Clair Obscur: Expedition 33hasn’t been out long, but it’s already made quite the name for itself. The Belle Époque turn-based RPG isone of the best-reviewed games of the year (by both critics and players)and has already flown past 1 million sales–quite the success for an indie studio’s debut project.
It has deserved every bit of praise and every sale, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t checked it out yet. Even if turn-based RPGs aren’t your jam,Clair Obscuradds great real-time elements to keep players engaged. Couple that with an emotional story and excellent cast and you have a Game of the Year contender just waiting for you to play it.
A Story and World That Engages From the Very Start
End the Terror of the Paintress
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33does something games can sometimes be loath to do: it trusts its players. The prologue–a 90-minute tearful story in and of itself–doesn’t explicitly explain its world to you. Instead, through environmental storytelling and heartful dialogue from the jump, it doles out enough information for the player to realize on their own just what kind of struggle the people of Lumière are contending with, and the emotional stakes placed upon Gustave and the other characters.
Once the story fully kicks into gear, you’re in store for quite the adventure. Depending on how much side content you want to engage with–and I’d recommend engaging with itall–the game will take anywhere from 30 to 60 hours to complete. What starts as a journey to end the Paintress’ wrath–the terrifying, deity-like being who erases a fraction of Lumière’s population each year–soon blows up and becomes a tale of resiliency, of camaraderie, and, of course, loss.
It’s a beautiful story, one that will surely make you gasp in surprise, yell at your TV in anguish, and reach for a box of tissues frequently. The less you know going in, the better.
Excellent Cast of Characters
Featuring the Voices of Daredevil, Shadowheart, and More
Although you begin the game as Gustave and control just him at camp, every character is given an interesting journey.
I particularly gravitated towards Maelle, the teenager who joins the expedition years before her time would be up. She’s played by Jennifer English, the voice ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s Shadowheart and the lead of the in-developmentTides of Annihilation. “I fell in love with her bravery,” English toldThe Verge. And brave Maelle is, tangling with viscous Nevrons and pressing forward in the face of despair. She’s haunted by nightmares and visions, beautifully presented in black & white cutscenes, and has a much larger role to play than initially thought. She’s the emotional core of the game, and English portrays her wonderfully.
The cast behind all these excellent characters deserve a round of applause. After his starring turn inDaredevil: Born Again, Charlie Cox continues his standout year with a leading role as Gustave. Andy Serkis, whom you know primarily for his CGI characters like Golumn and Caesar, voices the antagonist Renoir.
“They are not tourists in this game. They are doing some heavy emotional lifting, and they are doing it with a huge reverence to the craft,” Ben Starr, the voice of Clive inFinal Fantasy XVIand Verso inClair Obscur, said of his Hollywood costars.
The entire cast and the script they’re enacting do plenty of heavy emotional lifting, ensuring you’re truly invested in this journey to strike down the Paintress.
Exhilarating Turn-Based Gameplay
There’s No Relaxing in Clair Obscur’s Battles
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33features an utterly engrossingturn-based combat systemwith layers of complexity. Each character plays uniquely, from Lune’s focus on dealing elemental damage to Maelle’s stance-switching skills. Learning not just how to use the characters on their own but also in conjunction with one another is half the fun ofClair Obscur.
With the abundance of weapons and the Pictos and Lumina system–equipable bonuses that augment your characters’ stats and grant them powerful passives–you can construct some truly devastating builds. Quickly after adding Sciel to the party, I found what feels like a broken build, stacking up endless foretells and using her various skills and equipped Pictos to leverage those foretells to deal devastating damage.
By around level 30, Sciel’s attacks could deal 9,999 damage–the damage cap–and one-shot many enemies for me, leading me to remove her from my party lest the game get too easy.
Don’t hear “turn-based” gameplay and thinkClair Obscur: Expedition 33is a snoozefest; its combat is as engaging as any real-time action game. Similar toSea of Stars’ emphasis on timing,Clair Obscurhas a parry and dodge mechanic that requires precise timing.
The parry timing is especially tight, and learning just the right moment to parry is a difficult challenge, though it’s worth the robust reward. As the game opens up, you’re given more defensive options, forcing you to stay engaged during your enemies’ turns to prevent your expeditioners from succumbing to their blows.
Captivating Visuals and Music
The Main Theme Is Still Stuck in My Head
The art style and graphics ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33are some of the best found in gaming. Its world is both full of vibrant colors and harrowing landscapes, with fractured pieces of land floating in the air above your party as you traverse battlefields, crimson forests, and green meadows.While its development team is a lot larger than just 30 people,Clair Obscurwas still made by a smaller studio than plenty ofTriple A blockbusters, and looks better than a fair share of them.
The character models are great too, and each expeditioner has several outfits and hairstyles for you to swap between (I’m sure you’ve seen the hilarious “baguette” outfits at this point). I’m especially impressed by how well animated their faces are; there is such a depth of emotions painted on each characters’ face, and, paired with the voice acting, they really make Gustave, Maelle, Lune, and everyone else feel like real people.
Clair Obscur’s soundtrack, however, might be the element of the game that sticks with me the most once my journey through its fractured lands concludes. It’s an absolute stunner of a score, and I let the menu track play to completion each time I open the game.
Like in fellow Belle Époque gameLies of P, there are collectible records strewn aboutClair Obscur’s world and finding them allows you to enjoy the tunes at camp. For lovers of physical media, you’re in for a treat: a vinyl edition of the soundtrack is in the works.
One of the Best Games of This Generation?
It’s Certainly An Early Game of the Year Contender
2025 has seen some very strong Game of the Year contenders, likeBlue PrinceandSplit Fiction, andClair Obscur: Expedition 33will no doubt join them at year’s end in receiving heaps of awards. But the praise aroundClair Obscuris truly transcendent, and it’s making a case that it’s not just one of the best games of the year, but one of the best games of this generation.
I’m not trying to be reactionary, and recognize that we need some distance fromClair Obscur’s launch before we can start throwing around terms like “classic.” Still, once the new game shine has worn off, I think it’ll be spoken about in the same breath asElden RingandBaldur’s Gate 3as the best games of this generation and decade.
