I was holding off writing about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It’s not that I didn’t want to share my thoughts. Instead, I wanted to make sure I finished the game. I knew very early in the game that it was something special. Now that I have seen the credits, I don’t know if there will be another game this year quite like it.
The less you know, the better
I will avoid discussing too many specific plot points around the game. Knowing very little about the game’s events is so important. Over time, it’s going to be hard to avoid plot spoilers. Some things are better experienced in person. So, I’d like to avoid explaining too much.
The game takes place in an interesting world. There is this mysterious figure, called the Paintress. Every year, she paints a number on a large mountain. These numbers signify the people whose lives will end on a specific date. Every year, she reduces the number by one. So, in this world, there are no old people, and the number has now reached 33. Meaning that there is no one alive over that age.
In their attempt to stop The Paintress, a group goes out on an Expedition to where she resides. In this game, we’re a part of Expedition 33. As with her painting of the numbers, their expedition numbers also decrease. There have been 67 previous missions, all unsuccessful. Your character, Gustave, is a part of this expedition, and we get introduced to a few others who will be joining him.
Almost everyone on the Expedition is 33 years old. So, without saying the term, their mission is suicide. If they can’t stop The Paintress, they will either die fighting or die in a year. So there is a clear incentive for them to figure out a way to stop her or help the next mission by leaving clues.
A fantastic story with incredible characters
There are so many fascinating aspects to the game. Yes, the story is engrossing. I’ve only skimmed through the start, but there are so many things that happen in the game. But there is so much more to the game. I’m in awe of how much character-building there is.
During a key moment early in the game, your Expedition encounters an ambush. Gustave gets separated and attempts to find anyone else who may have survived the attack. As you find other party members, you start to see how unique each of them is. This uniqueness in characters plays a key role in the game’s combat.
The game allows for a lot of character customization. There are five statistical categories. Every time you level up a character, you can use three points on these. Not only can you build your squad how you like, but you are even given the option to reset skills if necessary. For most of my characters, I decided to use most of my points on Vitality. Since it improves their Hit Points, I wanted to make sure I could survive as long as I could in battle.
Building a squad to your liking
Every character has their unique weapon type and skills. As you level up, you also have opportunities to unlock special skill attacks. Every character can assign up to six skills, but you get so many more as you progress through the story.
Most Skill attacks incorporate an element. Anyone familiar with RPGs will understand this concept. I noticed that most enemies were weak to fire, so I always had at least one character who could perform Burn skills. At the same time, I also tried to make sure that at least one character could heal because you will take a lot of damage.
But the best aspect of team customization comes in the game’s last perk, Pictos. Pictos are passive skills you can attach to characters. These can vary from simple “50% extra damage to a hit” to the complicated “You take 50% less damage, but you can’t heal”. These also add extra HP to characters, so even if the perk sounds strange, it might be worth equipping it.
It goes one step further. After equipping a Picto for four fights, your character will unlock that perk. All characters have Lumias, which are points that you can assign to the Pictos you’ve learned. So, the game encourages you to learn as much as you can. As your character levels up, you’ll be able to use more of these. They give you a clear advantage in battle. As you get near the end of the game, there are a few that you should learn.
Knowing when to Block
If you’ve seen the meme around this game, then you’ll know that combat has a very important element. Combat relies on blocking, jumping, and parrying. Every time an enemy attacks, your characters can attempt to stop the attack. You can either block, jump, or parry an attack. In some instances, only one of three is possible. In others, you can pick between block or parry.
The key to success is paying attention to audio and visual cues. Most attacks have an audible ping or a quick flash. If you time your button press, you will be able to block almost every attack. Yes, Parrying is more effective, but it’s hard to pull off. The timing window to Parry is small, so you are better off attempting a block instead.
Don’t expect to be great at either at the start. Heck, even later in the game, I was making mistakes. There is never a clear pattern, and enemies will make you “flinch”. You may think an enemy has finished their attack, only for them to spring off one more swing. It can get frustrating, so don’t be too discouraged early on. There are Pictos that can help you, especially around earning extra Attack Points (AP). So, even if you get hit, you can then spend your next turn using one of your stronger attacks.
Sticking to the critical path
Based on the in-game timer, it took me about 31 hours to finish the game. My Xbox Game timer shows a higher play time, clocking in at over 42 hours. What I realized afterwards is that of my time spent in the game, I did almost no side content. I can’t remember if the game even encourages you to explore outside of the main story.
In RPGs, the side quests can be an important aspect of the game. But I felt in Clair Obscur, they don’t encourage exploring the world until the game’s third act. It was only after gaining the ability to fly that I felt I could go off and explore. Unfortunately, at this point in the game, I was so fixated on finishing the story that I didn’t want to do any side stuff.
There was only one time that I found a side section that wasn’t a tough boss. I stumbled upon an island where there was a race. Your character needs to finish the obstacle course in a set time to earn a prize. After earning a silver medal prize, I left that area and had no reason to return.
What happens next?
This is the first game in a long time that I’ve wanted to play through a second time. I usually don’t have time to play a game more than once. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 does have a New Game+ option. From what I gathered, nothing plot-wise changes. It might be interesting to tool around with the Pictos. I could also invest more time in looking for side quests.
I am so impressed with what the developers, Sandfall Interactive, pulled off. Sure, this is their first game, but they have experience in the gaming industry. While they could release some DLC for the game, I would rather they develop their next title. They did such a great job in world-building. They could take this world and expand on it. Or, they could develop another new experience.
There are other things about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that I didn’t get to write about in this blog post. Of the many things that I loved about the game, I can’t stress how incredible the music is. The score is incredible, and I’ve been listening to the soundtrack outside of the game for the last couple of weeks. The voice cast is fantastic, with some notable inclusions. I didn’t play the game with the French audio, but it’s something I’d like to do at some point in the future.
My favorite game of 2025, without question
It’s still early in the year, but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is my favorite game of 2025. I wish I had more people to talk about this with because it’s been such a great journey. This is such an easy recommendation, especially for people who grew up and enjoyed the PS1 and PS2 era of RPGs. Again, I cannot wait to see what the developers come up with next.
