Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an Xbox Game Pass triumph that expertly weaves two RPG genres together, and I’m into it

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After its initial unveiling in Summer 2024 and subsequent presentation at Microsoft’s 2025 Xbox Developer Direct event earlier this year, the highly anticipated RPG titled Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – the maiden project from the budding game development studio Sandfall Interactive – is now available. Set to launch on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Xbox Game Pass, and PS5 tomorrow at the crack of dawn, this game has been one of the most eagerly awaited new RPGs for 2025.

Clair Obscur captivated numerous viewers from the start, offering a unique blend of dark fantasy elements with the hopeful and romantic atmosphere typical of the French Belle Époque era. Previews hinted at a fusion of turn-based and real-time role-playing game dynamics before its release. The storyline, in particular, has sparked much curiosity due to its focus on deep, mature development and themes – an aspect that stands out amidst a sea of shallow characters and repetitive dialogue reminiscent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Initially, I was quite optimistic that the game would match its buzz when I began playing it for a review a couple of weeks back. Having completed my journey, I can confidently state that not only does it meet those lofty expectations, but it surpasses them as well. It’s far from perfect – points to address will be discussed in the review – but overall, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is everything many of us anticipated and more, making it an RPG you wouldn’t want to skip over.

What is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?

If you’ve watched the previews for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you have a fair notion of what to anticipate. However, if you’re not familiar with the game up until now, there are some crucial points to consider before diving in (either playing or reading this review). I’ll go over them below.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Game Overview: In this single-player role-playing game, you navigate through a fictional alternate universe where the enigmatic and malevolent figure known as the Paintress marks a new number on her distant Monolith at the start of each year, counting down from 100. When the year ends, anyone who shares that age disappears before another number is painted. This chilling event has been gradually decimating humanity for over 60 years. As the story unfolds, you’ll find yourself in a world where every 34-year-old vanishes as the Paintress’ countdown reaches 33.

As an analyst hailing from Lumière, I am part of a group that embarks on yearly expeditions in our final years, seeking to reach the enigmatic Paintress and put an end to the annual “gommage.” Despite numerous failed attempts, we continue to persevere. Each expedition leaves behind markers such as flags, notes, and instructions, serving as a roadmap for those who follow us. The journey towards her Monolith is treacherous with challenging terrains, lethal creatures, and numerous hazards. Yet, through determination and resilience, we have gradually advanced closer to our goal, decade by decade.

In this game, you’ll find yourself leading characters from Expedition 33 through the narrative events. Initially, the team suffers a violent assault, resulting in only a handful of survivors (as hinted in previews). Their task now is to persevere and battle their way towards the Paintress, while simultaneously dealing with their sorrow and mourning the lost comrades.

Clair Obscur may not be classified as an open-world game, but it does feature expansive, open levels filled with hidden treasures and easy-to-solve puzzles. Additionally, you’ll find optional bosses to battle, side levels to explore via the world map. In terms of combat, it’s entirely turn-based, with each character having unique abilities that work well together within your party. Notably, traditional real-time action RPG mechanics significantly impact both your turns and those of your enemies (more details on combat in the following section).

The remainder of the game primarily revolves around conventional Role-Playing Game (RPG) elements such as enhancing stats, acquiring abilities, improving equipment, and discovering lasting enhancements hidden within the game world.

Clair Obscur review: Gameplay, combat, and world

In much the same vein as classic JRPGs like Final Fantasy or Persona, the core gameplay of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is deeply rooted in its combat system. Just as strategy and move selection are vital in those games, it’s equally important in Sandfall Interactive’s debut title. Each character in Expedition 33 can initiate with a ranged attack at the beginning of their turn, followed by either a Base Attack or a special Skill move. However, there’s more to consider than just attacking – each character also has unique systems to take into account and skills that complement others within the party.

Example: Lune, the elemental mage in our team, shines at inflicting statuses such as Burn. This situation suits Maelle particularly well, who can utilize one of her abilities to assume the Virtuoso Stance on her next turn, amplifying all damage by an impressive 200%. Lune’s abilities also create elemental Marks for herself, and if you use a skill that leverages these Marks on her subsequent turn, it will expend them for a significant damage increase. Battles provide numerous chances for each character to collaborate or combine their skills, adding an engaging strategic layer to the combat experience.

