Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review: A beautiful tour de force

Throughout my 30-some hours with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, I kept waiting for the moment it would let me down. Maybe the combat would start to feel repetitive. Maybe the story would stumble. Or just maybe, just maybe, I would get bored with it and have to force myself to play it for this review. After all, this is Sandfall Interactive’s first game, and first games often have things wrong with them, right?

I kept looking for moments for Expedition 33 to disappoint me, but that moment never came.

It’s rare for a video game to be without faults as so many elements have to align for it to reach greatness, and even a single misstep can hold it back. Yet Expedition 33 doesn’t have that problem. It’s a triumph from beginning to end—a debut game that doesn’t just impress you with what it offers but also sets the bar for future RPGs.

Tragedy as a Way of Life

From the very beginning, Expedition 33 paints a hauntingly beautiful picture of a world burdened by ritual and loss. Every year, a god-like figure called the Paintress paints a new number on a giant monolith in the distance. This serves as a countdown clock for everyone of that age and gives them just a year to live before disintegrating into petals and scattering in the wind. Tradition dictates that everyone of that age must travel to the continent where she resides and try to bring her down. It’s a costly mission, and for years, many have tried and none have succeeded.

This cycle has persisted for generations, casting a long shadow over every life in Lumiere. Children grow up knowing they’ll lose their parents far too soon, and adults are forced to make heartbreaking decisions—whether to bring a child into a world where their time together will be painfully short. Its impact is deeply personal for each main character, as well. Gustave loses the woman he loves right before his very eyes in the first few minutes of the game’s prologue. It’s a devastating scene that further emphasizes how this annual ritual of death and resignation is woven into the very fabric of their life.

Compelling Dimensional Characters

What makes the narrative even more powerful is how deeply human each character feels. The party you journey with isn’t just a group of adventurers—they’re fully realized individuals, each carrying their own hopes and fears. Lune, the group’s scholar, approaches every situation with logic and curiosity, constantly questioning the world around her. Sciel, by contrast, is more emotionally driven, having endured her own share of loss.

Then there’s Maelle, the youngest member of the expedition and one of the game’s most layered characters. Her journey of self-discovery is compelling and rich, making her stand out as a true emotional centerpiece. And of course, there are other unforgettable personalities—like Monoco, a shape-shifting Gestral with a strange but endearing obsession with collecting monster feet. Then there’s Esquie, a giant creature that serves as your means of transport but has a personality of his own.

In the end, it’s the connection you form with these characters that elevates the experience. You don’t just fight alongside them—you grow with them. And from the very beginning, you’ll find yourself fully invested in their journey.

A World of French Surrealism

Lumiere is home to the characters you’ll play as, and it also holds its own charm of its own considering it’s based off Paris during its Belle Époque years in the late 19th century. You will wander by a torn Arc de Triomphe, and see street signs guiding you to the Eiffel Tower, now a warped spiral of metal in the distance. It’s an alternate painting of Paris to be sure, and the game’s surreal art direction that spreads beyond just this city sets up so many questions the minute you start playing. Enemies will range from the bizarre to the hauntingly abstract, you will meet the Gestral—a mysterious race resembling humanoid paintbrushes—and face towering bosses. It’s a vivid display of surrealism which deepens the intrigue and pulls you further into its dreamlike world.

I also can’t talk about Expedition 33’s presentation without highlighting its incredible soundtrack, which plays a huge role in setting the tone of the game. The music ranges from moody, introspective pieces featuring haunting operatic vocals to more upbeat tracks that perfectly complement the lighter, more whimsical moments you’ll encounter. There’s also a distinctly French flair woven throughout the composition, with instruments like accordions, violins, saxophones, and rich piano arrangements bringing the game’s ethereal world to life. The soundtrack is truly one of the standout elements of the experience, and some tracks will stay with you long after you’ve put the controller down.

Rewarding Exploration and Discovery

Once you move past the game’s expository opening and set foot on the larger continent, the story begins to blossom into something truly special. More questions arise, more mysteries unfold, and the narrative pulls you deeper into a world that feels equal parts beautiful and unsettling. You’ll traverse dreamy, lush landscapes, only to stumble upon areas that resemble graveyards—solemn reminders of the many expeditioners who came before you and never returned. Imagine Final Fantasy XIII’s detailed regions and NieR: Automata’s haunting atmosphere all brought to life with a distinctive art style that makes it feel entirely its own.

Exploration is structured around a world map, which lets you travel between major areas. These larger zones are where the real adventure unfolds. Each one is teeming with monsters, typically following a linear path that leads to a climactic boss battle. But along the way, you’ll find hidden side routes that offer valuable power-ups and journal entries from past expeditions—optional lore pieces that deepen your understanding of the world. You may also run into optional bosses like a creepy mime that rewards you with Parisian costumes and hairstyles for your party members—a rewarding challenge that complements the game’s overall stylistic vision.

