Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Reviews
I do not say this spontaneously or hyperbolically: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a generational RPG. The quality of writing is pitch-perfect at every step, vividly depicting the somber world and its tragic circumstances with glorious technique. Combat always feels rewarding when successful, but it can feel like a slog if you don't get the hang of the parry and trait systems. The linear nature of the game helps to balance out the lack of mini-map, so try and not let those factors keep you away from at least trying this brilliant game.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the most refreshing and original RPGs in years, even if it's not immediately obvious from the outside looking in. The intriguing setup expands to provide an engrossing, excellent narrative with lovable and charismatic characters. The exemplary combat goes above and beyond its turn-based traditions with flashy fights and new ways to damage. This is the kind of experience that proves there's still so much potential and creativity in the bigger-budget video game space - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is simply sublime.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a thunderous debut from Sandfall Interactive. Its palette is brimming with cleverly engaging turn-based combat, impeccable art direction, and voice performances that rival feature films. The result is an incredible work of video game art. This game is worth more than the asking price, and I highly recommend it.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feels like a real next step for modern RPG games. Sandfall has achieved something truly special.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The developers give us everything they have, everything they want, and we receive it with pleasure and emotion. Ultimately, all it would have lacked was a nice balance and a little more polish to make it a true masterpiece. It remains nonetheless an excellent game and, above all, a serious contender for the most prestigious awards of the year.
Review in French | Read full review
Perhaps talking about GOTY may be a bit hasty, but it's almost certain that it's a title that will be among the candidates.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is a monumental work, perfectly balanced in length and pace of play, with an engaging combat system and a progression system among the best in its category. Equipped with an exciting story, full of twists and a profound final message, it will bewitch anyone who decides to embark on Expedition 33. We wholeheartedly recommend it to any fan of "Japanese-style" RPGs.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despite its occasionally confounding UI and weak level design, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an essential turn-based RPG that is both a love letter to its inspirations and a potential vision of the genre's future.
Even in the Dadaist dreamscape that they find themselves in, this crew of survivors still create new bonds, indulge their curiosities, and give voice to their pains. This is what it means for them to continue—that life, and this game by proxy, will continue to present the unexpected, and that it very much is worth enduring to experience it.
Clair Obscure is a very pretty game, but the title on consoles doesn't reach the graphical opulence of the trailers and especially in the world the game seems a bit dated here and there, which is particularly noticeable in some areas.
Review in German | Read full review
Clair Obscur is not just greater than the sum of its parts; it completely redefines the parts themselves.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an outstanding debut from a team whose heart and soul come through in every aspect, delivering an exceptional RPG.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a milestone achievement for Sandfall Interactive. Fans of turn-based RPGs should be right at home with its traditional stylings tuned for a modern age, and while difficulty can ramp up without warning, the challenge of getting through each battle makes it all worthwhile.
A lot has been said about the price of video games and the general price of video game development in recent years. Publishers and developers will cit...
The climax comes in a little hot, but even here, the game feels true to itself: it may literally be about following in the footsteps of those who came before, but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ultimately charts its own path.
This is a kind of story that hasn’t been seen in modern RPGs, with a level and distinctiveness in visual presentation that leaves many franchises right now in the dust. All this plus a star-studded voice cast makes Clair Obscur Expedition 33 an amazing first outing from the studio, and a powerful statement that the RPG genre is still growing and evolving to this day. JRPGs have had their time in the sun, sure – but I say, bring on the FRPGs!
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a master-crafted RPG, blending several trends into a hybrid system that's as unrelenting as its heart-wrenching plot.
Blasting the door down and becoming an instant masterpiece classic, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 defies all expectations and ambitions and then some. Looking at decades of genre refinement and somehow still managing to innovate, creating immensely tactical, thought-provoking and rich combat is nothing short of a miracle achieved at the hands of Sandfall Interactive. Accompanying it is an entirely fresh and magnificent world full of wonders and beauty, even despite its intricate and often harrowing narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and so many RPGs that have come before it, the little expedition that could will be plastered across history with the greats. Bravo.
If I were a teenager still, this game would ingrain itself into my brain the same way Final Fantasy VII did in 1997. Right now, when there are numerous predictions about the death of single player games, when creativity is shackled by the sales department, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a true gem worth every praise.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Paying homage to those that came before yet bursting with its own creativity, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a must-play title for RPG fans.