Quality Time: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PS5)
Out across the sea stands a massive monolith in a fractured world. Each year, a mysterious Paintress scrawls a glowing number on the monolith, a warning to the whole world of what is to come. As soon as the number changes, any person above the age written on the monolith will immediately die. To fight this slow and terrible fate, the people of the city of Lumière send Expedition after Expedition out to try and put an end to this morbid countdown, people whose number is almost up giving the last moments of their life to trying to make a world for those who come after. And yet, the number continues to decrease each year for 67 years, and yet with many spirits low, there are still those who step up so that the sacrifices of those who came before were not in vain.
When the concept behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was unveiled in its debut trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase in 2024, the idea immediately captured my imagination. What must have it been like for the previous expeditions, what could the justification for the Paintress’s dire countdown be, what must a world where the people have been whittled down to no one over the age of 33 be like? It was designed by a debut indie team and utilized turn-based role-playing game battles, so while I was intrigued, at the time it seemed like it would be a curiosity, a game that might captivate with the ideas it grasps for while not having the means to realize them.
Now, after the game has won a plethora of awards and stands as perhaps the defining video game release of 2025, it’s much easier to go into the game with lofty expectations. But at the same time, it carried an unusual baggage, that being that you likely expect Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to be designed like a modern popular game. Perhaps you might see a spot where production was rushed, or maybe some compromise over what can be visually realized on the hardware. Especially for someone like myself who plays hundreds of games a year, it’s become so commonplace to see the seams in even the most beautiful and well realized games, a reminder that somewhere beneath the experience are business decisions and budgetary concerns.
And yet, when I reached the end of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, I teared up not because of what the story was doing, but because I was overwhelmed by the culmination of the beautiful work of art I had just experienced. Every time I thought I had seen something that would be the peak of the game’s impressive elements it would continue to evolve and explore the reaches of what it could realize. There were optional areas and experiences that were treated with loving care, bosses near the middle of the adventure who moved with such marvelous grace that they outclassed the final bosses of games created by major studios, and even the small touches like acting by way of the character’s eye movements were done to ensure Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could truly bloom into the masterpiece its creators envisioned it as. It is not uncompromising, it is not free from error, but it feels more like someone had exhausted nearly all their paint in making a glorious work and yet still had just enough to ensure the final small bits fit in even if they would not be quite so dazzling.
A true great work of art deserves thorough appreciation, and while I will not delve into the story spoilers that could rob moments of their intended impact for future players of the title, I feel I must devote my time and voice to emphasizing the remarkable culmination of various talents Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 proves to be, it not just a artistic triumph, but one with just as much thought paid to how it plays.
WE CONTINUE
Our story starts on the eve of the 33rd Expedition’s efforts to try and take down the Paintress, and even in its opening prologue free of most danger, some important touches start to help set the stage. Lumière is a fractured city part of a world equally torn to pieces. From the twisted Eiffel Tower to chunks of land floating about and a mysterious material coating half-destroyed buildings, we see the lingering elements of the calamity that started with the establishment of the monolith and how its scars have not healed even after so many decades. We also see something almost as important but far less serious, that being Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s absolutely thorough French identity. While not set in the real world, French culture is woven through its setting in large and small ways. You’ll see some sillier representations of this like mimes being an optional enemy to fight but also more meaningful inclusions, a good degree of the game’s huge and exceptional soundtrack featuring French vocals. Names, terms, and even swears use the language, and with so much clear inspiration from an already beautiful country, you have a lovely and clear foundation for the rest of the experience to build on.
