Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review

It’s only April, and 2025 has already been greeted by a surprising number of high-profile RPGs. Even so, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is preparing to make a name for itself with its own artistic ambition and innovative gameplay. In the RPG space, such risk-taking doesn’t always pay off, as that approach has been known to venture into niche territory and mechanical overreach. However, in the case of Clair Obscur, the risks are worth it. Developed by the French studio Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reaches beyond the boundaries set by its spiritual predecessors and successfully charts new territory for the future of the RPG genre.

Set in a surreal, Belle Epoque-inspired world where a figure called the “Paintress” kills with a brushstroke, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sees players embarking on one of the most captivating, intense, and emotional journeys ever seen in a fantasy RPG. Its combat fuses turn-based strategy and real-time precision, its story is engrossing and easy to follow, and its characters carry an emotional gravity that is often forgotten in pursuits of scale and polish. It even has clear Final Fantasy 10, Persona, and Zelda influences, and yet feels like something that’s never been done before. In short, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the clearest example of a game that is not at all ashamed of where it came from and yet succeeds at doing something different.

Clair Obscur’s Narrative and World Are Engrossing From Start to Finish

Clair Obscur’s Narrative Is Emotional, Gripping, and Unforgettable

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a lot going for it in terms of gameplay, but its narrative is what makes all of that gameplay actually mean something. Backed by a cast of unforgettable characters and their impeccable voice talents, Clair Obscur‘s story is one that lingers long after the credits roll. In fact, one of its best characteristics is that it’s easy to understand, which isn’t usually the case with fantasy RPGs that highlight worldbuilding, overload players with unfamiliar terminology, and sometimes tell fragmented stories.

At first, Clair Obscur‘s premise sounds quite strange. Once a year, the Paintress wakes and paints a number upon her monolith. On that day, everyone who has passed that age turns to smoke and fades away in a sequence that plays out similarly to Marvel‘s Blip. Despite beginning at 100, Clair Obscur‘s world has now arrived at 33, and a team of Expeditioners known as “Expedition 33” is setting out to destroy the Paintress so she can never paint again.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a lot going for it in terms of gameplay, but its narrative is what makes all of that gameplay actually mean something.

Although its premise is somewhat obscure, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 manages to unravel its story in such a way that even unseasoned RPG players could easily follow it. It’s one of those stories that is so worth witnessing firsthand that any spoilers beyond its premise are not worth divulging. That being said, players should know that Clair Obscur‘s prologue is enough to get anyone invested for the long haul, so they won’t have to wait long before they start caring about its story. Sandfall Interactive clearly knew what it was doing with Clair Obscur‘s introduction because it’s one of those that gets you emotionally attached to its world and characters almost immediately.

Clair Obscur’s Characters Are the Heart of Its Story

The heart of Clair Obscur‘s story is its characters, each of whom faces an inevitable death that they have no control over. As such, they have each experienced loss to some degree in facing the same existential threat, and that comes out as players get to know them more. It’s tough to even say that Clair Obscur has a central protagonist, as not only can players swap which party member they’re controlling while exploring the world, but each character’s story is so poignant, it feels like they all matter just as much as the rest.

Of course, these characters are all backed up by their aforementioned voice actors, with talents like Ben Starr, Charlie Cox, and Jennifer English all giving each line convincing delivery and emotional longevity. Their performances carry the emotional weight of people who know their time is running out, and yet, despite the dark threat that constantly looms over their heads, Clair Obscur is filled with plenty of lighthearted and even comedic moments. It’s that constant balance of characters who live in hopeless circumstances and yet still attempt to find humor and warmth in it that makes each one of them so memorable.

Clair Obscur’s World Is Breathtakingly Beautiful and Deceptively Massive

Even without playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and only seeing footage of the game, its visuals and art design are a clear highlight of the whole experience. Built on the unprecedented power of Unreal Engine 5, Clair Obscur‘s world is breathtakingly beautiful, whether players are in one of its linear locations or exploring its deceptively massive world. The amount of detail that has been poured into every aspect of the game’s visuals is what should be expected of a big-budget game, and it all works together to make Clair Obscur‘s world come alive and reinforce the weight of its narrative.

As previously mentioned, Clair Obscur is deceptively large in terms of square miles. While it begins in a linear fashion, guiding players along a predefined course to establish the context of its story, Clair Obscur eventually opens up and allows players to traverse an open world map similar to those seen in classic Final Fantasy games. Players can then explore the world map for items, optional enemies, and even side stories, along with deciding where to go next.

