Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Review!

A masterclass and masterpiece presented in one incredible experience!

Wow! What an incredible ride that Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is. This game is nothing short of amazing and masterful.

I had high expectations for Clair Obscur Expedition 33. I was absolutely hyped for it. This game blew my expectations away. It was certainly worth the hype.

I can’t wait to talk about my experience with the game. It’s been a long time since I've been impressed and excited about a new IP.

A Beautiful, Vibrant World

The world of Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is exquisite. With this art direction, the developers crafted a vibrant, mystical, and beautiful world. While each location is mystical and beautiful, they are all unique and distinct from each other.

The world map also has a lot of vivid colors, scale, depth, and perspective. Exploring the world map feels like a vibrant painting. It is truly the most beautiful world map I have ever seen in a video game.

The characters look gorgeous.  They have unique and exquisite designs. While they look real and they have stylized looks.

The enemy designs are also pretty cool and unique. You can easily tell devs put a lot of care and thought into their designs. They remind me a lot of Stellar Blade’s enemy designs, how much Shift Up crafted their enemy models.

Exploration

Another thing I love about COE33 was the exploration. Exploring this beautiful world with its amazing and distinct locations was a delight. The game also rewards exploration with all kinds of secrets and discovery.

You can find all kinds of secret, alternative routes. Also, there are plenty of awesome treasures to discover. There are even hidden side quests to find. Of course, you won’t always find rewards and quests.

There are hidden enemies and bosses in these alternate routes, too. They are not only powerful, but these enemies are also a real skill check. I stumbled upon some of these enemies, and they stomped me. After getting better at the game’s real-time elements, I was able to go back to beat these enemies.

It was definitely worth finding these hidden foes. Not only are they are good challenge, but they will also help you get better at the game’s real-time elements. It's satisfying beating these enemies. Most importantly, the rewards for beating these powerful enemies are fantastic.

Reactive Combat

Parrying and Dodging

In addition to the art style, the combat is another aspect that intrigued me. From there, I was on board with COE33. The thought of adding parrying and dodging was something I never considered in a turn-based game. Now that I have experienced the combat in Expedition 33, I love it!

While I love that you can dodge in this game. The parrying is what really pays off. If you can parry all enemies' attacks, you unleash a satisfying and brutal counter.

Parrying attacks also gives you additional Action Points or AP. AP is needed to perform party skills. And parrying allows you to have enough AP with the right build.

Jumping

Other things you do in real-time are jumping. You can jump over enemy attacks when your foes use ground attacks. A mark will appear, and that's your cue to jump and counter. Jumping counters can be just as punishing as regular counters.

Gradient Counters

Of course, parrying and jumping aren’t the only ways to counter enemies. You can use Gradient Counters. When the enemy is about to use a big attack with a greyscale aura. You can counter with the Gradient Counter and inflict massive damage to an enemy. Gradient Counters can be tide-turners.

Traditional Turn-Based Features

On your party’s turn, you would execute as you would in traditional turn-based combat. And the battle system takes a lot of inspiration from Final Fantasy, Persona, Legend of Dragoons, Super Mario RPG, and other classics.

There is a turn order on the right side where you see everyone’s turns. Something I have seen from Final Fantasy 10. Attacking enemies will give you action points, which reminds me a lot of FF7 Remake.  As one must attack to build ATB to perform moves.

The single-press menu commands are inspired by Persona. Even the way the camera moves when you select a skill is taken from Persona. When a character executes a move, QTEs appear. Pressing the QTE can inflict extra damage. Also, QTEs will enhance the effect of certain moves, too.

Character Styles

Each character has their own style of how they act in battle. Maelle, my favorite damage dealer, uses different stances for offense, defense, and pure devastation. With the right set-up, she can be a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Lune is a mage and fighter all in one. I built her magic set to attack enemies’ weaknesses. I also use her to support and heal my party. And Lune has some skills that can quickly break an enemy and stagger them.

Monoco became my Blue Mage thanks to his mechanics and skill set. He learns new skills from the legs of Nevrons, as strange as that sounds. Monoco can learn a variety of moves, which makes him an absolute asset in battle.

Overall, any character can become broken in this game. They just need the right skill sets and builds. This is especially true for Maelle and Sciel. Even Verso can be an unstoppable beast with the right build.

Intro

Things start bittersweet in Clair Obscur as it is time for another Gommage. A Gommage is when the Paintress paints the next descending number on her momentum. The number is 33.

After spending a final day with his lover, Sophie, during the festivities of the Gommage. Gustave, the main protagonist, sets off with the rest of Expedition 33 to defeat the Paintress once and for all. He is joined by his foster sister, Maelle, the scholarly mage, Lune, and the outgoing yet powerful Sciel.

As soon as Expedition 33 reaches the shores of the Continent. Most of the expedition is wiped out by a mysterious old man. Gustave, Maelle, Lune, and Sciel are the only ones left. But when one falls, one must continue.

Story and Themes

While I won’t get into spoilers. C0E33’s story is just as brilliant as the visuals and combat. The story was a riveting tale of life, death, legacy, moving forward, and many other things. I wasn't expecting the game to dive into the themes of family and grief.

The game does have its lighthearted story bits and comedy. Those moments warmed my heart. The party’s antics and dialogue had me dying of laughter.

There are plenty of plot twists and surprises. Beware! These surprises will blow your mind and break your heart in spades. The bonds these characters share among themselves and others make this mind-blowing and heartbreaking narrative even more potent.

The Cast

The cast of COE33 was amazing! There wasn’t a character that I disliked. Every single character had a lot of depth and personality.

These characters also have star studded cast that helped bring these awesome characters to life. Charlie Cox was fantastic as Gustave. And Jennifer English was terrific as Maelle.

Since this was my first time hearing her performance. I now understand why people love her. As I have come to love her too, thanks to her magnificent performance as Maelle.

Now I can’t forget about Ben Starr. Ben Starr gives us another brilliant performance as Verso. Verso is an awesome character! Verso is a well-written character with a lot of mystery and depth.

The rest of the cast is also brilliant. The rest of the VAs all played their characters perfectly with such love and emotion. Andy Serkis’s portrayal makes Renoir one of the greatest antagonists in gaming. I haven’t seen a magnificent portrayal of a villain since Ardyn from Final Fantasy XV.

Music

If you would tell me that COE33’s OST was composed by a SoundCloud artist. I wouldn’t have believed you. But Lorien Testard is incredibly talented, and OST is amazing. I am blown away by how great this music is.

Also, I'm giving a shout-out to Alice Duport-Percier. Her voice is not only beautiful, but it also adds to the enormous emotional weight and tone of the game. More importantly, the musical score and vocals just made the emotional parts even more heartfelt.

Lorien, Alice, and the rest of the musicians created the most emotional, beautiful soundtrack. This soundtrack is my OST of the year. Honestly, it may be my OST of the decade.

My GOTY

If it hasn’t been expressed or revealed already. Clair Obscur is my game of the year for 2025. The only game I could see beating this game is Death Stranding 2 in the public eye.

Personally, there is nothing that tops this game for me. Clair Obscur is not only the full package for me. This is the first IP in a long time that was worth hype. This game delivered on such a masterful level that I don’t have anything negative to say.

I could mention the negatives of this game. But I would be nitpicking, and that’s not my style. Plus, the game’s negatives are so minor that they are not worth mentioning.

One thing is clear. This game is a love letter to all of the classic RPGS that served as its inspirations. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is an amazing masterpiece. The game is also a masterclass in what passion, dedication, and creativity can truly create.

score: 10/10

Images by Clair Obscur Expedition 33