Those early moments in Lumière can already provide some beautiful and surprisingly emotional moments even though you’ve only had an hour or two to get to know the characters, partly because the visuals and music work so well in amplifying the build-up that comes from starting to learn the ways the world functions. You are there the moment the number goes down and immersed in the grim reality of what that monolith means to the people of its world, the repeated sense of inevitable loss that comes from something at once out of their control and yet reliable in the painful mark it will leave on the lives of those left behind. However, the Expeditions have two important mottoes that immediately present the game’s important themes. “When one falls, we continue” and “For those who come after” embody the idea of the seemingly doomed heading out into a world of danger and death to try and end this awful cycle, and even as Expedition 33 sets off and encounters the threats that had ended so many before them, they feel the burden of such efforts. Continuing on despite grief and pain is at the heart of the entire story though, something that is immediately nailed in with an unflinchingly dark look at the tolls both mental and physical that such expeditions have had to face for so many years.
And yet, the two mottoes also influence the land you explore. All throughout the world you’ll find the remains of previous Expeditions and see the history of this setting that was shaped before you arrived. Early on your party already finds themselves grateful for the efforts of Expedition 69 who devoted themselves more to making the path ahead to the Paintress manageable for those who come after, installing handholds and other climbing equipment to overcome the previously untouched paths along the way. You’ll find the journals of Expeditions who learned the hard way that certain approaches were not feasible, the knowledge of their failure a warning to future Expeditions not to attempt such tactics. You’ll read of the simple human tragedies of those who could not handle the burden or felt emotionally overwhelmed by the trials ahead, and yet you can find battlefields littered with remains that, while haunting in their number, show just how hard people fought even when it wasn’t their year to go. Those same battlefields, now featuring far fewer monsters to fight through, also remind you the pain of others has formed this path, and you must honor their sacrifice to press on and hopefully finish the job they started. In a bit of a beautiful touch, the fanbase of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has even taken on the mottoes as well, leaving gameplay tips with the phrase “for those who come after” as they share knowledge from their own stumbles and discoveries, allowing more people to experience the totality of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
While the grander purpose of the Expeditions and the emphasis on collective action is something you’ll be reminded of time and again through sights both beautiful and haunting, this reminder of the broader collaboration of humanity towards betterment is not the only crucial piece of the game’s story. The members of your particular Expedition have their own emotional trials to overcome and reminders of how unforgiving the world can be even when you give it your all to fight against it. In fact, while the opening can come on rather strong with both the enchantingly sad and brutally harsh parts of this experience, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 also makes sure to then dial it back a bit to allow things to breathe, the player coming across a village of creatures called Gestrals who are simple-minded and childishly obsessed with combat sports. It provides valuable time to decompress and get to see the softer and sillier side of the world, a reminder of the light that makes continuing through darkness worthwhile. The name Clair Obscur itself is essentially this idea presented plainly, it coming from an art movement about the contrast between light and dark but here you are reminded that joy and sorrow not only coexist, but one can emphasize the other through their juxtaposition.
The main cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is relatively small, Expedition 33’s leader Gustave joined by characters like his adopted 16 year old daughter Maelle who insisted on joining the journey and the intelligent Lune whose mastery of the world’s magic systems might give the group an edge over other failed expeditions. Brought to life with detailed character models that allow for such subtle acting as minor facial movements and yet grounded in the world by how characters get dirty and bloodied in ways that show even in cutscenes, you can come to know a character like Maelle just from the way she looks at something or understand the pain someone like Gustave feels without him needing to speak a word. Surprisingly, you can even get a range of alternate costumes and hairstyles for the party that are similar adaptive and appear in cutscenes, the only bit of mild compromise this seems to lead to being simpler conversations like ones around the campfire having stiffer posing whereas scenes of greater meaning bring them to life in ways that feel remarkably close to reality. Lune’s smile alone feels like it can capture the natural ways a human face can completely change with emotion and that in turn helps it reach your heart more truly since it mimics reality so well and increases the authentic feel of character interactions.
