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The Hindu
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' game review
There are two types of gamers: those who are obsessed with turn-based Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs), and those who steer well clear. Today, a close friend of mine, firmly in the latter camp, surprised me by saying they have been drawn into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the latest turn-based, Final Fantasy-inspired JRPG from a passionate team of French developers. A game so deeply rooted in JRPG tradition, yet since its launch, it has been turning heads, blurring genre boundaries, and drawing in even the most hesitant of players. Given its rapid virality, it would be easy to dismiss Expedition 33 as just another flash in the pan. But even a cursory glance at the trailers and previews reveals a labour of love, one that pulls you into its mysterious world with a compelling story, inspired and challenging combat, incredible characters, and arguably one of the most memorable narratives in recent gaming history. Every year, the surviving humans gather for Gommage, a grim ritual in which a towering figure known only as The Paintress paints numbers in the sky. Each number erases everyone of that age from existence. That is where Expedition 33 begins: the number 33 is painted, and the protagonist Gustave is forced to watch his loved ones turn to roses and ash. With heavy hearts, the expedition sets out to end The Paintress, but the journey is anything but simple. Gustave and his companions must traverse a world of eerie beauty and unspeakable horror, one richly inspired by French art. The game begins in a deceptively light-hearted way, reminiscent of Chrono Trigger, with you meeting a friend at a fair. But things take a dark turn quickly when the number 33 is painted. From that moment, the game has you emotionally invested in Gustave's story. Expedition 33 excels at keeping you at the heart of its narrative filled with grief, hope, and quiet resilience. Despite the odds, its cast clings to hope as they march toward a conclusion that is as satisfying as it is weighty. The Paintress may paint death, but the developers have painted a storytelling masterpiece. The battle system is a love letter to the best elements of turn-based RPGs. It blends Final Fantasy's materia systems, Persona 5's sleek UI, Mario RPG's timing-based dodges, and even Sekiro's parries into a combat system that is both reactive and precise. The thrill of landing a perfect parry or using a character's unique mechanics to gain the upper hand is immensely rewarding. However, there are moments when the game throws overwhelming multi-hitting enemies at you, occasionally bordering on unfair, forcing you to truly master the mechanics. Each character has a distinct combat style, ranging from complex to beginner-friendly. For example, Lune generates elemental 'stains' based on her attacks, and chaining specific combinations boosts her damage output. Meanwhile, Maelle, a fan favourite, employs a more straightforward fencing stance system to deal powerful blows. The diverse cast allows players to experiment with different builds before settling on the party that best suits their playstyle. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Publisher: Sandfall Interactive, Sandfall S.A.S. Developer: Kepler Interactive Price: ₹4,999 on Playstation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PC Forget Steampunk, Expedition 33 embraces the elegance of the belle époque, a stunning yet ironically chosen aesthetic for a game centred on mass erasure. The world design is exquisite, clearly influenced by French art, history, and architecture. Every environment feels like a painting worthy of framing. Despite its harrowing plot, the game provides moments of peace, allowing players to explore, discover, and engage in well-crafted side quests that genuinely add value. Visually, Expedition 33 is astonishing. Sandfall Interactive — a relatively small team, many of whom are ex-Ubisoft — have delivered a game that feels AAA in every respect. At a time when even major releases like Star Wars Outlaws launch in rough shape, Expedition 33 stands as a testament to what passion and vision can achieve. While big studios often scoff at turn-based systems in favour of formulaic design, Expedition 33 proves there is a hungry audience for innovation within tradition. As Final Fantasy continues to drift away from its roots, perhaps this game will inspire a return to form. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a triumphant reminder that the JRPG is not only alive but thriving. If you are after a game that is beautiful, intricate, and emotionally resonant, look no further. It is only May, and yet this already feels like a strong contender for Game of the Year, especially with Grand Theft Auto VI sitting out 2025.
