We sit down and review Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. A true French JRPG game that most did not see coming. Here is our review of half of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
A true French JRPG game, both in the sense that it was developed by a French company, Sandfall Interactive, and in the sense of a throwback to when JRPGs were turn-based rather than action RPG oriented. While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is turn-based, it keeps the player engaged during enemy turns by incorporating some active elements into the turn-based system, namely that of Dodge and Parry. With successful Dodging and Parrying having more impact beyond the immediate, such as a counterattack with an individual character, or the entire party for enemy attacks that strike the whole party, if you successfully parry all attacks in the attack pattern, as well as potentially gaining more Action Points for your next turn on each character.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Review
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 manages to quickly cultivate a rapport between the player and the characters with a firm hook very early in the story, creating an investment for the player in the mission that the characters set out to accomplish. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is full of emotional moments and twists and turns as the plot unfolds.
Furthermore, in a refreshing change from many JRPGs, the majority of the characters are not individuals in their teens setting out on adventure or to right a wrong, and instead are fully grown adults in their 30s and all having traumas from their past that are driving them towards this goal, with one particular exception of one teenage character that sets out with them.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Review
The story unfolds rapidly and could easily be accomplished in 20-30 hours if you focus solely on the story and are on a difficulty setting befitting your skill at the Dodge and Parry mechanics. While I found the Dodge and Parry mechanics quite interesting and implemented well, they do take a lot of practice to get right, and any sort of stuttering or lag on your console or PC will leave you with some frustration at the inability to nail the timing down. For that reason, if you are playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on PC I highly recommend taking time to find a good level of performance for the hardware you are running on.
Still, overall, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is very good, and I am looking forward to seeing what else Sandfall Interactive develops in the future.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was developed by Sandfall Interactive and published by Kepler Interactive for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on April 24th, 2025. A copy of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was purchased by the reviewer for reviewing purposes.