There is, admittedly, not as much contrast as you might want from the core party members that can make some of their interactions a bit straightforward. They certainly have distinct personalities and depth you come to understand over the adventure, but it doesn’t always show. In dedicated moments you might see more of Sciel’s numbness to tragedy by taking it all in stride and preserving her smile or the burden of Lune’s intelligence coming from being trained in her parents’ image, but when specific events occur, unique reactions or conflict between party members is in short supply. A few do step up as the major players still and thus get the bulk of development so you have a proper window into their soul, but Monoco is a rare case in the party of having such a different mindset that you can look forward to his reactions and the little ways he doesn’t click with expectations and the other characters, often in comedic ways. This also arises well through Esquie, a huge friendly figure who helps the expedition cross the fractured world whose perspective is at once puerile and profound. He might get jealous over something small like the Expedition’s armbands and at other times express meaningful ideas that can help heal the party so they’re not left brooding. It is possible some of the character emphasis is a product of the game’s narrowing focus as you come closer to the truth about the Paintress, the game electing to explore its most crucial plot points and thematic elements even if some characters are not able to be as important to the resolution as a result. Similarly, the ending even feels like it is meant to sting and leave you thinking most of all about the messages rather than certain literal elements, as hard as that may be.
Even if some parts may be a little contentious to encourage discussion and reflection, the directing of the game’s scenes is undoubtedly superb, but perhaps even more impressive is that the love and care used to emphasize the emotions and story beats is not lost at all when it comes to the construction of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s world.
THE PATH THEY BUILT
While the shattered version of the game’s own twist on Paris is an impressive starting area, moving ahead onto the continent, you’ll find even simple spaces realized in sometimes breathtaking detail. In this magical world where the mysterious cataclysm left chunks of earth and pieces of buildings floating in the air in defiance of gravity, you can find yourself exploring some unusual and yet vividly realized spaces. The Expedition can find themselves walking underwater in a gorgeous coral reef as they watch aquatic life swim overhead as if there was nothing unusual about the situation, and yet Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can also make a simple forest a feast for the eyes just through the color choices and attention to detail. Natural landscapes that seem to stretch on for miles are altered by the ethereal magical elements that have impacted this world, things looking life-like and yet impossible at the same time. Color is in no short supply, even grim sights sometimes given a melancholy beauty as they don’t just rely on dark muted shades to bring their visuals to life.
One thing that will become apparent over time too is how art itself is a major thematic element of what you encounter across the world. Not only does the Paintress hold the fate of the world in her hands, but other creatures and places bear the mark of creators, be that for good or for ill. The most common foes you’ll face on your expedition are Nevrons, and while they come in many shapes, the generally appear to be sculpted beings, some even looking like they are statues given life. It’s not a hard and fast rule, there are some memorable Nevrons like one that looks like the specter of a diver carrying a naval mine like a balloon or the large Stalacts that are basically ice given bestial form, but there is generally a clear effort to make them feel like they were crafted rather than natural inhabitants of the world. Potier is a flying enemy composed of various pieces of ceramic pottery, Gross Tete is a giant chiseled face, but one of the more impressive executions of this involve the dancing doll Nevrons and their leader Sirène, her great colosseum including areas where cloth intertwines with the stonework to add tapestry to the various types of art represented. In a sillier but still meaningful contrast, the Gestral and their Sakapatate creations see a species of mannequin creatures making large patchwork bodies to better battle with, expression through creation arising even in the less serious corners of this marvelous tapestry of a game world.
Music may not be represented as much through the physical substance of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but its soundtrack also deserves its flowers not just for composing a wide range of beautiful instrumental tracks to underscore important moments, but stretching its legs at times with less expected themes. Jazzy numbers, techno, some tracks deliberately stand out to set a unique tone, but there are also surprising mixes. Gestral Summer Party is a track used for less serious battles with the Sakapatate creations and yet it has a futurustic festival atmosphere to it underlaid with some beautiful strings, and despite there not being a huge amount of these battles during your adventure, these fights were given a heartfelt and creative theme. Music in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will evolve and adjust during battle, the end screen after you win the fight playing a calmer version of the battle track with its own unique sound while many boss battles amplify their increasing danger through their phases by the music injecting new instruments or reaching points in the track where heavier instrumentation like electric guitar helps to escalate the scale. One track in particular during one of the most important boss battles features a male vocalist joining in with such an impassioned shout of a chorus that it adds a powerful energy to a fight that by its very nature has frequent breaks for the turn-based attack selection. While there’s an already lovely main theme you’ll find pieces of throughout various tracks, the soundtrack is adventurous and reactive, working just as hard as the environments to craft the feelings of wonder and fascination that can come from pressing into the unknown.
