Turn-based games, at least in the mainstream gaming space, seem to always be put under the microscope for not being as consistent as other genres. Sure, you can find a wealth of great turn-based JRPGs when you turn your attention towards the AA space. Thanks to the popularity surges of Persona 5 and Baldur’s Gate 3 though, there’s been a rejuvenated interest in turn-based games with unique identities and compelling hooks. Along comes Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, an ambitious turn-based RPG made by a small team of ex-Ubisoft developers that, like the aforementioned genre-breakers, shatters those expectations.



Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes place in a dark fantasy Belle Époque setting where citizens of the island of Lumière have experienced an event called the Grommage. A powerful goddess, the Paintress, paints an ever-decreasing number every year and humans aged above that number mysteriously vanish. Expeditions are undertaken by groups of Lumière people, usually in their last year, to get to the bottom of why this is happening.



Through well-directed cinematics and fantastic writing, this captivating hook is immediately established, driven by your curiosity to get answers to the long-standing mystery while raising plenty of questions in the process. You play as a party of characters going on this expedition, each fleshed out and equally as compelling as the next. It helps that most of the characters you meet are voiced brilliantly by familiar names like Jennifer English (Shadowheart from Baldur’s Gate 3), Charlie Cox (Matt Murdoch from Daredevil) and Ben Starr (Clive Rosfield from Final Fantasy XVI). They all bring a shocking amount of weight and levity to their performances, resulting in some of the best voice acting I think I’ve heard since, well, Baldur’s Gate 3.

It’s very well-written and natural; important notes to hit to get attached to these characters because when the emotional moments strike, they hit very hard.

I’m a sucker for a good story in an RPG and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s story absorbed me in ways very few games have over the past decade. The game takes its time to explore the characters and get to the meat of their strengths and flaws, all doing so in a serious tone broken by light-hearted moments that stick with you. The writing is also clever enough to not resort to quippy one-liners or snarky Marvel-esque dialogue to alleviate tension (a problem so many games seem to have). It’s very well-written and natural; important notes to hit to get attached to these characters because when the emotional moments strike, they hit very hard.



Taking inspiration from several turn-based RPGs like Persona and (especially) Final Fantasy, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 manages to create something that feels incredibly refreshing in the genre. The stylish UI and stances are reminiscent of Persona 5 while the alluring fantasy visuals, character designs and animations take a few pages out of Square Enix’s playbook, but it all comes together to create a stunning, well-realised world and addictive gameplay.

At face value, many things about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will immediately feel familiar to veterans of the genre, more specifically, those in tune with JRPGs. There’s a huge overworld map segmented into large, explorable zones, each urging you to stray off the beaten path at every turn to find hidden rewards, secrets, and locations (often with a hidden enemy or boss blocking your progress). It all feels very Final Fantasy and I mean that in the best possible way because developer Sandfall Interactive proves that they not only understand this old-school formula, they’re more than capable of delivering and elaborating on it as good as Square Enix in its prime.



How Sandfall Interactive drastically shakes things up is in the combat. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s turn-based mechanics aren’t doing anything new on the surface but the game adds real-time parrying, blocking and dodging during battles. This is a game-changer for the way combat flows and how you have to adjust your strategy on-the-fly to accommodate certain enemies, many of which will introduce unexpected new elements or mechanics even dozens of hours later. You’re constantly on your toes during battles and it’s not just because of the real-time advantages (which can easily flip to disadvantages if you play poorly).

It all feels very Final Fantasy and I mean that in the best possible way...

To that end, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can be pretty damn challenging. Your parry window is punishingly small, leaving little to no room for error. Executing a perfect parry can lead to a devastating, high-damage counterattack – high risks, high rewards – but a common misstep is all it takes to demolish a party member. Certain characters fair better with parrying and dodging while others can be tuned to a specific playstyle through skill upgrades and item enchantments, but for the most part, the game actively encourages you to learn and master these aspects, especially when it becomes a mandatory survival crutch against the game’s toughest encounters. Sure, this will be no problem to Sekiro veterans but it’s a very steep learning curve that I wish got tightened up a bit.



A few nitpicks hold Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 back, though they’re minor in the grand scheme of things. Going for the sleek Persona 5 UI, the game’s own UI feels a tad bit cluttered and messy. It’s hard to keep track of what’s happening on-screen in a panic when so much UI management and menus are thrown at you, resulting in critical errors or mistimings. Once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty intuitive and easy to snappily switch in and out of, but like parrying and counterattacking, this takes a bit of practice to get used to.

Another aspect of the game that felt a little disappointing was movement and platforming. While out exploring the zones – many beautifully modelled after sunken cities, lush landscapes, or ruined floating vistas – the game requires you to jump across ledges or teeter across walkways to progress or find hidden goodies. Unfortunately, jumping and platforming isn’t great. It feels a bit stiff and your jump distance is very small for the leaps some ledges require you to make. Exploration is definitely rewarding but being at the mercy of the game’s odd movement when it comes to traversal is not very fun.



Any other nitpick I have is not worth mentioning because what Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gets right is absolutely commendable. This may sound clichéd but you can really feel every ounce of passion poured into the game’s world, characters, writing, design, and storytelling. This isn’t just a great RPG, it’s a love letter to the genre that comes from an earnest place. Sandfall Interactive went above and beyond to create a turn-based RPG that boldly embraces its influences while using those building blocks to chisel an original, unique experience that you just don’t get enough of outside of the indie gaming scene. It’s that rare blend of aspiration and inspiration that sets it apart and, to be frank, puts it on a comfortable high ground that it constantly proves it’s earned.

This isn’t just a great RPG, it’s a love letter to the genre that comes from an earnest place.

On the technical side, I played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on both Xbox Series X and S and rarely ran into serious bugs or glitches outside of very minor framerate dips and stutters. The Series S does somewhat tone the visuals down a bit to get it running smoothly on the lower-end hardware – and it’s definitely noticeable when put side-by-side - but the stunning art direction is kept perfectly intact. You also have more options to tinker the visuals and performance with on Series X. For the most part, this is a pretty polished game on Xbox regardless of console. A special mention goes out to the soundtrack, particularly the battle themes and motifs, which will probably never leave my head.



It’s also worth mentioning that the game only costs $50 and has no microtransactions. It’s also a forgiving 30-40 hour journey that never overstays its welcome. I completed it in 32 hours, only taking the odd detour to do side activities or explore.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a magnificent turn-based RPG that oozes passion, creativity and restraint where it’s most important. Not to mince words, it’s basically an evolution of classic Final Fantasy had Square Enix stuck to the turn-based formula and upped the budget (not to say action-heavy Final Fantasy is bad, but you get the point). Thanks to a fantastic cast of well-rounded characters, intense turn-based battles that mix things up with new systems, and a story that takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, it’s a strong Game of the Year leader with a lot to back it up.