Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a story-driven turn-based JRPG set in an amazing post-apocalyptic fantasy world. Normally I don’t purchase games on release but I decided to make an exception for this game. It is the first exception I don’t regret. The moment I saw this game I knew that it was going to be a hell of a journey and I was not disappointed. The world, visuals, story, characters, audibles and gameplay make such an incredible impression. In my opinion the game is a masterpiece. I believe it to be the game of the year 2025.

Welcome to the magical world where the human race is on its way towards inevitable extinction. Once a year, the Paintress awakens and paints a cursed number on her monolith. We start the game with a number of 34. Every year the number decreases by 1 and along with it, all human beings of that age are erased and fade away. Having only a year left to live, people of the age of 33 form another expedition to send into the unexplored world and discover its secrets while also making sure that their efforts will benefit “those who come after” them. The introduction to that world is quite heavy and is shown in a very artistic way. I must say that the game made an enormous first impression on me. We get to experience something of a tutorial in a beautiful city during a carnival where a glimpse of gameplay and story is shown along with the introduction to a few of the main characters.

Let’s begin with the story which is where this game truly shines. I believe it to be the best story I have experienced in a video game in a very long time. It is interesting, complex, powerful, engaging and most importantly, it is unforgettable, at least in my case. Once you start playing and unraveling the story, you won’t be able to stop. Expect to be at the edge of your seat from start to the very end of the game. If you like fantasy and post-apocalyptic worlds, you are guaranteed to like it. The writing is simply brilliant.

The characters are a huge part of this story, this is another area where this title truly shines. There are a few main characters in this game that will be available to you as a part of your expedition team. Each one of them is well-written, explicit, interesting, charismatic, unforgettable and uniquely important to the story. They add a special flavour to the whole narrative because each one of them stands for something else. Their personalities are also each other’s opposites. There was no character I wouldn’t like. You will get to know each one of them well through a ton of interactions and shared experiences. It honestly feels like the writing is very personal which makes you relate to every character on a personal level. This aspect of the game has been mastered to perfection. Standing ovation from me.

When it comes to gameplay, the game continues to not disappoint. It must be said that this game is not for everyone because of the difficulty of the combat. Allow me to explain, this is a turn-based game where turns are played in real time. You have an unlimited time when it comes to your turns, you can plan ahead how you want to approach the fight. However, when it is your opponent’s turn, you ought to be active and paying attention because the game allows you to either dodge or parry their attacks. At the beginning you can take a lot of hits but deeper into the story, a few hits will be enough to kill you. This is a crucial mechanic you will have to learn if you are thinking about beating the game. It may be difficult and overwhelming at first but once you get more practice, it won’t be a problem anymore. You can totally rely on sounds when it comes to avoiding damage. The game signals you that you are about to get hit one way or the other. I have done quite a lot of fights with my eyes totally closed to confirm that theory and it worked perfectly fine. Every character you will get to play has a different skill set and there are plenty of pictos (different bonuses) that allow you to make your own interesting and overpowered builds. I found the combat aspect of the game to be intense at the beginning but it became relaxing with time once I got my build in place.

There is also a second aspect of the gameplay which is exploration. Exploring is probably the best thing you can be doing in this game. There are a ton of things to unlock, discover and collect across this huge and extraordinary map. The game rewards you very generously with resources and other bonuses for not rushing towards the other end of the map but taking your time and checking every corner of the map or a location you are currently in. I personally have never run out of resources for upgrades and I always had enough of them from exploring. No grind was necessary in my case. There is a lot you can miss which is why I recommend to simply take your sweet time on each location and discover its secrets. You will not regret putting your time into it.

The visuals in this game are going to take your breath away. From the very first minutes of the game I was already amazed by how incredible everything looked. The characters were made with such attention to detail that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart from real people. I actually thought that these characters are played by real actors but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In the case of Gustave, I thought he was played by Robert Pattinson because they look totally alike. Sadly, there is no connection there but still this is incredibly impressive. The world of Clair Obscur is a really unique, bright and colorful place. It is a true eye candy. The world map as well as its locations have stunning sceneries and all of them are completely different from each other. They look like straight from the canvas and every location is a new experience.

The game is also going to be a feast for your ears. Before you even begin your journey through the world of Clair Obscur, you are going to experience a beautiful melody in the main menu. There are a ton of truly amazing melodies in there that last hours accompanied by choir, violin and a harp. Every single one of them is climatic and unique in its own way. They correspond well to the locations and add up to the climate of the whole tale. All those audibles are waiting for you to listen and experience them. I'm pretty sure you are going to love it. I have yet to see a person say anything negative about them. Voice acting is on the highest level as well. Each character is voiced by a professional with a unique voice or accent. Their voices were picked well because I feel like they correspond to the characters and their personalities. Truly a masterpiece in that regard.