Most of all, what might be the crown jewel of an already spectacular realization of the development team’s artistic vision actually comes from a bit of an outside source. Much ado has been made of the core development team’s small size, there being about 33 principle designers depending on how you slice it behind much of the game’s creation. This sounds like it must have been a daunting task and near impossible considering the depths of what you’ll see, but smart use of resources allowed the team to use pre-existing tools to create simple things while focusing their artistic vision on bringing it all together. They may have used certain technology to help create simple rocks and plants or help give detail to character models with their focus able to zero in on how it is presented and the required bespoke assets. Music and vocal performances also involved more than the core 33 developers as you might expect, contractors brought in since having your own orchestra isn’t exactly something most companies do for example, but there are 8 people from outside the main development team that are absolutely crucial to bringing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to life. 8 South Korean animators were employed to add movement to the vividly realized environments, monsters, and characters, and even here few things were held back.
Boss fights can have enormous impressive attacks that would be jaw dropping when seen in the most important fight of an entire game and yet they crop up on less important bosses you fight along the way or even with optional foes. The earlier mentioned Sirène is perhaps a crowning moment of this effort to add spectacle to battles, the large dancing boss eventually whipping up a gale storm that tears up the nearby arena and call ins other enemies you’ve faced for something more like a theatrical dance than the boss’s most powerful attack. What makes it even more impressive and yet understandable though is even the flashiest and grandest attacks from foes are made to be perceptible rather than pure scenic action, because each incoming attack is actually a crucial part of the game’s battle system. After all, every attack in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, no matter how flashy or extravagant, can be dodged and countered.
WE FIGHT FOR TOMORROW
The action elements of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 were fortunately not forgotten amidst realizing this video game experience so masterfully. The battle system is indeed a turn-based system where the action freezes as you pick your action, the player given time to consider which ability to use, which ultimately proves to be a rather smart decision once you see what your small party can do. You can have three characters in battle at once, each of which will have a completely unique set of abilities and mechanics tied to those skills.
Lune, for example, is a magic caster, but the spells she cast all feed into one another. Magic attacks generate Stains, and certain spells are made more potent or have their usefulness expanded if you have Stains of the appropriate color. Lune’s attacks, therefore, aren’t just about dealing damage, but also feeding into her more powerful skills or making something like a heal more effective. Sciel’s attacks are based on cards, some of her skills applying Foretell to an enemy while others will cash out the Foretell for higher damage and greater effects, but at the same time, each skill has a Sun or Moon element where using them properly will shift Sciel to Twilight where everything she does is far more powerful. Monoco, though, has a delightfully fun twist on enemy power stealing. In games like Final Fantasy where a blue mage can use an enemy’s skill it can be a drag to acquire them and even then they’re not too elaborate, but Monoco only needs to be present when a foe is slain and he’ll gain a skill you’ve already seen used against you. While these all play into a Bestial Wheel that shifts with the actions you take to add new aspects, what these also play into is the fact that you come to know the attacks of your enemies very well in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 thanks to the fact you will constantly need to be dodging and countering them to survive.
