Video Game Review | For Those Who Come After

Debut Title ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’ Captures Both Soul and Imagination

For as dark and mature as the game is, There is plenty of brightness and color in 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33'.

It is difficult to describe the majesty of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Not in what it is, per se, but what it represents, especially if the interlocutor is peering into the gaming world from the outside. The debut title from Sandfall Interactive — which is 30 people strong and primarily made up of former ex Ubisoft employees — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has become a shining beacon upon a hill that many, from fans to developers, had thought ceased to exist. The game draws inspiration from the classic 3D Final Fantasy titles like VII and X for a wildly inventive and creative setting and a strong narrative (heavily based off of France and French culture, as Sandfall is based there), while it looks to more modern hits like Persona 5 for a base template for its combat and manages to improve upon both with such style and aplomb, it is difficult to imagine that such a thing has not happened before.

The basic premise is this: 67 years ago, the Paintress drew the first number, 100, and every year since, has been counting down. With each new number, every person of that age dies in a flurry of petals and ash. And with each new number, an expedition is organized. Composed of those with only a year left of life, it is the task of the expeditioners to hunt down the Paintress and stop her from painting a new number. No one has ever returned.

The opening half-hour is a masterclass on how to draw the player in with the premise and strong presentation and hook them for what promises to be an adventure full of mystery, trauma, and the worth of hope in the face of the seeming inevitable. After that, the titular Expedition 33 launches to the continent, and the world begins to open up.

Combat is the name of the game here, with the majority of time spent in Clair Obscur fighting the various dangers the cast encounters. Like Persona 5, combat is turn-based, with a helpful schedule on the left of the screen letting the player know whose turn is coming next. With each new turn, the characters generate an AP point, which they can spend to use spells or skills for more damage or different effects than the basic attack. Once the player chooses an attack, however, they shouldn’t sit back and watch the pretty animations. While the animations are pretty, Clair Obscur revitalizes the turn-base formula by adding quick-time events to the player’s attacks to boost damage or special effects and the ability to manually dodge or parry an enemy’s attack. The timings are tight, and parrying and dodging are skills that are 100 percent necessary for survival. I was playing on normal, and, with two of my three characters dead, I spent 15 minutes in a boss fight before finally winning. I performed 129 parries in that fight, and I would not have won otherwise.

The early-game area Flying Waters is a brilliant example of the unbridled creativity of the developers, with the player walking on the sea floor as whale languish overhead.
Each playable character has their own unique mechanics, skills, and abilities that can synergize with themselves and each other, deepening the combat sandbox.
Flashy animations are augmented by quick-time events to ensure the player does not get complacent, as well-timed executions improve damage or spell effects.

Combat is tight and challenging, but that’s only half the equation for what makes a good RPG, so how’s the cast?

Fantastic.

Great writing and strong performances seem to be in short supply these days, but merde, does Clair Obscur have both in spades. Casting includes Charlie Cox (from Marvel’s Daredevil TV show) as Gustave; Jennifer English (Shadowheart from Baldur’s Gate 3); Andy Serkis (yes, Gollum and Caesar is in this game); and Ben Starr (Clive Rosfield from Final Fantasy XVI) — 15 hours in, I have not heard a bad take. The only criticism I have is that some of the facial capture outside of dedicated cutscenes has somewhat wonky lip-sync, which is the most nitpicky thing in a package as good as this. Other than that, the characters have weight to them that feels distinctly human, and you just can’t help but empathize with them as they struggle to stop the Paintress. Clair Obscur also takes full advantage of its M rating, and I feel it necessary to include a trigger warning for early depictions of graphic violence and attempted suicide. None of it’s there for shock value, but it is there, so be warned.

I played on a PC with a 4070 Super and 32 gigs of RAM at high settings across the board and had nothing but a buttery-smooth experience. I had some screen tearing at the start of my playthrough, but the moment I actually turned VSync on in my PC, it never came back.

As a final wrap up, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is my personal game of the year, is cheaper than the vast majority of new major releases this year at $50, and is available on all consoles bar the Switch.