Published on:

June 8th, 2025

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Review

For those who play after.

- Written by Dallas @ Quest Break

I want to preface this review first by saying I’m not a JRPG guy by any stretch of the imagination, I do enjoy the genre from time to time but it’s definitely not something I typically gravitate towards. Like most of you, I first saw Clair Obscur in one of the Xbox showcases last year and was thrown off guard to hear this was from Sandfall Interactive, a new studio and this would be their debut title? It looked gorgeous, had a parry/dodge mechanic, an allstar cast, this was ambitious as hell for an indie studio with an internal team of around 30 developers?! Now while I was excited as I placed it amongst my most anticipated games, I quelled my expectations, especially upon hearing that this is a $50 budget priced title.

Lo and behold, it launches to incredible reviews and what seems like the entire gaming community rallying around it, and giving it endless praise. Could it be? Did this team really do it? Well. In short, yes. Yes they did. And if you haven’t already started your own expedition, feel free to stop reading here, go purchase it, support Sandfall Interactive because they wholeheartedly deserve it and I’m sure you’ll feel the same way after you’ve experienced their creation. Anyway, onto the review:

Being told you’re loved, with just a stare. (…wish I could have that)

Certain games will come around where all I need is a single trailer to know that yes I’m interested, no I don’t want to know more, I’ll be buying day one. Clair Obscur is one such title. Apart from the initial reveal trailer, I did not watch or consume any content relating to it leading up to the release. So I was completely unaware of what the game was actually about. Consider me shocked that within the games opening prologue, a mere 30 or so minutes in, I’m not only hooked by the story but by these characters I’ve only just met, and with no prior knowledge of what I had just gotten myself into.

If you yourself don’t know, and want to continue to not know before playing, feel free to skip this paragraph. But for those who want to know the premise, or already know, I’ll share it here. Our story takes place in Lumiere, a place that houses what remains of civilization. An ominous countdown “timer” in the distance drops a number every year, painted by the one called the Paintress. And with every year comes death, as the number painted indicates the age of which everyone that currently is will disappear from existence. With death looming over everyone, as the life expectancy lowers with the countdown, the people of Lumiere create the Expedition program as a means to send out their own to put an end to the Paintress once and for all, and save everyone back home.

It paints a pretty compelling picture am I right?!

You’re the crew of Expedition 33, 67 years have past since the start, and like those who came before, it’s your turn to journey out and hopefully achieve what the previous expeditions couldn’t. From this, I was set, I had all the motivation I needed.

With that, I spent 86hrs in this world, making sure I did everything possible, getting the platinum, and enjoying every second possible. Sandfall Interactive achieved something truly remarkable. A story that I needed to see to its end but never once wanted it to end. I fell in love with my party members, which was heightened by EXCELLENT voice acting. Charlie Cox, Ben Starr, Jennifer English, Richard Keeble, Andy FREAKING Serkis, like my goodness, what a cast. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see multiple performances being nominated during awards season, because they did not waste this talent! From the cutscenes, to the dialogue whilst traveling, to the side quests and relationship arcs, all of it is beautifully voice acted that you can’t help but fall in love with everyone and the world.

Sandfall Interactive also put in a 8 HOUR long soundtrack, over the course of 3 discs, with utterly breathtaking music and sound that’s an absolute feast for your ears. A mix of classical, jazz, electric, rock, with and without lyrics, just a smorgasbord offering with not a single dud amongst them. You’ll be humming themes, singing along, and dancing your way throughout the entirety of your playthrough. And if you don’t?! Well… then you just have no taste. Not since Final Fantasy VII Rebirth have I been so enamored with a games soundtrack, it’s just THAT good.

Now I could keep going on and on, endless raving about the story, the characters, the soundtrack, but we need to move on. I know I know, y’all want to hear me gush more, but we gotta keep this train a rolling cause we’re only getting started.