To sum up, I played an exceptional game that left such an incredible impression on me that I will probably not be able to forget it until the rest of my life. It was truly an amazing and beautiful experience. Finishing this game left a huge void in me that will be difficult to fill out again. I am glad that I played it and I recommend that everyone else follow in my footsteps. For me, this game is a masterpiece and I truly hope it becomes the game of the year. It deserves that and much more. Overall, this is a game I can recommend with a clear conscience.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

Spoiler-Free Review

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reminded me why I fell in love with video games in the first place. Over the years, gaming started feeling like a routine just something to do in my free time. Somewhere along the way, I stopped feeling excited about games. This one changed that.
I played on Expert difficulty and loved every second of it, and before I knew it, I had unlocked every achievement. I didn’t expect much now it’s one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time.

🔹Worldbuilding & Artistry :

This game started as a passion project, and it shows. Everything from the visuals to the lore is beautifully articulated. You’re not just playing through a story, you’re stepping into a handcrafted world.

Clair Obscur takes inspiration from so many genres— JRPGs, tactical RPGs, Soulslikes and nails every aspect. The director of this game is a massive Sekiro enjoyer. It’s gloomy, even tragic at times, but there’s still light. There are moments of joy and humor, jokes that actually land and never overstay their welcome. It never feels like it’s trying to stretch content it’s just telling a story, and telling it well.

🔹Story & Gameplay :

It’s been a week since I finished it, and I still can’t fully process what a journey it was. The lore isn’t spoon-fed to you. Instead, it gives you fragments—glimpses into the world, its people, and its pain leading up to one of the most jaw-dropping twists I’ve experienced in a game. It feels like playing through a beautifully written Netflix series.

Even though it’s a dark RPG, sadness and joy are woven together in such a pristine way that it feels comforting. Combined with the incredible music, it’s like being gently reassured after a hard day.

There are three main Acts, each centered around a specific character. Each act drastically changes how you play, limiting your options in creative ways that keep things fresh. The gameplay and tone shift with each one, gradually expanding the story and the world. No character is flat or simple everyone has a backstory, a motivation, and a layer you won’t see coming. It also includes prologues and epilogues that flesh out the story even more.

The exploration and progression are locked behind land, water, and air traversal, just like in classic JRPGs. It’s a nice touch that feels nostalgic but also purposeful in the way it paces your journey.

The gameplay loop is satisfying exploration is rewarded, and the world is filled with high-quality optional content. The environments are so gorgeous that my screenshot folder is now 90% Clair Obscur. Even collectibles feel meaningful, I wasn’t just ticking boxes, I was excited to see what each one would reveal.

The ending left a lot of players conflicted and I was one of them. But after diving into the lore, connecting all the dots, and thinking it through, I realized how well it was all executed. It’s one of those stories that stays with you and gets better the more you reflect on it.

Even after writing all this, I still feel like I haven’t captured how good the storytelling really is.

🔹Combat :

The combat is one of the best parts of the game. Dying 20 times to a boss doesn’t feel frustrating, it feels earned. The parry/counter system is addictive. There’s a huge amount of build variety, and messing around with “risky” loadouts is half the fun.

Each Act changes how you approach combat, forcing you to adapt and build new strategies. You’re never overpowered for long, and that makes progress feel satisfying.

There are three difficulty settings:

- Story Mode (Easy)
- Expeditioner Mode (Normal)
- Expert Mode (Hard++)

You can switch difficulties at any time. I played on Expert, where enemies often one-shot you, but that’s what made it exciting. I even built my character around staying at 1 HP to get massive damage buffs either I erased half a boss’s HP, or I got deleted for missing a parry. And I loved it.

🔹Narrative Depth :

The writing is phenomenal. It makes you question the character's actions, reflect on your beliefs, and reevaluate everything by the end. Every character has layers—emotional, personal, philosophical. Honestly, you could make a 30-minute documentary on each one and it’d still be engaging.
It’s rare to find a game that’s so tightly written, so emotionally intelligent, and so powerfully executed.

The way sadness and happiness are woven together is masterful. The music often feels like a warm embrace after a storm—like a mother comforting her child after a hard day.

🔹Replayability & Minor Gripes :

There’s NG+ for those wanting to replay, and the performance was solid overall just a few stutters here and there, nothing major. My only real complaint is that some of the late game zones could’ve used a level range indicator. I ended up accidentally one-shotting the final boss, which was a little anticlimactic.

🔹A Game That Made It All Click :

This game made me feel emotions I hadn’t felt in a long time, and reminded me of one of my favorite quotes about life:

“To be kind and decent, to have fun, to love, to laugh, to cry, to try, to fail, to live and to remember that no matter whatever happens you can still do all of this no matter what you do in life. The worst case is you try your best, you be yourself, and you do what you can with compassion, honesty, effort, and understanding—and if it goes worst case, then you move on like everyone else.”

I never fully understood that quote until I played this game.

I never really had a “favorite” video game just ones I liked and ones I didn’t. Until this one.

🔹Final Thoughts :

This isn’t just a good game, it’s a special one. I loved this game and can see myself coming back to it again and again. The song is so catchy and full of life that I find myself humming it while making breakfast.

I really hope they release DLC or even a short film to expand on some of the mysterious lore threads. If you’ve ever wanted a game that hits hard emotionally and mechanically Clair Obscur is totally worth the full price <3

It's been a while since I finished a singleplayer game, but this one got me hooked from the start! Incredible how they managed to make this with such a small development team! Also, the soundtrack is phenomenal!