It’s not just Clair Obscur‘s map being large that makes it great, though, as successes and failures in the industry have proven that bigger doesn’t always mean better. Instead, it’s Clair Obscur‘s drip-feeding philosophy that makes the size of its world feel manageable, as not all of it is immediately accessible. Over time, players will gain new abilities that not only allow them to access parts of the world map that were previously inaccessible but also explore the world map in different ways. What they bear witness to in the first half of the game is only a fraction of what Clair Obscur offers them in the second, and they should continue finding surprises even in the game’s latest moments.

Add to its visuals and world design one of the most diverse and emotionally relevant soundtracks ever produced for a video game, and Clair Obscur already looks like an inspiration for future fantasy RPGs. Clair Obscur‘s soundtrack isn’t what you’d typically hear in a fantasy RPG because it’s always changing. Even the battle music, which many RPGs see remaining constant throughout the experience, changes depending on the area players are in or what they’re fighting, and yet it feels somewhat familiar all the same. This keeps every area and encounter feeling fresh while still ensuring its core message remains intact.

Clair Obscur’s Combat Is Intense, Diverse, and Rewarding

Clair Obscur’s Combat Is a Mechanical Wheelhouse of Strategy and Precision

Something Clair Obscur does incredibly well is it specializes in the unexpected by ensuring players are constantly rewarded for the time they spend playing the game. Just when players may think they have everything figured out, Clair Obscur introduces a new system or opens things up even more to keep them on their toes and make the game feel fresh again. While there are multiple ways in which Clair Obscur accomplishes this, there is no greater evidence of this approach than in its combat.

By and large, Clair Obscur‘s combat centers around building up and expending Action Points (AP). Melee attacks generally produce AP whereas skills consume it, with some skills requiring more AP than others. In the end, this ensures players are thinking more strategically about their next move than merely carelessly executing attacks. There are ways to increase AP generation and even begin battles with more AP using the game’s Pictos system, but more on that later.

Rather than being solely turn-based, Clair Obscur opts for a hybrid approach that combines turn-based strategy with real-time precision. Each battle takes into account the speed of each character and establishes the turn order as a result, but players are still required to either dodge or parry attacks in order to avoid damage. Dodging attacks is more forgiving, while parrying attacks is much less so. However, parrying attacks comes with the bonus of not only potentially dealing counterattack damage but also generating AP.

If an enemy attacks only once and players successfully parry it, they will perform a counterattack. But if an enemy performs a combo, players must parry every single attack in that combo in order to counter. Clair Obscur also has players occasionally performing parries that require them to jump first in order to execute them.

Another way Clair Obscur implements real-time action into its turn-based combat is through Super Mario RPG-esque Quick Time Events (QTEs). When a skill is executed in Clair Obscur, players are then presented with a QTE that can either improve or hinder the effects of that skill. It’s possible to achieve a “Perfect” timing during these events to dramatically increase their potency, but some skills can even backfire if players fail to execute the QTE properly. This, as well as the parry and dodge system, ensures players are always actively engaged during combat, as opposed to relying on muscle memory to perform skill rotations.

Clair Obscur’s Combat Can Be Incredibly Challenging, But Its Progression System Can Alleviate That

One thing that must be mentioned about Clair Obscur‘s combat is that it can be immensely challenging — even on its Expeditioner (normal) difficulty — especially if players go venturing off the beaten path in search of unique encounters. Many of its most challenging fights make it feel like a turn-based Soulslike, since it relies so heavily on dodging and parrying. However, this also means that players aren’t necessarily required to wait until they are of an appropriate level before engaging the game’s toughest foes. Instead, should they find their reaction time and patience are up to snuff, they can parry and dodge their way through just about any encounter at any point in the game.

Speaking of character levels, Clair Obscur‘s progression system plays out similarly to a traditional Soulslike, which sees players allocating attribute points that determine that character’s effectiveness in combat. As characters gain levels, they also gain points for players to spend between five different attributes (Vitality, Might, Agility, Defense, and Luck). Some of these attributes will also scale with the currently equipped weapon, thereby increasing customization potential in the long run. And it is possible to reset a character’s attribute points using a Recoat item, though they are somewhat rare in the early game.

Clair Obscur‘s Story (easy) difficulty offers a less difficult experience by increasing the parry and dodge window and weakening enemy attacks, but it should still be enough of a challenge for casual players.