Clair Obscur stands out among many other JRPG-style turn-based games by incorporating elements from action RPGs, where real-time maneuvers are crucial. Instead of just choosing a skill, you’ll need to time your button presses strategically, similar to a rhythm game, to make the most of your move. Moreover, dodging or parrying incoming attacks is necessary, with the easier dodge option being best for beginners and full parries offering more rewards since they allow for deadly counter-attacks. Skilled players can also use their basic ranged attack to target weak spots, causing significant damage or disrupting enemy mechanics.

I haven’t been particularly fond of traditional turn-based role-playing games, but I have a strong affinity for action RPGs that incorporate dodge and parry mechanics like the one in this game. The unique blend of strategic elements from turn-based games with the exhilarating challenge of mastering fights in action RPGs, as seen in Clair Obscur, has resulted in a combat system I’ve grown quite fond of. From the initial attack to the final defense, every stage of a turn, including hitting enemy weak spots, deciding on moves for my party, executing them, and protecting myself against enemies, is captivating, ensuring there’s never a boring moment. Furthermore, as anticipated, the game’s boss battles are even more thrilling, with most featuring distinct mechanics to grasp and utilize, along with challenging but predictable moves that are a joy to counter.

In Clair Obscur, the intense battles are unquestionably the star attractions, taking up a significant portion of the game’s 30-60 hours. However, when you’re not engaged in combat, you’ll find yourself traversing expansive, yet linear environments with numerous side paths that conceal hidden rewards such as new weapons, permanent enhancements, or unique character modifiers known as Pictos. These Pictos offer significant improvements to stats and a variety of beneficial effects, including stat boosts under specific conditions, means to generate extra Action Points for Skills, and massive bonuses in exchange for disadvantages, among other perks. These rewards are often locked behind optional boss fights or simple yet engaging puzzles.

It’s important to mention that when a team member uses Pictos in numerous victories, the effects of those Pictos (excluding their base stat enhancements) become accessible to the entire team, known as Luminas. Each character can only have a limited number of Luminas due to their finite amount of Lumina Points, which can be increased over time by finding specific items. This means that as you accumulate more Lumina Points, you can explore and apply an increasing variety of Picto effects.

An essential aspect of character building involves enhancing your characters by boosting core stats like HP and damage, gaining new skills from individual skill trees, and progressing through levels. Each party member can be customized in a multitude of ways, with all builds being effective, albeit with certain constraints that necessitate strategic thinking about development. The scarcity of respec items is one such limitation to consider, and it’s also worth noting that you are only able to wield six skills at any given time.

In summary, Clair Obscur’s gameplay is exceptional, but initially, I struggled due to the quick introduction of multiple systems, making it tough for me to grasp everything the game was attempting to teach me in the beginning. However, as I played more, things became clearer and there’s a handy guide on mechanics available for reference whenever needed.

Clair Obscur review: Story (no spoilers)

A significant aspect of Clair Obscur lies in its narrative – a deeply moving tale about the resilient survivors of Expedition 33 who persist against all adversity, grappling with sorrow, loss, remorse, and perpetual anxiety about their uncertain future. As they progress on their journey, they meet new companions such as Monoco, a humorous, bloodthirsty creature named Gestral, and the mythical Esquie, who provides them the tools to traverse the terrain. They also encounter enigmatic adversaries like Renoir, an old man miraculously alive despite the Paintress’ gommages.

In this critique, I’d rather not delve deeply into the narrative, but allow me to express that it’s exceptionally well-crafted. What sets it apart are its dynamic characters who navigate through authentic struggles, both personal and interpersonal, which are skillfully penned with depth, subtlety, and empathy fitting for the story’s themes. The plot also manages to maintain a delicate balance with humorous moments scattered throughout. To further enhance the experience, it boasts an impressive ensemble cast, including Charlie Cox (famous for Daredevil) as Gustave, Jennifer English (Baldur’s Gate 3, Shadowheart) as Maelle, Ben Starr (FFXVI, Clive Rosfield) as Verso, Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings, Gollum) as Renoir, and several other well-known voice artists.

