The great influence of art in Claire’s obscure world cannot be denied: Expedition 33. Expedition 33, a mysterious, gray-haired man called Renoir, reminded me of the famous French painter Pierre Augerste Renoir from the looming presence of “pain,” does the perfect job of showing how art introduces art and how it has acquired it. It takes place in a fictional city called Lumière, and at first glance the world of Expedition 33 looks like an apocalyptic Paris. Oddly, Lumiere’s picturesque scenery feels as if there is a beauty in destruction. In fact, one of the first things we saw was that the Eiffel Tower has been reshapeed and almost destroyed, still standing and looking seductive.
The game begins by introducing two main characters, Gustave and Maelle. It turns out it’s “Gommage” day. This later came to realize that it was a French word for “erasing.” Every year, an organization called The Paintress wakes up and draws numbers on her monolith. As soon as this happens, everyone of that age disappears and stops existence.
Gustave makes a way to say goodbye to his ex-love, Sophie, who he still has feelings for. However, the people of Lumière have their own way of giving up and fighting for a better future, with teams sending out annual expeditions with unknown people trying to venture into and at least die. All the expeditions so far have failed from what we know, up to Expedition 33, which is the forefront and center of this story.
Less than a year later to live in, most of these members have already lost a lot to them, so they have nothing to lose. By default, they are expected to accept their duties and sacrifices the same as those before them. Gustave is ready to leave everything behind for a death-crying journey, so you can clearly see the burden and the re-emerging sadness of losing Sophie, who is haunting him. As soon as the expeditioners land at the planned location, things lie down and divide the survivors who are survivors who are survivors and decide to reorganize. Therefore, we begin a long quest to defeat pain.
Starting as a Gustave, you can advance through the story, meet multiple new characters and seamlessly switch between them while exploring. It doesn’t matter who plays, as the main cutscene remains the same except that you unlock some new dialogue while interacting with the NPC in rare circumstances. However, what’s important is the battle. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a total of six playable characters with their own playstyle, weapons, skills and abilities to master. Gustave’s style is like a fighter, for example, but Lune’s style is more elemental, with Maelle using a variety of stances to attack.
Two ways you can determine a character’s build is by using attributes and skills. Attributes include health, defense, agility, luck, and more. This could affect your performance in combat, but I’ve stuck with enhancing the health of the main party and leveling out other attributes. All playable characters also have a corresponding, easy to understand skill tree. This is more tricky as the enemies and bosses in the game aren’t necessarily the same and have different weaknesses. So it was easier to unlock, change and try out the best skills in a variety of scenarios.
Depending on its power, the skill can use a certain number of attack points (APs), and if the AP meter is zero, you can either skip the turn or use the character’s base attack to regain lost APs. However, there are other ways to get more attack points. One of the most important items in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a photo that essentially serves as a power-up that gives your party an advantage. For example, there is Pictos that provides an AP that adds an AP every time it hits. Pictos can be mastered in victory battles. That same powerup can be assigned to the entire party using an in-game item called Lumina.
Dodging and accepting enemy attacks is extremely important in every battle. All chances to counterattack with Parries double the enemy’s damage. This is very useful for major bosses, but it is also one of the most challenging mechanics to master in the game. Personally, I struggled with the timing of Parry, but it took me almost 20 hours to actually get it. There is no easy way to do this, as there are no indicators or accessibility options. But I didn’t stop this from stopping me, and instead I chose to dodge more because it was easier, giving me the opportunity to study boss attack patterns and enter the rhythm of dodging back to back.
Once that was achieved, I slowly replaced some of the dodges with Parry, and that transition worked effectively. But when you think you’re holding it down, the game throws some new combat mechanics like jumps and gradient counters to keep your toes while also astonishing you with tougher, more brutal enemies. Some fights took an hour to take, but I realized the most important thing about Claire’s battles of obscurity. Expedition 33 is patience and focus.
The Expedition 33 has a map that is large enough to not be overwhelmed, but at the same time, it can be hours that require time. When you meet a whimsical wooden man called the Gentrals or the friendly Grandi who lives in snowy areas, you will receive a request to get a specific item in exchange for a reward. You also have the option to enjoy hunting mime bosses hidden within any area, or playing challenging mini-games for rewards in Gestral Beaches. In some cases, I would unexpectedly meet a higher-level boss and die miserably on one hit. But what’s the best part? It’s almost impossible to be a sidetrack or distracted, something that has proven to be extremely useful in RPGs, as new areas and side quests open when playing the main story.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Final Thoughts
Even with immersive gameplay, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a story game driven by its intricate characters. The game incorporates RPG elements by providing players with the opportunity to maximize their relationship level with the main character by starting a conversation at camp. With such a stacked cast, the voice acting is as good as expected. However, I cannot complete this review without mentioning the very amazing soundtrack composed by Lorien Testard. After all, games that revolve around the concepts of art and tragedy are best reflected through the music that makes the most sense, right?
After spending nearly 60 hours on Playtime, it can be easily said that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the best games I’ve experienced this year. It’s one of the games I was thinking about a few hours after the credits were rolled. Because I didn’t know what to expect from each plot before playing it, so I was surprised at how the story hit home. It tells the story of how life feels out of control and breaking down a cycle of sadness and using art as an escapism of reality. Ultimately, Expedition 33 is a passion project that gives you appreciation for the media of video games.
“Clair’s Unclear: Expedition 33” uses art to escape the cycle of sadness
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
In the modern age of gaming, Expedition 33 feels like a breath of fresh air. Sandfall Interactive’s debut will check out all the right boxes and check out the game’s masterpieces.
Brilliant’s story-driven story.
None of the characters are left, and I feel that everything has an individual arc.
Amazing voice acting and music.
It’s probably one of the best turn-based combat I’ve experienced.
New Game+ availability at startup.
