It’s a funny kind of madness, knowing something is inevitable, and yet pushing hard against time in the hopes it turns out differently. Maybe this time it’ll change. It’ll be something less scary, or violent, or grief-laden. Maybe this time, we can make a real impact on what has always been, and seemingly always will be. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 treads the ground of a people who adamantly refuse to let inevitability take hold.
It blends gorgeous aesthetics and authentic characters with engaging turn-based combat, in a gloriously heavy adventure that feels like Belle Epoque meets Persona meets Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation. In a world packed with consequence, death, and darkness, it’s a testament to the narrative prowess and voice acting performances of the team that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a feast for the senses. It toes the line of too much, while retaining a grounded sense of people and place.
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In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the dwindling number of people who live in Lumiere are desperately trying to prevent their slow eradication. Each year, from across the water, an immense being known as the Paintress scrawls a number on a tower, and anyone whose age reflects that number fades into nothingness. It’s a slow, steady extinction, and no matter how much pomp and circumstance the townsfolk surround themselves with, there’s no denying the heaviness in the air.
The people knowingly walk hand in hand with grief, preparing not only for the worst, but the inescapable. And so, with truly nothing to lose and time against them, a band of younger survivors set out each year on an expedition to kill the Paintress and put a stop to the annual killings. So far, none of the travellers have ever returned, the Paintress remains unchanged, and the number of townsfolk is growing progressively smaller.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sees you playing as the survivors of the latest expedition, wandering through a new world in the mysterious and dark shadow of expeditions long past. Nothing is quite what you expect in your pursuit of the Paintress, and even if you do manage to find a way to stop her, it’s clear from the jump: there’s no guarantee of a happy ending. What this band of travellers is striving for isn’t just her death, it’s change itself.
Parrying, precision and Pictos
As far as turn-based combat goes, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sets a new bar. With expansive synergies between characters that develop with time and experience, the system ensures all party members feel consistent and useful in your battles.
Though I’m usually against quick-time events, it really does make for a more dynamic experience in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. From attacks to parrying and dodging, it’s imperative you remain ready and precise – which I’ll admit, at the beginning, I should’ve paid more heed to. There’s no being lazy here. You have to stay focused in order to nail a perfect parry, which truly is satisfying, especially when you’re relying so heavily on perfectly timed, synergised attacks in boss fights.
Perhaps the only thing I took umbrage with in the combat was how, in the earlier stages of the game, I found myself barely needing to use those interlocked synergies – one strong hit would wipe out most of the early foes long before I had the chance to set up a collaborative attack.
While this changed over time, it was admittedly frustrating to have options available with no necessity to use them until later. If there were more beefy boys and fewer filler fights in the early stages, I do believe it would allow for better synergy maximisation.
This feeling was magnified by the existence of Pictos – stat boosters that offer perks which can change the way you approach combat entirely. Time is a key element here, as the longer you utilise these boosters, the more you’ll be able to develop your character outside of the skill tree. It’s a complex system, but once you’re across the gist of how it all interplays, you’ll be smashing through fights.
Painting authenticity into the world
Even the most stunning game world needs grounding in humanity to make the consequences feel real, and in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, they nailed it with both dialogue and delivery. With a truly impressive voice cast – the likes of Daredevil’s Charlie Cox, Baldur’s Gate 3’s Jennifer English, and more – the story plays out with an authenticity you don’t always expect.
This is a heavy game, and exploring character motivations allows the player to really envelope themselves in the weight of the situation. After all, grief leads people to make questionable choices, fear leads them to ruin. The dialogue and interactions are authentic, with real conflict resolved in interesting ways. These conversations and cutscenes are a vehicle for the player to really grapple with the consequences of the Paintress’ annual elimination. While occasionally, this means other elements of the game feel a little dulled, it also makes it clear this is a game about people.
The relationships between core members of the party are what I found myself ruminating on, long after I’d switched the game off and gone to bed each night. Dynamics are often hard to balance in games like these, where some characters automatically feel more fleshed out than others, but the relationships here all felt nuanced and real, in a way that significantly affect me.
Narratively, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 does what all good fantasy/sci-fi does: it explores the human side of the world-ending conceit. While the Paintress remains front and centre as the chief foe you’ll have to face down, there’s an equally oppressive foe in the midst – the characters’ own foibles. Desperation is a silly thing, and it’s delicious to watch its consequences play out in such layered fashion.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is about grief
Without giving too much away, the deeper into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 you get, the more you find yourself being encompassed in a whirlwind of difficult emotions. The beauty and balance of the game is that even in the most unexpected moments, there’s the potential for just a single line or discovery to hit you with a sizeable gut punch.
While it’s not quite perfect, this is a really stunning showing from developer Sandfall Interactive. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had me feeling my own mortality (as someone in their early 30s, perhaps it hit a little close to home) and man, I love when a game has the narrative gumption to do that.
Four-and-a-half stars: ★★★★½
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Developer: Sandfall Interactive
Publisher: Kepler Interactive
Release Date: 24 April 2025
A code for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was provided by the publisher and played on PC for the purposes of this review. GamesHub reviews are rated on a ten-point scale.
