đŽ Thoughts: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
Disclaimer: These thoughts are entirely my own! Also Iâm a console gamer so read with that in mind!
Total hours played: 79
I have a tendency to scroll through the entire PlayStation library just to see what stands out to me at any given moment. A kind of doom-scrolling, in its own way. A couple of months ago, while browsing my homepage, I stumbled upon a new game from a developer I wasnât familiar with: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
The name itself was intriguing. 33 expeditions? Were there 32 others I somehow missed? Expedition for what? I had so many questions about this game that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
But what immediately caught my attention was the music. The track playing on the gameâs homepage had a melancholic feel that kind of⌠makes you want to cry? Like youâre at the opera house in another time. The feeling raised even more questions and pulled me in. So, naturally, I looked up the lore trailer on YouTube, and by the end of it, I knew this would be my next play.
The first visual I saw (the one above) also made a strong first impression on me. My go-to genre is action-adventure RPG, and if I were to judge the game by its cover, Expedition 33 seemed to completely fit the bill. Five characters, posed like theyâre about to enter a boss fight, with the tall woman with white hair crouched in the back in front of a massive-looking door? Floating buildings and debris scattered across the scene? Oh yeah, my expectations for this game were rising by the second.
Some spoilers ahead so if youâre planning on playing the game, donât say I didnât warn you!
The ART DIRECTION đ¨
Pianist in an interior by Giovanni Boldini, 1877
As you start the game, you're met with the main menu: floating rose petals, the same track from the homepage playing, and the logo front and center. The petals drift like dust in the wind, set against an ink-like background flowing in an endless loop. The logo carries an elegance and fluidity that reflects the maturity of the gameâs themes. The disintegration of the letters and numbers suggests a passage of time, or the idea that something once perfect is now slowly decaying. Overall, the composition reinforces the melancholic tone, but at the same time, it creates a quiet sense of hope, especially as the âPress Any Buttonâ prompt flickers into view. The UI is lovely from the start. It feels like Iâm entering a new world with each click and prompt.
Iâm a sucker for European art eras. Mainly because of how much depth a single piece of artwork can convey. The art direction in Expedition 33 feels very much the same. If there were still any doubts about whether this game was going to be one I can get behind, the prologue definitely wiped them out. You play as Gustave, a man with a mechanical arm who oddly looks like Robert Pattinson with facial hair but with the voice of Charlie Cox. As you jump across rooftops in third-person and move through the opening story, the visuals are spectacular. The setting feels heavily inspired by the Belle Ăpoque era in Europe, specifically France, with its ornate architecture and detailed character fashion. Itâs romantic, intricate, and full of atmosphere. Also, the rose petals everywhere? Itâs clear this will be a recurring visual motif throughout the game.
I wonât spoil what happens in the prologue, because itâs easily one of the most well-thought-out openings Iâve played in the past year or two. But I will say this: that one shot when The Paintress rises and paints the new number on the Monolith? Chefâs kiss. The composition didnât make realistic sense but for the sake of storytelling, it portrayed the intensity of the scene perfectly. You feel the dread and the hopelessness from the characters in that one shot alone. It marks the start of the game so well, and you immediately start to feel protective of the characters (which definitely wonât come back to haunt you later đŹ). Itâs devastatingly beautiful.
The Menu Mechanics đ
I love how thereâs no UI element on the screen while youâre running around the map. Itâs just you and the character, no HP bar, no stamina bar, nothing (aside from the occasional autosave icon that pops up now and then). It adds to the immersive feel of the game, like youâre actually in the world, running alongside Maelle or any of the other party members. One thing though, there is no mini map on the screen (which I wasnât really bothered by because I guess I have a good sense of directionâŚ) but it can get really confusing if youâve turned the wrong way at one point in the game.
Gustaveâs character menu
The character menus themselves are dynamic and pretty straightforward. You can easily tell where you're clicking thanks to the flowing animations, darker color cues, and subtle enlargements that highlight buttons. The shapes and motion carry forward the overall fluidity and elegance of the gameâs art direction. The one thing I do notice are the rose petals floating around, sometimes it gets too close to the screen and obscures the vision very suddenly. While I appreciate the gesture, it does seem a little too much for the menu, as it does distract me from the information I am trying to digest while equipping characters with their pictos and weapons.
