Clair Obscur Expedition 33

[KSUowls]

I know a few people have expressed interest here, and the release date is almost here.


Release date 4/24/2025
Price - $49.99 Standard (PC, Xbox, PS5); also on Gamepass

A single player turn based RPG where combat looks like an evolution of old school JRPG titles as opposed to the more button masher versions of what we have seen from a lot of titles (including Final Fantasy) in recent years. I call it an evolution though because it does seem to have some kind of hybrid format where you need to correctly time an input after selecting an action.

The voice cast is basically A-list with Andy Serkis, Jennifer English and others. Graphics look pretty solid, using Unreal Engine 5

No full reviews out yet, but previews so far have been pretty positive.


Trailer
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[KSUowls]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

Reviews are rolling in and they are stellar across the board. Metacritic has it as above 90 right now

First with some of the big commercial ones:
IGN 9/10
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Gamespot 9/10

https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/clair-obscur-expedition-33-review-light-and-shadow/1900-6418358/

Then some of the big content creators:
Fextralife 9.5/10
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Luke Stephens "a Masterpiece"
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[LowerWolf]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

I was going to wait for a sale, but I just pre-ordered after watching parts of those reviews.

[KSUowls]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

Early impressions after about 4 hours.

If Final Fantasy had stayed true to its roots instead of moving into a new genre, then this game is what it would have looked like.

I completely agree with the very high metacritic score.

Combat: A++
Classic JRPG style turn based combat with basic attacks, skills/magic, and items, but there is a twist. Many of your attacks will spawn what I will call a mini QTE. You are given a short window to press a button to make the attacks more effective. In addition to that, there is a dodge and parry system (with very tight timing windows). You learn very quickly how important it is to mitigate incoming damage with these, and I can see them being entirely necessary at higher difficulties. It adds an element of 'skill' to the combat aside from just the strategy required in a turn based rpg. It's a fantastic system combining the strategic side of classics in the genre while offering a bit more twitch based skill that blends genres.

Story: A (Tentative)
I'm still early on in the story, but prologue pulls you in very quickly. If you've seen the trailer then you should know the overarching theme, and the prologue does a really good job at making you care. I do find the main character a little bland, but the other characters so far more than make up for it.

Customization: A
There seems to be a good bit of customization allowed. Each time you level you get two different types of points. One set of points you can apply to your base stats like vitality and attack power. The other lets you unlock new skills in this game's version of a skill-tree. There seems to be a lot of different ways that you spec a character which is a great thing imo. The physical items that you can equip seems boil down to just your weapon, which will have certain bonuses and gain levels (like extra crit chance on burning enemies). Each bonus costs a certain amount of Lumina and you can only equip so much Lumina at a time. For instance, a character may have 6 points of available Lumina and the 'extra crit chance' may costs 3 points. So, then you would only have 3 more points for other bonuses.

Exploration: B
The game is very linear so far. There isn't much of an open world to explore, which kind of makes sense based on the narrative. I wouldn't be surprised if it opens up more later on, like many other RPGs, but the early hours will have you mostly following a set path.

Voice Acting: A+
I'm not at all surprised given some of the names in the cast, but I've been very happy with every character and NPC that I've come across.

Graphics & Art: A
Character models and environments look great. Character faces are expressive, and you can tell that it wasn't an afterthought. The overall aesthetic really fits the narrative. There is a grainy-ness to it that fits.

Music: A
IMO a great RPG needs a great score, and so far this one fits the bill.

[ChaseB]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

Hell yeah, love to see it KSU.

[LowerWolf]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

Have it downloaded; starting it tomorrow night.

[KSUowls]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

I didn't plan it this way, but I had today off from work which was quite the boon because this game consumed my entire day.

Exploration definitely opened up a bit after the first few hours. Nothing that is going to set a new standard there, but there are a lot of side hallways and things you can do to explore. I'm around a dozen hours in, and probably half of that has been spent trying to find explore every nook and fighting battles along the way.

Combat in this game is so rewarding. It's definitely a challenge unless you are over leveled. There is a lot of incentive to create combinations of attacks among your party that synergize well together. The dodge/parry system is so rewarding. It's very challenging to get the timing right consistently, but it always feels good when you do.

A very strong game of the year contender.

[LowerWolf]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

Two hours is typically my breaking point for a game where I need to stop and do something else for a little bit.

I didn't start until midnight last night, but played until 4 a.m. And I only stopped then because I needed to get up this morning to get some stuff done. Easily could have played several more hours otherwise. Haven't had a game suck me in like this since Bioshock Infinite.

Thanks again for mentioning this game, KSU. It's fantastic.

[KSUowls]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

Over 1 million copies sold (even while also being on Gamepass), and it's currently the highest user rated game ever on Metacritic with a 9.7. Both metrics really makes me happy because it refutes some pre-conceived notions that I see from other gamers as well as industry leads. Expedition 33 achieved these metrics despite being a classic "turn based RPG", having no existing fan base as it is an original IP made by a new development studio, little real marketing, and it achieved Triple-A quality with a near-indie price. Which reinforces my belief that a great game will always sell.