Forbes
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' Review: A 10 If There Ever Was One
Expedition 33 I've lost track of how many turn-based RPGs I've bounced off of over time, even some GOTY contenders, or winners, that I won't name here for risk of embarrassment. So when once again, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was recommended as a 'must-play,' my gut instinct was 'here we go again.' Nope. Not this time. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an epic work of art that fixed my turn-based issues and allowed me to experience what may in fact be one of the best RPG storylines in genre history. Possibly even in video game history, given how beautiful, sad and moving it is. But that's just one aspect in addition the acting, the atmosphere, the music and yes, the combat. It's hard to find practically any faults here. You don't need to skip to the end, this could not have been a more obvious 10/10 and it's easily my frontrunner for GOTY, even just a couple weeks after Blue Prince had that title on lock for me (don't get me wrong, I still love Blue Prince). Expedition 33 tells the story of Gustave, a man living in a badly broken version of Paris that has been devastated by a calamity that continues unfolding every year. Citizens only live to their 30s before being erased by a mysterious, giant figure in the horizon, The Paintress, who puts up a new number on a huge pillar as a countdown from 100. We're at 33. Expedition 33 That's the expedition number, as citizens are routinely sent out to attempt to kill The Paintress and stop this cycle. They've failed 77 times, but this time will work, right? Well, that's what you're going to find out, but things quickly go sideways and you're left with a core party of Gustave, his de-facto daughter Maelle, element-wielder Lune and then others you will pick up along the way, as is RPG tradition. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Charlie Cox, Daredevil himself, stands out in his first video game role, but the voice cast goes on to include legends like Andy Serkis and Ben Starr as characters I won't detail here. But the entire cast is excellent and between the voicework and the motion capture, convey emotion in a way we don't often see in the genre. RPG storylines are often a bit…over the top for my tastes, depending on the game, and while this wild world does require some brain-breaking processing, it's still a coherent tale and features some of the biggest, most stunning twists I've come across in gaming, ones that I was genuinely not expecting, and that the playerbase has been kind enough not to spoil. All you can say is…wait for Act 2. Wait for Act 3. Wait for the Epilogue. You'll understand when you get to each of them. The environment design here is out of this world. I've taken so many screenshots I've lost count, and just when you think you've seen the coolest area, there's another one around the corner. All of this is bolstered by an incredible score that is immediately something you'll want to add to your Spotify, if it doesn't give you PTSD from the emotional moments of the game or the most exhausting boss fights. Expedition 33 That brings us to combat, the thing that allowed me to push forward through the game due to its mix of turn-based strategy and real-time reactions, namely dodging and parrying with the necessary accompanying timing and reflexes. It's not the first game to do this, but it's the best, and for 30+ hours now, it has maintained its appeal, though perhaps even better is the 'Picos' build system to create some truly interesting and fun characters, be they DPS, tanks or support, with no one specific character locked into one of those roles, and enough flexibility to experiment. Even a 10 won't have nothing wrong with it. At some point, if you find a build that works, your rotations can get a little dull, and there are only a handful of encounters that really make you switch up your strategies dramatically (a guy who could only take damage from parry counters, for instance. And these damn Mimes. You'll see). And in some encounters, attempting to dodge or parry eight-hit combos every other turn or one-hit KO moves can be a little exhausting. I'm also not the biggest fan of navigation, especially in the open worlds when you want to get back to certain zones. I enjoy flying and swimming around on our personal Baymax, but it's pretty easy to waste time getting lost rather than zapping to a place you've already been. They're minor annoyances. It's a stunning game that only gets more and more stunning the further you get. It's an easy recommend to anyone, even people like me who have previously been allergic to turn-based combat. You may have to get used to it, but push past and learn the systems to experience once of the best games you may play in years. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
BBC News
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: How the 'Game of the Year' was made