Speaking of the pictos, itâs probably just me, but I still have no idea what the symbols that are paired with each picto represent. The colors as well. I do know that certain colors define whether you have the actual picto equipped or if the character has learnt it via lumina, though it was very confusing in the beginning, especially when the pictos column is on the left side and the lumina column in on the right. The learning curve took a bit there. By the time I figured out what those were, the symbols didnât really add or take away from my experience.
The GAMEPLAY đĄď¸
Clair Obsur: Expedition 33 World Map by Nicholas Maxson-Francombe
I wasnât sure about the turn-based gameplay at first. Personally, I have a hard time staying focused on turn-based systems. They either get too boring or too frustrating over time. That said, Expedition 33 takes turn-based gameplay to another level by introducing a reactive component. The quick-time events that occur during combat keep you on your toes, requiring you to learn enemy patterns in order to dodge or parry effectively. The iconography and animations used to prompt the player are subtle yet clear. I especially love the golden symbol that appears when your characters need to jump. The animation is smooth and responsive (thankfully, because I canât imagine how frustrating it would be if those QTEs lagged). This game has completely changed how I view turn-based mechanics. I genuinely hope other franchises take note and integrate similar elements into their systems (looking at you, Persona).
Be careful not to over-level yourself, though. While some farming is definitely necessary to stand a chance against later-game enemies, try not to explore other areas of the map too early, as any of those zones are optional and clearly designed for a potential New Game+ experience. I ended up being a bit over-leveled going into the final boss fight, and it was a little too easy to take them down (still had a great time, though!).
The overall world-building in Expedition 33 was stunning. It was the kind of game you could simply stare at. I remember when the characters first entered the continent. Everything looked so vast that I audibly said, âWow.â The world design truly made it feel like you were immersed in a painting, and itâs hard not to notice the intricate details the designers and developers poured into every corner. I love wandering the map on Esquie, taking in the broken-down buildings, jagged mountain spikes, and floating pieces of land.
And seeing The Paintress up close? Absolutely gigantic, and genuinely intimidating.
The Storytelling đ
One of the biggest draws for me in this game (aside from the music) is the story. Each characterâs arc feels meaningful, and the more you play, the more you find yourself rooting for all of them to get what they want, even when their desires contradict one another. You come to love the found family in the Expeditioners themselves. The prologue I mentioned earlier does a great job of setting that emotional tone right from the start. I canât go into this part without spoiling the entire game, so I wonât say much here. The cutscenes are well-paced and thoughtfully dispersed throughout the game and they never feel too disruptive to the playerâs experience. The voice acting is top-notch (I especially love the subtle sprinkling of French throughout). You can really tell how much care went into the characters and the story through the emotion conveyed in every line. I absolutely loved how the game was divided into distinct Acts, and how each one carried its own significance. The points where each Act begins and ends left me even more determined to dig deeper into the lore.
That said, I really appreciate that the game offers flexibility for players who may not want to invest heavily in the story and still enjoy the gameplay. The optional bosses scattered across the map make that possible. Will this be one of the rare games I 100% complete because of how deeply tragic every character arc is? Most likely. Will I get absolutely pummeled in the process? Without a doubt.
The MUSIC đś
Arguably the best part of the game and the reason I started playing in the first place. Every track feels intentional, often revealing parts of the world, its history, and its characters without you even lifting a finger. I loved how you could find and collect the tracks themselves to then play at camp, setting the mood for talks around the campfire. The lyrics are packed with heavy spoilers (low-key glad I donât understand the language), but that only adds to the tragedy and beauty woven into the storytelling. The combination of keys and strings brings a sense of classic elegance that sits right at the heart of the game.
I could listen to the soundtrack on repeat for days, especially Alicia and Maelle back to back. Someone clearly knew what they were doing by opening the album with Alicia and closing it with Maelle.
Tomorrow Comes đš
This game will definitely be one for the books. The twists and turns were masterfully executed, and the design and visuals were absolutely stunning to take in. The music? A complete blessing to my ears. Sandfall Interactive did a phenomenal job capturing the themes of found family and tragedy, all within a single, beautifully crafted experience. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is without a doubt a strong contender for Game of the Year. If (or rather, when) the art book for this game comes out, Iâll be first in line to get it, ready to fully immerse myself in every page. But for now, Iâll be watching all the behind-the-scenes videos and poring over concept art by Nicholas Maxson-Francombe!
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Thank you for reading! Want to read more game thoughts? Check out my other entries here!