The pace of the plot is somewhat brisk compared to my preference, yet it’s not an issue significant enough for me to significantly reduce the story’s rating. Delightful and hinted-at twists more than compensate for any sense of haste, as do the stunningly crafted and captured cutscenes in the narrative.

Clair Obscur review: Visuals and audio

As an analyst, I’ve observed that Sandfall Interactive, during the development of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, transitioned from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5. This strategic move allowed us to leverage UE5’s superior rendering capabilities, and it’s evident in-game with the visually striking, highly detailed, slightly stylized world of Clair Obscur that truly satisfies the visual appetite.

Previously mentioned, the style of this game is strongly influenced by the Belle Époque era of France, evident in its magnificent architecture reminiscent of Lumière, the vivid colors permeating every scene, the sophisticated character designs that seem to belong in the 18th Century, and a persistent atmosphere of hopefulness and optimism amidst hardships faced by its inhabitants. Moreover, it showcases an unique touch of surrealism, with many game environments featuring strange and dreamlike landscapes.

The world is beautifully crafted with state-of-the-art details, serving as an appealing counterpoint to the complex and disorienting difficulties that the characters strive to overcome throughout the narrative. With Clair Obscur’s lively animations and striking visual flair, it distinguishes itself noticeably from many contemporary titles.

The music by Lorien Testard is equally deserving of applause, encompassing everything from majestic orchestral pieces to songs brimming with powerful choirs that make excellent background music during your journey and battles towards the Paintress and her Monolith. Each level in the game features a suitable theme for both the area and battles, along with tracks specifically crafted for numerous significant and emotionally resonant moments within the storyline.

Clair Obscur review: Performance and stability

When it comes to games built on the Unreal Engine, they often have a notorious issue with bothersome stutters that can make gameplay feel uneven and aggravating. So, whenever I review a title utilizing this engine, I find myself feeling somewhat apprehensive. However, in the case of Clair Obscur, I encountered very few stutters. There were a handful, but they were scarce and spaced out quite far from each other.

In summary, the overall performance was impressive on my gaming setup which includes an Intel Core i5-12600K processor, RTX 4070 Ti SUPER graphics card, and 32GB DDR4 RAM. While playing at a resolution of 3440×1440 on an ultrawide monitor, I consistently achieved a frame rate of 50-60 FPS, with occasional drops to the high 40s during intense scenes when using Epic settings and disabling NVIDIA DLSS upscaling. However, enabling DLSS on Quality mode significantly improved my framerate, reaching between mid 70s and low 90s.

To clarify, I didn’t encounter a flawless experience without issues. There were instances where the textures and lighting seemed to load improperly upon entering new areas, creating a disconcerting difference between what I saw before fully stepping in and what appeared afterward. Occasionally, the frame rate would drop significantly to around 30-40 frames per second for extended periods, without any apparent reason given. Unfortunately, this problem manifested during some battles, making it harder than usual to dodge and parry enemy attacks effectively.

Clair Obscur review: Conclusion

Initially, being more accustomed to RPGs with real-time mechanics than turn-based games, I approached Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with a mix of anticipation and hesitation, given its unique blend of the two gameplay styles. However, after playing it, I must say that I’m both amazed by and eager about Sandfall Interactive’s innovative fusion. The combat system is incredibly creative, seamlessly combining elements from both genres. Moreover, the game’s compelling narrative and visually stunning presentation serve as a strong foundation for this unique experience, making it an enjoyable journey overall.

There are a few minor issues I have with the story’s pace and the rate at which elements are initially presented in this game. Additionally, there are areas where the overall performance could be improved. However, despite these points, this is without a doubt one of the top Xbox games and PC games released this year. Although it faces competition from the Shadow of the Tomb Raider Oblivion remaster, I strongly recommend you don’t miss out on this game, especially since it’s included in Xbox Game Pass.

33rd Expedition of Clair Obscur is set to launch on April 24, 2025, available across various platforms such as Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, and the Xbox app), and PS5. The game will retail for $49.99. Additionally, subscribers of Xbox Game Pass can enjoy playing it on either Xbox or PC.

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2025-04-23 12:11