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

Clair obscur: expedition 33 10/10 (Xbox series S) I mean this is probably gonna be my 2025 GOTY and it's pretty 'clair' to see why. This game is pretty much perfection and is such an impressive feat for an indie company. The amount of love and care put into every aspect of this game from the narrative to the music to the voice acting to the visuals come together for a genuinely beautiful gaming experience. Because this review is going to be mostly glaze for this game I will start with my one and only minuscule complaint. My one issue with the game comes from the end/post game, when the game thrusts you into act 3 it becomes a little bit of a frustrating experience of just going from island to island and doing one of two things, either getting one shot or one shoting. This comes at a time where the entire map has opened up to you and should be some of the most fun moments of the game, but honestly it can become a little tedious instead. This extends to the post game once you've beaten the story, it feels incredibly difficult to kill anything without a op shot build and the game seems to loose some of those awesome free flowing fights. Not to mention the amount of reskinned bosses. However I would say some of the personal frustration from me may have just been burnout from the game, playing around 60 hours at the point of finishing the story maybe had me hoping that I'd feel stronger in the post game fights. I would also say that it's a first outing for this developer on such a big stage so these a tiny details on an otherwise glorious canvas. Now the positives begin (which is pretty much everything else about the game). I will start with the thing that impressed me the most about the game, the narrative. Behind the recent god war outings and metal gear solid 3 this is probably my favourite game story. Because this is a game that I think everyone should experience I'll try to avoid spoilers, I think what I appreciate most about the story is the ambition and fearlessness to make crazy and bold decisions with its characters and world building. Both act 1 and act 2 of the game end off on some of the craziest developments I've ever seen in a video game and ones that genuinely stuck with me, the one in act 2 specifically being a narrative device that is generally fround upon however one that they did perfectly. I also love the huge amounts of just missable lore around the islands and locations in the game, one example the logs from previous expeditions which help flesh out the creatures, world, and the devices being used. I love the themes presented in the game, the touch of realism and questions of morality presented running parallel to fantasy and surrealism of the world you are in is perfect. Speaking of the world, the game is stunningly beautiful, there is such a mix of vibrant colours and stylistic locations which corallates so well with a late game narrative revelation. Every item, landscape, enemy is crafted stunningly and also play its part in the story with reasons behind every little thing in the game. The effects during attack and fights also look amazing and I love the in the game huds and menus. The main cast and character designs are also memorable and unique, without them even speaking a word the characters have some much personality in their designs. The characters would be nothing without the voice acting though. This isn't something I tend to think about too much in my reviews but I think it needs to be discussed in this case. Every voice actor went beyond in their performance, they deliver every funny, serious, emotional, devastating, wholesome and endearing moment so amazingly and it helps you immerse yourself into the world of expedition 33 tenfold. Another thing I don't usually touch on is the music within the game. But yet again it's something you cannot avoid in this game. It isn't hyperbole when I say that this is the best video game soundtrack I've ever heard. Every single boss has a melody that compliments the fight exceptionally, with this hype kicking in at right time in every track. Conversely every quieter moment has a sombre harmony to go along with it. Every single track in the game brings immense joy and was clearly made by musical geniuses, there are some tracks that only play a few times that still maintain that level (for example the monoco theme which only plays twice in the game and is a banger) It's wild that the last thing I'm going to talk about in a game review is the gameplay, but just like everything else that shit rocks. The parry, dodge and further counter mechanics introduced in this game adds a level of engagement not typically seen in turn based games and makes the flow of fights really enjoyable. You don't spend your time sitting and waiting to for your turn, you are always involved and having to be tuned in constantly. The pictos and lumina mechanics also add a really awesome dynamic to builds and the way that they are unlocked incentivizes you to constantly try different things. I love the way that you slowly increase your ap gain with new pictos which in turn makes you try a different combination of skills, all which have their own benefits to being used (until endgame). This small indie studio may end up being a massive pioneer in the rebirth of turn based gaming. Overall I cannot reccomend this game enough. If you like turned based games play it, if you don't like turned based games I don't care play it (it could change you perspective), if you like amazing stories play it, if you like question life disgused in beautiful cocoon of fantastical locals then play the damn game. I'm so happy that this team made this masterpiece and allowed us to experience it, thank you Sandfall I am so excited to see how they expand and explore this world. (Review #10 - for those who come after)