In 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic, Guillaume Broche was like millions of others around the world."Bored in their job and wanting to do something different."Working for French gaming giant Ubisoft at the time, he had an idea for his own project - a role-playing game inspired by one of his childhood favourites, the classic Japanese series Final would become Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 which, five years later, has become a sold one million copies in just three days, topped Spotify viral charts with its soundtrack, and even won praise from French President Emmanuel one of the most remarkable things about it is the story of how it was made - a tale of random Reddit messages, "massive luck" and an unusual approach to game development. Expedition 33 is set in Lumiere, a fictional world overshadowed by a huge monolith bearing a glowing numeral on its year an entity known as The Paintress emerges and lowers the number by one, causing everyone of that age to vanish, and the game follows a group on a quest to destroy the mysterious an intriguing set-up for an epic tale, but the game's aesthetic, inspired by 19th-Century France, and its old-school turn-based battles also set it the conventional wisdom when Guillaume began was that players didn't want something like five years ago, he started to recruit people for his passion project, firing out messages on Reddit and online forums to potential colleagues. One of those who responded was Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, who was under lockdown in Australia at the time."I saw a post on Reddit by Guillaume asking for voice actors to record something for free for a demo," she says. "I was like: 'I've never done that, it sounds kinda cool', so I sent him an audition." Jennifer was originally cast as a major character in an early version of the game, but eventually switched roles to become the team's lead eventually left Ubisoft and formed Sandfall Interactive to work on Clair Obscur full-time from its base in Montpellier, securing funding from publisher Kepler Interactive, the core team grew to about 30 of them were found in a similar, unusual manner to Jennifer. Composer Lorien Testard - who had never worked on a video game before - was discovered via posts on music-sharing website Soundcloud."I call this the Guillaume effect. He's very good at finding really cool people," says more modestly attributes his success rate to Covid - people looking for a creative outlet - and also "massive luck"."It's always the same story," he says. "I have a list of 15 people to contact and I'm like: 'Okay I'm probably going to get maybe no one at all'."And every time the first one is like: 'Yeah, let's do it'."But Guillaume does admit that he targeted people who seemed to be "in line with the direction" he wanted to take the project."Lorien, when we discussed the game for the first time, we had exactly the same references," he says."We loved the same thing. We watched the same things. The discussion was so fluid." Expedition 33 has also been widely praised for its production values - rivalling those of games worked on by hundreds, even thousands of attributes some of this to recent advances in tools used to make games, which allowed the team to work more efficiently. Having the backing of Kepler allowed the studio to attract actors including Daredevil's Charlie Cox, Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis, and video game actors Jennifer English and Ben while Sandfall did call on extra input from support studios, musicians and other specialists, Jennifer and Guillaume say the core team ended up "wearing a lot of different hats"."And so we all pitch in and do different parts, things that may be outside of our traditional role," says Jennifer, who was also in charge of translating the game into different languages. "We have, I think, an amazing team mostly of junior people but they are so incredibly invested in the project and talented," says Guillaume."Somehow it worked, which still makes no sense to me after all these years." Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Business Mayor
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's battles are best when you break them
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has flashy, thrilling battles, but the best thing about them is how you can twist the game's many systems to your advantage. The turn-based RPG combat might feel familiar, but it offers a lot of ways to customize your approach to battles so that you can do absolutely devastating amounts of damage. In Expedition 33, you play as a group of Expeditioners who aim to destroy The Paintress, a mysterious being that erases everyone of a certain age every year. In battles, you can have up to three of your party participating in a fight, and should they all die, you can call in your teammates who are in reserve to try and finish off the enemies. To show you how deep the rabbit hole can go in customizing your team, here's my approach to building out just one character, the fencer Maelle. Every character can equip three 'Pictos,' which offer passive buffs like giving you the defense-boosting Shell status at the start of a fight. But after you win a few fights with a Pictos equipped, other characters can also equip the Pictos as a 'Lumina' by using 'Lumina Points,' which you accumulate through leveling up and by using a resource you can find in the game. Image: