5/5 ★ – Fokathepingvin's review of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

“Hold onto eachother.” Probably how it felt to play Final Fantasy VII in 1997, and this game is just as important. Just an absolutely fantastic RPG all around with a fantastic story, and with acting performances that are near the level of The Last of Us or Death Stranding. The gameplay is not as revolutionary as people make it out to be, but that doesn’t mean its not amazing. The tight party and dodge timing makes you stay engaged at every second of the game, which creates such intense life or death scenarios that definetly add to the overall tone of the game. There is also a great deal of enemy variety for almost all of the game (a bit lacking near the end sadly), and I loved how every area had their own set of distinct enemies. The soundtrack is so beautiful, and there are SOOOO many tracks it’s actually insane. The story is really good,although at a certain point I started feeling weird about it, because it was too confusing and i felt like the game was throwing too much unknown and cryptic stuff at me narrative wise, but soon after this the game presents one of the best twists ever and answers all these questions. The game is filled with stellar performances, Jennifer English, Ben Starr, Andy Serkis, and so many more amazing talents make these characters come alive, and in such a good way. Dialogue feels natural (people dont take turns talking, they talk over eachother) and it’s such a breath of fresh air! The game is not without faults, sometimes the movement can feel weird, some areas and enemies can feel frustrating, and near the end the game lost me a bit due to lack of enemy variety and weird scaling, but the ending brought me back! If not for Death Stranding 2, this would confidently be me game of the year. I hope people talk about this game for a long time to come. Whatever Sandfall makes next, I will be there. ENDING SPOILERS BELOW!!! The decision at the end is so well done. Literally sat there for 10 minutes trying to decide, trying to convince myself about one or the other but it’s just impossible. I havent been this morally challanged by a game or anything really in so long.Both Verso and Maelle are being hypocrytes and are making a selfish decision but you can literally not blame them. Both ending scenes after are incredibly depressing. There is not a happy ending for everyone, all you can do is decide who deserves for their wish to be fulfilled, and who needs to accept their dreams being crushed.