Players are also allotted Skill Points as each character levels up, which can be spent on a variety of skills for that character. Rather than each character sharing the same skill tree, they all have their own trees, which even further enhances customization. Since characters can only have six skills equipped at a time and some characters have over twenty unique skills available, this means players can adjust the playstyle of each character to suit their preference.

Finally, regarding progression, almost every weapon in the game comes with passive bonuses that unlock depending on the weapon’s level. These weapons have bonuses available at Level 4, Level 10, and Level 20, with Level 32 being the maximum level a weapon can reach. In addition to these passive bonuses unlocking at each of these tiers, the weapon’s power (damage) and stat scaling also improve. There are dozens of weapons available for every character, each one with unique abilities, once again showcasing Clair Obscur‘s devotion to player choice.

Clair Obscur’s Characters Offer a Wide Range of Unique Approaches

Each character in Clair Obscur has their own mechanics, and they’re a far cry from traditional RPG class archetypes like warrior, mage, rogue, etc. In general, each character has their own set of skills that are associated with their unique system, but those skills can be enhanced by performing them in a certain order. For instance, Lune’s Stain system sees her generating Elemental Stains when she casts skills of a certain element (Ice, Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Light). Her skills can then consume specific Stains in order to increase their effectiveness or offer bonus effects, thereby encouraging players to cycle between elements in order to get the most out of the system.

Maelle’s skills, on the other hand, revolve around her Stance system. Her three Stances — Defensive, Offensive, and Virtuose — all have passive bonuses and will change depending on which skills players use. In Defensive Stance, Maelle takes less damage and gains 1 AP per parry or dodge. In Offensive Stance, Maelle deals increased damage but also takes more damage in return. In Virtuose Stance, she deals twice as much damage in general. The catch, however, is that if players aren’t constantly switching Stances, they’ll shift to “Stanceless,” which comes with no bonuses at all. As such, players are encouraged to continuously switch to a different Stance using the skills required to do so.

This is one major area where Clair Obscur once again shows its prowess for the unexpected. While players begin the game after the prologue with a full party of playable characters and get plenty of time to perfect their rotations with said characters, more characters are introduced later on that have their own unique systems as well. Ultimately, this encourages experimentation on a level that is rarely seen anymore in an RPG, although it’s still possible for players to avoid using new characters altogether.

With so many gameplay systems working in Clair Obscur‘s combat, one would think it might be overwhelming and difficult to follow. However, Clair Obscur offers players subtle hints as to which skills they should execute next, with glowing sparkles near and around the skills that might be best used next in the rotation. That being said, these recommendations truly are just recommendations, as it’s still possible and entirely viable to use any skill at any time with little penalty. The biggest factor here is that players might miss out on certain benefits if they don’t follow the recommended path.

Clair Obscur’s Pictos and Lumina System Is a Buildcrafter’s Dream

By far, one of Clair Obscur‘s best systems is its Pictos and Lumina system, as it plays into the heart of the game’s buildcrafting and curated gameplay. Pictos are special items that can be equipped to a character to increase their stats, but only three of them can be equipped at a time. However, each Picto also comes with a special passive effect called a “Lumina” that can drastically alter a character’s effectiveness in combat.

What makes this system even better is the fact that once players win four battles with a Picto equipped, the Lumina associated with that Picto becomes available as a passive effect that any playable character can equip, so long as they have the Lumina Points available to do so. For example, the Second Chance Picto offers increased health and critical rate to the wearer, but its Lumina, which triggers an automatic revive at 100% health once per battle, can be equipped by any character with 40 available Lumina Points once players achieve four victories with the Picto equipped beforehand.

By obtaining a special item called “Colour of Lumina,” players can add Lumina Points to any character they wish, and this is in addition to the Lumina Points characters gain organically as they level up.

There is also no limit to how many Lumina Points a character can have in Clair Obscur, which means players can eventually make each of their characters a powerhouse of passives if they devote enough time to the game. This works especially well with Clair Obscur‘s New Game Plus mode, which offers more difficult encounters and unique rewards that can’t be obtained in a single playthrough, but also more time to spend obtaining new Pictos and Lumina Points. It’s a brilliant way of ensuring players can personalize each character’s playstyle without being tied down to predefined skill trees alone.