From the simplest Nevron to the meanest boss, every foe in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can technically be taken down without taking damage. This mostly manifests in the ways enemy turns unfold, because while you do need to press some extra buttons to ensure your attacks go off without a hitch, the enemy turn is a fully active chance to avoid the incoming danger. Enemies will telegraph their incoming attacks to some degree, the player needing to figure out the wind ups and listen for sound cues to help them time a button press to dodge the incoming attack. A dodge will prevent any injury and is the most flexible form of damage avoidance, but a parry takes things a step further. With a tighter window to get right, if you can parry an attack you can set up for a counter, although you must counter every set of incoming hits to pull off the counterattack. Counters can be heavily damaging and help you stay ahead even if the enemy is faster than you, but there will very much be foes along the way that might be able to kill a party member in one hit so you need to decide of parrying is worth that risk. Dodge keeps it simple enough that you won’t need incredible reflexes to survive, although a lower difficulty exists to make that even easier. Not only does responding to incoming attacks make the action feel more involved, this adds an extra weight to every action the enemy takes, the player always looking for that moment to avoid injury and other nasty effects while potentially getting the satisfying payoff later of being able to parry it because you’ve picked up on the tells over time.
This is only the start of an increasingly complex web of synergies and strategies for your party to lean into as well. You might want to build your team around something like the burn status effect, this not only dealing more damage over time the more burn you apply, but you can start to pick abilities that have extra effects on burning targets. You might want to generate shields that completely negate an incoming hit if you are worried about foes that are harder to dodge, and you can even account for enemies with shields by picking abilities that are more powerful when carving through those defenses. One area that gives you greater flexibility in a fight beyond things like picking your own stats on level up or upgrading a range of weapons with their own synergies though are the Pictos. Pictos confer new passive abilities on whoever has them equipped, but after four battles of having them equipped, everyone in the party can also equip them provided they have enough points for it. Pictos can provide stat boosts based on their level, but the options they add to your battle tool kit can make for an even more flexible and customizable party. Pictos might give you those ever useful shields, they might allow you to heal when striking a burned target, they can automatically trigger useful buffs like Rush so your turns come more quickly, and they might help with the game’s resource economy and breaking a target.
Every enemy in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a break gauge that takes separate damage from their health. Should you fill it up and then use an eligible attack, the foe will be stunned and take more damage, this often crucial for cutting through the defenses of some of the game’s sturdier optional enemies. However, you can’t just use whatever attacks you like, AP needing to be generated and then spent. Regular attacks generate AP but don’t advance your characters’ specific mechanics very well unless you cultivate a specific synergy just for that, but your Pictos can start to make it so that you have solid AP income to be constantly using your more interesting skills and combinations. AP management does play into the choices you’re making every turn as well; Maelle in particular shifts her stance based on the last move she used but if you don’t have the AP for the right follow up, you might want to try a different tactic. The systems can seem a little daunting when first explained and there are a lot of skills whose use won’t be immediately apparent until you explore the depths of your potential, but they do all fit well into a battle system where you’re making important choices each turn but not having to spend overly long considering the appropriate action.
The turn-based fighting is the main attraction when it comes to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s action, especially thanks to its broad customizability and many of the Necrons in your path as you explore putting up a good fight so you do need to think whether it’s a simple skirmish or a boss fight. However, even moving around a space is often given some substance, the areas you pass through often having side paths with useful items to find like new Pictos and weapons. You’ll need to keep your eyes open and do some climbing to find everything hidden around an area, the game lacking a mini-map that would make eliminating branching paths easier but most spaces aren’t too wide open so you can figure your way through it in time. In an interesting touch, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not afraid to put foes that might outclass your current power level off to the side, many optional activities possible to find before you’re ready to face them. Sometimes you can power through them all the same or at least mentally bookmark them for when you do find an appropriate item, and the world map also entices you with the promise of more to come. Esquie gradually gains new abilities to help your party traverse the land and yet you can see points of interest you cannot yet reach or feasibly tackle, exciting you for when things will open up. Admittedly, when they fully open up near the end it’s not the cleanest, a few too many areas where you need to be quite powerful unlocking and yet you have no direction on the right order to approach them to build your strength, but there are a range of special areas, difficult fights, and even some rather challenging minigames to uncover as you indulge your curiosity and peek around every possible corner.