What to do, what to do, maybe I should pull out the Glock 🤔

As I mentioned earlier, I’m not that big into JRPG’s, mainly due to combat. Turn based just isn’t really my jam. Doesn’t mean I haven’t dabbled or will turn it away by any means, it’s just not a favorite of mine. So that makes it all the more powerful when I say that Clair Obscur Expedition 33 has changed all of that. And this isnt just because of the parry/dodge mechanic, though it helped, but now I can’t get enough and am actively seeking out more turn-based experiences I missed out on in the past. I need more of a fix, because the combat here is WILDLY addicting.

Each of your party members has a unique play style that’s all their own, it makes switching out and playing with your whole team vital to clearing some of these enemies and bosses, whilst making the entirety experience have variety effectively making it so there’s never a dull moment. On top of their unique play style, is a skill tree that will tailor your experience even more. My favorite ended up being an elemental build that made me send out a barrage of attacks that decimated the entire playing field, and was completely missed by me for the first half of the game due to me specing only into fire. Luckily the game promotes and makes respecing very easy and accessible!

While you have your standard leveling up process of putting points into health, strength, etc. You have a Picto and Lumina system. Pictos are essentially bonuses you can place on your party members, 3 each, that can only be placed exclusively on one member at a time. Where this changes is the Lumina. See, once you master a Picto (having it equipped and winning 4 battles with it) it becomes a Lumina, which can then be used on any other member regardless on if the Picto is in use on another party member. What this boils down to is mastering Picto’s, and then stacking them as Lumina on your entire party, making for some really fun builds. If you’ve seen images or videos floating online with people dealing 1mil+ damage, that’s the outcome from this system and it’s a blast, literally.

Other than this, the combat could be seen as your standard turn-based affair. Attacking, using items, etc. But the key to it all, is dodging and/or parrying your opponent’s attacks sometimes allowing a counter for massive damage! Regardless of what you choose, dodging and parrying are essential! You’ll quickly be taken out if you don’t utilize these defensive actions, making for encounters that demand your attention.

Outside of the combat, you’ll be exploring locations in and outside of the overworld, being rewarded for every optional path you turn down. You’ll get items to level up, upgrade, and respec. You’ll also find your best Picto’s this way. And if that weren’t enough, you’ll also find cosmetics to change up your wardrobe for every party member! So explore, take your time, trust me, it’s worth it!

Wow. Absolutely gorgeous, I—

Oh I’ve been wounded, I wasn’t paying attention.

Now I’ve been VERY positive so far, and I want you to know that I still am overall. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a few qualms with Clair Obscur Expedition 33 over the course of its runtime that I’d quickly like to go over. While I understand the decision to not have a map system, there were moments where it was very easy to get lost due to some of the locales having very similar looks. While the game does try to place landmarks or standout features to help navigate this, it unfortunately misses the mark from time to time. In terms of combat, you’ll come across some difficulty spikes that really nail home the point of “if you can’t successfully parry or dodge, you will lose!”, no matter your damage output. This isn’t much of an issue later on when broken builds become accessible. And lastly, comes the pacing of story near its end, along with some side content that should’ve been apart of the main quest line considering where the game ends up in its final moments. Overall these are just minor gripes for what is a phenomenal game.

Expedition 33 sold so well. They made a real version called the Eiffel Tower, as a thank you to the devs.

I played through the entirety of Clair Obscur Expedition 33 on my base PS5, in performance mode. Originally I had gone through the prologue on PC via the Xbox app with GamePass, and while the PS5 held up well enough, its stunning on PC. But I had to own it physically!!

That being said it runs well on the hardware and a beautiful experience nonetheless. I tried it in fidelity mode for a couple hours, and while it looks much sharper, the trade off just isn’t worth it, you’re going to want that 60FPS.

Luckily, wherever you do play it, it’s going to look great and you’ll be able to appreciate the insane artistry from beginning to end. It truly is a beautiful game, and not in a “these graphics are nuts!” way, but in the way the art literally lives and breathes every step of the way. Credit it to the art team, you killed it. A true testament to human artistry.

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is a magical game, it made me like the French! Ok ok ok, all jokes aside, it is truly magical. It’s the only game I’ve been able to think about long after its completion and into me starting new games. It leaves a void inside, you’ll miss the world, the characters, the score, everything. It’s not just a standout game this year, but a standout for this generation. It’s not a title to be missed.