Clair Obscur’s Exploration and Personalization Are Immensely Fulfilling

Clair Obscur’s World Is Teeming With Opportunities and Rewards

Clair Obscur might begin with some small opportunities here and there for players to explore and obtain unique rewards, but once things open up with its world map, the possibilities seem almost endless. At some point, players will meet an adorable character by the name of “Esquie” who allows them to travel around the world map at greater speeds. As they progress through the story, Esquie’s abilities will evolve, thereby opening up exploration even more.

Throughout Clair Obscur‘s world, players can find a multitude of optional bosses, enemy encounters, and activities, many of which reward Picto and weapon upgrades, as well as brand-new weapons, Pictos, and other valuable items. In fact, Clair Obscur kind of encourages players to engage with any enemies they find, as they can potentially upgrade their equipment without ever spending anything on them. The optional boss fights, especially, are worthwhile, not just for the challenge they offer, but for their rewards.

Clair Obscur might begin with some small opportunities here and there for players to explore and obtain unique rewards, but once things open up with its world map, the possibilities seem almost endless.

Players can be sure that Clair Obscur will never guide them to every single area in the game. Actually, the areas they are required to visit are only an incredibly small number of the explorable areas in the game, making the game’s open world feel much larger than it initially seems. Many of these areas even have their own side stories and lore, which contribute to the game’s worldbuilding. I spent around 55 hours in the game before starting a New Game Plus, and I know for sure I didn’t do everything. As such, there’s plenty here for players to discover.

Clair Obscur Personalization Extends to Wardrobe, Character Relations, and the Game’s Conclusion

By now, it should be obvious that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wants its players to personalize their gameplay, as its combat alone is enough of a testament to that. However, that personalization also plays out in other areas of the game, particularly in the relationships players build with Clair Obscur‘s characters and even their wardrobe. By exploring the world, completing optional activities, visiting Gestral merchants, and completing certain parts of the story, players can obtain cosmetic items for each character to wear, some of which are even comedic in tone.

Each character’s hairstyle and outfit can be customized in Clair Obscur, and there are a vast array of options available, depending on how much of the game’s content players complete.

Something that makes Clair Obscur an even warmer experience is its occasional self-awareness. For instance, it knows how badly players will likely want to put each party member in a swimsuit, so it makes those cosmetic items the most difficult to obtain. Many of the optional activities that reward these swimsuits revolve around the game’s platforming mechanics, which are just janky enough to be justifiable without being a point of criticism, as they contribute to the difficulty of said activities. Fortunately, the janky platforming’s impact on other aspects of the game is hardly felt.

Players can also determine the state of their relationships with each character by engaging in unique conversations with them at camp — even to the point of romancing certain characters, although romancing one will prevent players from romancing another. While at camp, players will occasionally be offered the chance to experience unique dialogue with each character, generally resulting in their “Relationship Level” with that character improving.

As the Relationship Level with a character increases, those characters also learn new Gradient Attacks, which are special attacks that won’t take up a character’s turn. While the gameplay improvements alone make participating in these conversations worth it, however, they also allow players a deeper look at each character’s backstory, making them invaluable to the overarching narrative. It’s one of the most subtle character relationship systems in a modern RPG and yet it means so much in the end.

Clair Obscur also features multiple endings, though these endings are the result of one major decision made at the end of the game. It could be argued that there is one “good” ending and one “bad” ending, but it all depends on perspective. Of course, the story leading up to that point can be impacted by the choices players make with each of the game’s characters, so it is a true role-playing experience in the end.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Is a Masterclass in RPG Storytelling, Gameplay, and Originality

All things considered, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the best RPGs in years and could very well be the start of something big for developer Sandfall Interactive. Every system feeds into something meaningful, every character serves a purpose, and every new mechanic introduced feels like it belongs. It’s smart about how it doles out progression, how it handles difficulty, and how it invites players to experiment without ever forcing them to. Sandfall Interactive may be a new studio, but with Clair Obscur, it has set a standard that future RPGs should be paying attention to.

What makes Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 worthy of recognition isn’t just how well everything works, but the fact that it all sticks with you. The characters, the music, the world design, the emotional throughline that runs underneath all the strategy and spectacle — none of it ever fades into the background. Clair Obscur is the kind of game that lingers after the credits roll, not because of how much it offers, but because of how much it gets right. It’s rare to see a game so mechanically confident and emotionally grounded, but that’s exactly what Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 releases on April 24, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Game Rant was provided a PC code for the purposes of this review.