Kepler Interactive When you mix and match Pictos and Luminas to stack complimentary bonuses, things really get going. For my version of Maelle, I set a combination of Pictos and Luminas that could let her deal potentially enormous amounts of damage, especially if a lucky critical hit and a coin-flip 200 percent damage buff went through. But as a counterbalance to Maelle's huge power, some of the Pictos and Luminas also increased the amount of damage she received , so I added defensive ones that helped her better withstand hits. Read More The best Black Friday 2023 deals you can still get In battle, each character also has a unique mechanic that, when used properly, lets you make their attacks more effective. Maelle, for example, relies on different 'stances' that you can shift into: an offensive stance that increases the damage you give but also the damage you receive, a defensive stance that reduces the damage you take, and a 'virtuous' stance that does 200 percent damage but can be harder to set up. With Maelle, you can move into the different stances based on which of your six different 'skills' you use in battle — and like with Pictos and Luminas, those are also customizable and have their own traits and potential synergies. It can be a lot to manage, and the game often helps in battles by adding a little sparkle to suggest a move for your current situation. But even within the first few hours of the game, I was able to grasp the potential of what was possible with the battle system. And with Maelle, when I nailed the combination of setting up the right stance and a lucky break from my Pictos and Luminas, I regularly could absolutely demolish my foes by dealing thousands of points of damage. (A late-game Pictos that let me exceed 9,999 points of damage in a single hit was particularly welcome.) That's just my approach with one character; each of the other party members has their own playstyles to experiment with and potential skills to use. Your equipped weapons are an element to consider, too. The game shines when everyone's abilities and skills line up perfectly for a series of explosive hits, and it's especially satisfying when things come together to melt down a tricky boss's health bar. Read More Wordle Today (#707): Wordle answer and hints for May 27 I definitely didn't use Expedition 33 's battle system, which makes things easy to experiment with, to its fullest. Once I found a combination of characters and skills that I liked, I rarely deviated from them. But I have lots of ideas on how to try things differently for a hard mode run — I'm sure there are a lot more ways to absolutely break the game.
Daily Mirror
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review – a brilliantly modern turn-based Final Fantasy in all but name
RPG fans seeking a truly unique genre entry will find exactly what they're looking for in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a game that proves there's plenty of life in turn-based battles. Sandfall Interactive's debut RPG pays respect to the greats of the past while paving the way forward for the genre's future, serving as one of 2025's must-play experiences. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just might be the most beautiful turn-based RPG I've ever played. I don't say this lightly, of course, yet it's a claim I feel confident stating since said beauty not only applies to the game's shiny, superficial graphics, but also how well its story, gameplay systems, and presentation style effortlessly gel with one another to create one remarkable (and highly polished) package. The team at developer Sandfall Interactive might be small, but together they've crafted one of the most breath-taking RPG experiences I've played, confident in both its classic and markedly unique ideas. It truly is a modern take on Final Fantasy, the kind that Square Enix left behind. Perhaps a good thing, too, since its absence has allowed a masterful take on this classic genre in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to spring up in its place, hopefully inspiring the next generation of RPG fans. Purely in premise alone, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 doesn't take long to grip you. Taking place in a region known simply as The Continent, once per year a malevolent figure called The Paintress appears to write a new number in the sky. After she does, anyone older than that number will suddenly disappear into the ether, a fact that has led several of The Continent's occupants to undertake several expeditions in the hopes of stopping this seemingly evil tradition. As far as narrative setups go it's lofty, to say the least, but I can comfortably say I've never played through a story like it ever before. Even better is just how confidently this universe is presented from the off, with Sandfall Interactive leaving no stone unturned when it comes to twists in this tale about generational trauma and those who get left behind. What helps somewhat ground this unabashedly outlandish plot is the game's eclectic cast of characters. Gustave, the de facto leader of Expedition 33, is given a wonderful earnest quality thanks to Charlie Cox 's vocal performance, while the likes of