Again, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will dedicate its full attention even to the smallest elements of its design when exploring. There are some areas in the game like the Blades’ Graveyard where you enter and all there is to do is grab a single item, and yet you are also presented with a brief look at a beautifully crafted space that essentially serves no purpose beyond its visual impact and lore implications. These side paths add to that feeling that the creators did not need to justify making something wonderful if they wanted to, but the range of substance in what might be awaiting a thorough player keeps making the finds exciting. Humbler discoveries can often still appreciated while unique boss encounters or special side quests give you the more involved optional elements that keep your sense of curiosity and wonder alive and hungry for more.
UN TRIOMPHE
A masterpiece, in the original sense of the word, was a piece of art made to show a creator is now a master of their craft, and the developers at Sandfall Interactive, as well as the animators, musicians, and voice actors who all contributed as well, can hold Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 high as a true proof of their mastery.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is intricately realized, from magnificent thematic music to excellent performances that support the compelling tale of perseverance and the mystery of the Paintress. The world is teeming with extra discoveries that are crafted with the same care and attention to detail as vital parts of the adventure, the game still producing jaw-dropping scenery and elaborate animations no matter where you find yourself. The battle system is layered and open to a great deal of experimentation and adjustment on top of tying its dodging system to the impressive enemy animations. With art and creation such an important component of the setting, it’s only appropriate the game was designed with attention paid to even the most minute detail, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a true masterwork that aimed to be all it can be.
Admittedly, you do see even early on a little hiccup or two, in cutscenes characters don’t always hold objects properly and when exploring you might get jammed in a crevice briefly, plus the endgame open exploration could have done with better guidance on where to head first and some minigames definitely needed quicker retry options. These little niggling critiques should not be entirely dismissed or else we’d be left with a review written purely from passion, but considering how often the game feels like it refused to allow any restriction to hamper its ability to manifest a space, to construct a cutscene, or realize its artistic vision to its fullest, it almost feels cruel to point out Gustave holds a rose a little oddly when so much else is an unrelenting sensory treat. This is a game created from the heart, the 33 developers who combined their technical knowledge from past work under Ubisoft, who were inspired by games like Final Fantasy and Paper Mario in designing their battle system, and who included so much of their French heritage they got knighted by France for representing the culture so well. I want them to know that all of that is seen, all of that is appreciated, because to do that today for them might inspire other artists to go this extra mile knowing their work will be appreciated as well. They may face stumbles and harsh realities that the Clair Obscur team has the good fortune or resources to overcome, but those future artists can also look and see that vision and care can manifest an experience millions will adore for it being true to the vision of the creatives behind it.
I can say things like I’d have liked if Lune and Sciel received more emphasis in the plot, or I can acknowledge certain story elements might be contentious, but there is intentionality in the design. Elements aren’t included as clutter and even parts that might sit oddly might be there to make you ponder and think. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 didn’t want to pad the expedition out or include optional fluff that didn’t feel worth doing. It is art, attempting to capture the thoughts of those who create it. That’s what makes it personal, compelling, and distinct, its messages supported on a beautiful bed of not just visual and musical excellence but gameplay excellence that makes exploring this fractured world more meaningful.
Even just writing here about the lengths gone to bring this game to life has me tearing up again, and yet funnily enough I do not think Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will sit among my favorite games of all time. It is certainly excellent, I enjoy discussing its themes, gameplay, and possible interpretations of plot elements. I hold many parts of it dear, and Monoco and Esquie are characters I won’t soon forget. If someone told me it was their favorite game I would not need to ask any questions to understand why, and seeing how its fans react to it warms my heart especially in an age where online criticism has becoming unnecessarily reactionary and sour. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 does not need to be one of my favorite games for me to happily elevate it as something exemplary, a showcase of what video games not only can be, but what they should be, a realization of ideas that we can all experience and interact with.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is fantastique.
