For those who come after

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a game that surprised me in many ways and I’m glad I took the time to play it. I stumbled upon it in the Xbox Game Pass catalog and decided to give it a try after seeing a couple of overwhelmingly positive reviews and some screenshots with interesting aesthetics.

After playing it for a few hours, I was hooked and I knew I got onto something special and unique. The design of characters, the story, the music and overall atmosphere of the game were all captivating.

The Story

The game tells the story of Expedition 33, a group of friends embarking on a journey to defeat the Paintress who threatens the existence of their world.

Once a year, the Paintress wakes and paints upon her monolith. Paints her cursed number and everyone past that age turns to smoke and fades away.

Year by year, that number ticks down and more of us are erased. Tomorrow she’ll wake and paint “33.” Tomorrow we depart on our final mission - Destroy the Paintress, so she can never paint death again.

The story is captivating and well-written… although in the beginning there were many moments that felt a bit confusing and didn’t make sense.

As the game progressed things started to make more sense and explain themselves. No spoilers here but there are a couple of surprising twists and turns that kept me going.

Characters

I loved the mix of the characters, each with their own interesting backstory and personality. The game does a great job of building the connection with them.

Some light-hearted moments made me smile and laugh like the dialogue with Francois. There were also definitely some quite emotional and touching moments that almost made me tear up a bit.

Try to avoid spoilers from the internet and just experience the story yourself, it’s worth it.

There are few customization options like clothes and hair that keep things more personal and fun, although you need to play and explore quite a bit to unlock all of them.

World aesthetics and visuals

The world design is unique and absolutely stunning. I really enjoyed the art direction. Lighting, colors and overall atmosphere of the game are just beautiful.

There are many unique locations to explore, with bits of funny, or sometimes tragic lore hidden in the environment. This really makes the game stand out and gives it a unique identity.

“Finding a rock and losing it is better than never finding a rock in the first place” - Esquie

I was definitely surprised by the details and the design of the world.

Many cut-scenes are beautifully animated, with realistic facial expressions and body language. I liked the “cinematography”, with camera angles, framing and depth of field effects that add to the immersion.

On Xbox Series X the game can be run either in performance or quality mode. I played in quality - it looks stunning, but there were few moments of frame drops (usually in the fight transitions). Not a big deal, but I think my next playthrough will be in performance mode, just to see how it feels.

Gameplay mechanics

From the gameplay perspective, Expedition 33 is similar to classic JRPG-style games with turn-based combat and world exploration. You explore the world and locations, interact with characters and follow the main story.

There is a lot to explore, a lot of secrets and side quests to complete. I recommend to focus first on the main story, since it will build your understanding of the world, and unlocks new abilities and skills.

Trust me: there will be plenty of time to explore towards the end of the game.

There are stats to level, skills to learn, Lumina powers to equip, weapons with the elements. You only fight with up to three characters at a time, which leaves plenty of room for strategy and tactics.

The combat feels very satisfying with a good balance of challenge and fun.

There is one element that left me couple times shouting at the game in frustration - dodge and parry mechanics. The timing is very strict and it takes quite a bit of practice to get it right.

I don’t say it’s bad as it adds a layer of challenge and depth to the combat, but I have to admit - it was frustrating at times. Once you learn the attack patterns of your enemies, it becomes much easier and more enjoyable.

And… if it’s too hard, there is an option to lower the difficulty in the settings.

The Soundtrack

I can’t finish this review without mentioning the soundtrack.

The music in this game… honestly, it blew my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a soundtrack that fits so perfectly with the game. It highlights the emotions of the key moments, raising the experience to the next level.

The soundtrack on Spotify is 8 hours long, an immense amount of music that is all original and composed specifically for the game.

There were moments, when I would just freeze with my mouth open, listening to the music and admiring the visuals and atmosphere.

Some of the transitions in the scenes with boss fights left me speechless. The music just hits you right and makes you feel like you’re part of something epic.

My verdict

As mentioned in the beginning, I don’t usually write reviews, but this game deserves it. I don’t have a scale to rate it, but if I had to, I would probably give it a solid 9 out of 10. I won’t say it’s perfect, but it is definitely one of the best games I’ve played in a long time.

I truly enjoyed my time playing Expedition 33 and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves RPG games, beautiful art direction and captivating stories. You won’t regret it.

For more info about the game visit https://www.expedition33.com/

Final remarks

Please note that this review is based on my personal experience and opinion. All images used in this review are my screenshots from the game itself and are used for illustrative purposes only.

As you notice, this article has a different look and feel than my usual posts. This is a custom design I created specifically for this review to match the aesthetics of the game.

If you like it, let me know, I may publish more articles in this style in the future.

For those who come after…