Maelle, Lune, Verso, and others exude just as much depth within cut scenes as they do during high intensity battles. This is a case of a game's A-tier voice cast illuminating the natural qualities of the characters they're portraying, as opposed to serving as a distraction. Even Andy Serkis, as the shadowy Renoir, proves menacing for the precious time he is on screen, and the mystery surrounding him as a significantly older human character serves as a compliment to the wider goings on of the story. To say more would spoil the surprise. Getting into the game proper, then, and though it's true that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a staunchly turn-based affair, you'd be forgiven for thinking it traditional, or dare I say, ordinary. What sets it apart from the likes of Pokemon, Persona, and yes, Final Fantasy, is how it smartly builds on the genre's original mechanical cornerstones in favour of something that absolutely respects the brand of 'tit for tat' combat, yet also isn't afraid to iterate on them by introducing plenty of appreciated real-time elements, all of which work to keep you better invested in every bout. Those who come after Upon first glance, battles play out in expected fashion, with turns shared between your chosen part of three and whatever group of nightmarish creatures you've bumped into. Spicing up the usual rigamarole of basic attacks, magic skills, and item uses, however, are a series of QTEs and countering opportunities that help keep you in the fight – even when it's not your time to attack. What initially begins as a simple parry and dodge system eventually blossoms into a combat system that can make or break a battle, as some enemy attacks are so powerful it can quickly wipe you out in an instant, a scenario that works brilliantly to tempt you into risk a parry over a dodge, dodge over a jump riposte, and so on. Certain timing windows for these manoeuvres are a lot tighter than others, so pulling off any counter is always satisfying and itself its own reward. Layered on top of this are a series of experimental modifiers called Pictos, which can drastically turn the tide of battle by gifting your party with a litany of passive effects that can be swapped in and out as necessary to better suit your playstyle. Each party member has three Picto slots overall, but can also benefit from some of each's effects the longer you keep them equipped and then level them up during battle. This system combines with your ability to seek out resources capable of upgrading each character's standard weapon, or undertake side missions to find totally new ones to level up and equip, to make turn-based battles in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 anything but predictable. I lost count how many encounters I skimped through due to the challenge even the lowest-level skirmishes can provide, especially since the long list of enemy types all have their own quirks and can be mightily cunning. We've now reached the part of the review where I gush about how stunning Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 truly is to look at. Because yes, even though its memorable characters, unique story, and endlessly fulfilling battle system would have been enough to still render it great, the truth is that this is one of the prettiest RPGs I've ever laid eyes on – AAA or otherwise. Rendered in Unreal Engine 5 Sandfall Interactive has crafted the ultimate visual love letter to the French Belle Époque era, with plenty of extravagant sights to see by way of glorious mansions, underwater worlds, and fantastical storms. Better yet, all of it is tied together by a particularly swirling soundtrack, one that always adapts and stays with you with its dripping melodies to render the game just as much a treat for the ears (in addition to the eyes). Honestly, the only real complaints I have about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are down to my own personal preference. Exploration, for instance, largely boils down to exploring linear hubs that loop back in on themselves in the style of, say, 2018's God of War, with plenty of items, bosses, and secrets to discover sitting outside the main path. It would have been nice for these sections to feature a dedicated map to avoid me getting lost so often, but I understand it's a creative choice. Then there's the poor character lip-synching, which in a game that places so much emphasis on story and a stellar voice cast is a shame. It's not an absolute disaster, thankfully, yet the game's distinctly French origins can often make themselves known in certain close-up scenes. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the type of revelatory game that doesn't come around too often. Just as much a result of what's come before as it is its willingness to push typical and traditional genre boundaries forward, it's a special turn-based RPG that gives me confidence that the future of RPGs could be in rude health – providing development teams that are as talented as Sandfall Interactive are at the helm. This is a story of heartbreak and loss, yes, but also the importance of persevering. That's not a hard thing to want to do when a game looks and plays as wonderfully as this.