Interestingly, there’s no map once you're inside these areas. This omission may seem annoying at first, but it’s actually a brilliant design choice as it makes you appreciate moments of respite and also means each area you visit will feel equally new, exciting, and dangerous. You’ll need to stay alert and tread carefully until you find the next flagged checkpoint. And yes—while Expedition 33 has some Soulslike elements, at its core it’s a turn-based RPG that’s remarkably player-friendly, offering three difficulty settings to suit your playstyle. The game autosaves frequently, but resting at a checkpoint is how you recover health and restock potions. Doing so will respawn enemies, though—so you’ll have to weigh the risk and decide when it’s worth taking a break and when to push forward.

Traveling the world map also leads you to optional areas—some hiding powerful enemies you won’t be able to defeat until later, encouraging you to revisit them when you're stronger. What’s great is that not every zone is about combat: some are small, self-contained areas designed to deliver lore or hidden items rather than battles. Even these seemingly minor locations are thoughtfully crafted, and you’ll never quite know if a place is just a pit stop—or something more—until you take the time to explore every nook and cranny.

Ballet on the Battlefield

Combat, much like the game's overall presentation, doesn’t disappoint. It’s a core highlight that adds immensely to the fun, thanks in large part to its rhythmic and engaging defense system. Every battle demands your attention—you’ll need to stay alert to dodge or parry enemy attacks the moment they strike. Mastering dodging means avoiding damage entirely, of course, but perfecting your parries is even more rewarding. Nailing each parry during an enemy's attack chain allows your character to counter and deal bonus damage—ideal for when you need that extra firepower.

Each new enemy you face becomes a mini puzzle and a dance partner all in one. The logical first step is learning their attack patterns, and then practicing your dodges until the timing clicks. Once you’ve got that down, you can step it up by landing precise parries, which have a tighter input window but offer a greater payoff. While attacking is important, defending is often the key to survival as perfectly timed parries can mitigate tons of damage and even counter enemy attacks. Few things are more satisfying than mastering a tricky pattern, watching your party launch a devastating all-out attack, and wiping out most of an enemy’s health bar in a few turns.

Attacking is also important and just as strategic as your next move can vary depending on your party composition. Each character brings a unique combat style that helps them stand out. Maelle, for example, can switch between fencing stances—some boosting her attack, others enhancing her defense, and her Virtuoso stance that lets her deal 200% damage. Lune uses elemental magic that applies Stains, which can be spent to power up other abilities for bonus effects. And there’s Monoco, the blue mage of the group, who learns new skills by defeating enemies and…collecting their feet.

Chess-like Strategies in Combat

Beyond basic attacks, you can customize each character’s stats tailoring them toward offense, defense, luck, etc. or a balanced build. Unlocking new skills also further enhances party synergy, but each skill costs Action Points (AP) to use which you mainly get for hitting enemies. One of my favorite combos was setting enemies ablaze with Lune’s magic, then using Maelle’s special attack that automatically shifts her into Virtuoso stance against burning foes. I also loved stacking “break damage” to stun enemies and shatter their defenses. Against tougher bosses, battles become a game of chess requiring you to plan each move carefully, collect enough AP to do perform hitting combos, and also parry their moves to further hit enemies harder.

To further add to how much you can customize your combat experience even more is the game’s Picto and Lumina system. These function as passive buffs that elevate your team’s potential even further. Pictos can enhance your characters when equipped and provide additional bonuses like AP when dodging, health recovery when parrying, or going first in a fight. Winning a few battles with a Picto equipped lets your team then equip its bonus as a Lumina skill as long as they have enough Lumina points available. The variety in these is impressive, and you can really experiment with countless combinations and swap them out depending on the situation. Ultimately, Expedition 33’s combat system gives you all the tools to craft a strategy that’s uniquely yours.

I didn’t have any major performance issues playing the game, but I did encounter one area on the world map that got me stuck and forced me to reload an earlier save to get out of it. The music also stopped playing a handful of times when entering a new area, but would easily fix itself the minute I left and re-entered it. These hiccups didn’t mar the experience for me but they are worth noting as they may eventually get patched.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, much of what makes Expedition 33 so good is how it tells its story through exploration, cutscenes, and a constantly evolving combat system which often throws your team into breathtaking battles against towering foes. While the game may follow a linear structure, it still offers plenty of room to roam. Its detailed environments are filled with side content—whether you’re taking on optional bosses, uncovering hidden lore, or enjoying lighthearted mini-games for cosmetic upgrades.

As the hours go by, you will realize Expedition 33 is a masterpiece in every way. It tells an enthralling story that grows richer with each cutscene, layering emotional depth with tension and intrigue that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Every battle feels earned—challenging yet deeply rewarding—pushing you to think critically while remaining invested in the outcome.

You won’t want the journey to end—but just like the world it paints so vividly, all good things must come to a close. It’s a simple fact, and one that also holds true as one of the game’s most powerful themes. Do yourself a favor and go experience one of the best games of the year.