We're all prone to hyperbole when making a statement, but I really mean it when I say that this game is a masterpiece. It's my GOTY, and I could see the industry viewing it as such by a landslide.

I've played about 40 hours since it released on Thursday, which is a time sink that I have not devoted to a single game in years (not even Baldurs Gate 3 which I continuously rave about). From a review perspective, I always view games through the lense of what does it do really well. Expedition 33 passes with flying colors across the board there. I have to nitpick just to find things which are not stellar.

Even after all this time, I still absolutely love the combat. It takes ideas that I have seen in multiple other RPG games over the years, blends them all together seamlessly, and then it adds some unique quick time elements that creates this perfect blend of strategy and engagement. I still love it all, even the most basic fights, after dozens of hours.

The story is really well done. The prologue is so impactful, there are a lot of videos of people reacting to the first 30 minutes of gameplay, and it never slows down. I do think that they could have done more to explore the characters and the world, but not because the story is lacking. It's just so intriguing that I wanted more. It's clear that the writers were not just trying to deliver something generic X saves the world story. They take risks, and those risks pay off.

I saw this as a passing comment somewhere, and I think that it really applies. As someone who grew up loving the JRPG formula of the 90s and 2000s, Expedition 33 takes all of the things that I love about the genre while streamlining all of the things that weren't always as enjoyable. As an example, if you have ever interacted with Final Fantasy 7's Materia system, you know that Materia can level up with AP points that are awarded at the end of each battle. It's quite the grind to actually "master" each Materia though, which limits how much fun you can have with it unless you really focus on grinding out AP. Expeditions 33 has a somewhat similar system, that you can get full use out of in a fraction of the time.

The music is superbly melancholy. It doesn't deliver on the same scale of like a Nobuo Uematsu, but it is still really good and fits the narrative.

Graphically it looks like a Triple-A game. If you wanted to be really nitpicky, then you could point out the lack of environmental physics, but the characters and environments all look great.

I've mentioned the voice acting in this game a few times because it's both excellent, and it helps to humanize the story when you are getting these expressive actors.

[LowerWolf]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

As a novice RPG player, I really probably should take some time to learn the actual capabilities. For example, I'm pretty sure I'm not quite using Lune's stains correctly.

[KSUowls]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

As a novice RPG player, I really probably should take some time to learn the actual capabilities. For example, I'm pretty sure I'm not quite using Lune's stains correctly.

Each of her skills has a little colored icon in the top right, next to where it says how many action points the skill requires. It may have 1, 2, or 3 different icons. Those represent the different stains that the skill will produce in using that skill. The stains will then go into the little wheel off to the side (up to 4).

Stains can be used to buff other abilities. For instance, her Ice ability that she starts with generates an Ice stain (the little blue icon in the top right of the skill). So you cast that and you'll see an Ice stain get generated on her Stains wheel. Her other starting skill "Immolation" is a fire skill, generating a fire stain. However, if you have any ice stains built up then it will use one of those to add extra damage to Immolation.

Taking advantage of this system early on can be difficult because you just don't have a lot of options for creating stains. Later on you unlock the ability to generate stains through your free-aim ability, which really unleashes her full power.

Separate pro-tip. If you get to a point early in the story that requires you to select an individual character to fight with. Pick Maelle. You'll thank me later.

[pietasterp]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

I had not heard about this game until today, and the name kinda put me off (weird I know). But seeing the footage and the video reviews, the game looks amazing. I really only like turn-based RPG's (I'm old), so this might be right up my alley. Too much in the backlog for the time being, but I'll put it on my list. Maybe I'll get to it in 2035 LOL.

[LowerWolf]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

I still suck at the timing events, but I parried a jump attack tonight. That was pretty cool.

Also tried what I think is a side quest and got my butt handed to me. Not so cool. But still fun.

[ChaseB]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

I had not heard about this game until today, and the name kinda put me off (weird I know). But seeing the footage and the video reviews, the game looks amazing. I really only like turn-based RPG's (I'm old), so this might be right up my alley. Too much in the backlog for the time being, but I'll put it on my list. Maybe I'll get to it in 2035 LOL.

It's undoubtedly one of the worst names of all-time and further proof that sometimes people who make RPGs seem to not to want other people to play their games with the way they title them haha.

[Fake Empire]

Re: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

It's undoubtedly one of the worst names of all-time and further proof that sometimes people who make RPGs seem to not to want other people to play their games with the way they title them haha.

The title of the game is one of the reasons for someone in Europe to buy it right away especially at ages 40+yrs old. As an American you're probably not familiar with the Clair Obscur band and the game sets the dark tone by default by using this name.
That said, the name of the game is absolutely sublime and a major selling point for many of us in Europe.