonnes to explore, and a fantastic battle system, to near-flawless effect. It balances levity and humour, as you explore dark and personal themes, while also beating up Mimes. Its incredible presentation ties everything together perfectly. Needless to say, as you might have guessed from the sheer weight of superlatives, this is a must-play masterclass that’s richly deserving of your time and money.
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VERDICT
"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a remarkable achievement that melds captivating storytelling, wonderful world-building, and a fantastic battle system to near-flawless effect." OVERALL: 10/10 |
OTHER WORLD-BEATING RPGS REVIEWED
Final Fantasy VII (1997, PlayStation)
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Grandia (2000, PlayStation)
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