Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review – Revolutionary combat meets masterful storytelling

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Upon finishing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, I found myself at my desk with a heavy heart, still trying to absorb the adventure I’d just experienced. It’s moments like these that highlight why I adore video games – their ability to evoke strong emotions, create memorable characters, immerse us in intriguing worlds, and tell captivating stories that rank among the best in gaming.

Year after year, a colossal figure called the Paintress arises and marks a number on a monument, signifying the end of life for everyone who reaches that age. To provide even a sliver of hope to the inhabitants of Lumiere, those in their final year embark on a perilous journey with the objective of vanquishing the Paintress forever. This story follows Expedition 33. Numerous groups have ventured before them, all unsuccessful, yet we are expected to achieve what they could not.

In this setting, a remarkable harmony exists between the gloominess and cruelty inherent in this world and the unyielding optimism of its residents. Despite seemingly impossible circumstances, there are individuals found here who refuse to give in, thereby offering hope and creating instances where laughter and memorable moments brighten even the darkest corners.

This tale skillfully crafts each character with depth, ensuring they’re not just one-dimensional figures. They experience their share of melancholy, often overwhelmed by grief, but they also manage to bring joy and lightness amidst the darkness. Rest assured, this story is no stranger to heartache, and it’s brimming with it. However, what sets it apart is its knack for delivering unexpected twists that challenge your perceptions and leave you questioning everything you thought was true.

For JRPG enthusiasts, be ready to challenge your perspectives on combat systems within the genre. Although Sandfall’s creators are French, Expedition 33 draws inspiration heavily from JRPGs. Instead of attempting to replicate the classics, this game introduces fresh concepts almost everywhere, combining some top strategies from Western action games with traditional turn-based mechanics.

The key feature that stands out is the defensive mechanism known as the parrying system. In this game, battles are conducted on a turn-by-turn basis. When an adversary launches an assault, there’s a window of opportunity for you to press the parry key at the right instant to deflect the attack. Successfully parrying in this manner not only earns you AP (Action Points), which is essential for utilizing your abilities, but also allows you to initiate a counterattack if you manage to parry each attack in a sequence.

In essence, this implies that it’s technically feasible to complete the entire game without receiving a single hit. However, achieving this requires an immense amount of training since the game has expertly balanced its parry system difficulty. The window for successful parries is precise, requiring your undivided attention on enemy movements, yet not so narrow that it seems unfair. Mastering a series of consecutive parries is extremely rewarding, particularly because reaching such skill level usually demands considerable effort.

In this game, there’s an impressive assortment of adversaries, each with distinct attack styles. As you progress through different zones, you’ll frequently face these enemies, allowing you to gradually improve your skill in anticipating and blocking their attacks. Initially, you may guess when the enemy will strike or which attacks are feints designed to catch you off guard. But as you gain experience, you’ll start to discern their patterns and find the ideal instant for a parry. Trust me, there’s nothing quite like landing a counterattack on an adversary for the first time, with the sound effects and camera enhancing the impact of your retaliation.

As I take my turn, a plethora of tactical choices unfolds before me. Each member of my party possesses their own distinct skill tree, which shapes their actions during combat. Notably, every character’s abilities intertwine, enabling me to devise a multitude of unique strategies. This synergy is even more pronounced when you consider that each character also boasts a special battle mechanic, adding another layer to the strategic depth and versatility of my team composition.

Gustave amplifies his attacks with powerful strikes; Lune boosts her spells by summoning the essence of various elements; while Maelle’s techniques allow her to shift between combat stances, enhancing attack, defense, and resource gain. Each character’s abilities have been meticulously designed for seamless collaboration, enabling you to create a potent three-person team that functions like a well-oiled machine, dealing massive damage. As everyone appreciates, nothing beats watching those numbers soar, and Expedition 33 offers ample opportunities for just that!

Next, we arrive at the Picto/Lumina system, an additional remarkable invention. In this game, by overcoming and vanquishing adversaries, you’ll amass Pictos that enhance a character’s attributes and provide unique passive abilities – such as “basic attacks cause burn” or “healing abilities also remove status afflictions”. Each character can carry up to three Pictos simultaneously. However, once a Picto has been utilized in four battles, it transforms into a Lumina.

A Lumina artifact can be utilized by several characters at once, and although it doesn’t provide the stat enhancements that a Picto does, it imparts a passive ability instead. This implies that you frequently change your Picto choices to activate these potent effects across your entire team. As you progress into the later stages of the game, these effects become more intricate, adding an extra layer of strategy when constructing your party.

As a devoted enthusiast, I’ve found a streamlined approach to character management that makes it less like number crunching and more engaging: The fundamentals are encapsulated in five straightforward stats – Health Points (HP), Attack, Defense, Speed, and Critical Rate. The intricacy lies not in the stats themselves but in how my Pictos and weapons manipulate them. And let me tell you, these tools can be enhanced individually, offering a multitude of possibilities and even passive effects, delving us deeper into this fascinating gameplay rabbit hole.

The game does an excellent job of managing its own pace, gradually introducing new mechanics and allowing players to adjust before moving on to more complex elements. Early in the game, you’ll receive Pictos at a regular rate, which helps you get accustomed to their management when the game later introduces heavier challenges. One area where many JRPGs often fall short is tutorial support, but this game excels in that regard. The team behind Sandfall has skillfully incorporated concepts from Western games into this genre, demonstrating yet another instance of their thoughtful design approach.

Upon entering this world, it’s hard not to be captivated by its breathtaking beauty. The game skillfully employs bright, vibrant colors that make each setting stand out distinctly, and every fresh location showcases a visually stunning display.

This means that the budget might be strained in other parts of the project. Frequently, when two characters are discussing an action, the scene will switch to black and provide a summary instead of showing it, which can be disappointing. However, this is just a minor issue, and I believe the team made the wise choice regarding where to allocate their resources.

To put it in my own words as a game enthusiast, what draws me to immersive games with captivating stories is the pursuit of that very same emotional high I experienced during the climax of Expedition 33 (I promise not to spoil it). It’s an indescribable sensation, somewhat ethereal, where everything else in my world fades into insignificance. In those moments, I’m not just a player, but a part of that universe, living the lives of these characters and sharing their emotions. It’s a feeling so intense that when the end credits roll, it’s as if I’ve been holding my breath, waiting for the resolution, and the narrative’s weight sits heavy on my chest.

Few games I’ve encountered have managed to evoke such a powerful emotional response as Expedition 33 does. Its narrative, with its poignant themes of loss, grief, and acceptance, is unparalleled. The gameplay, featuring strategic combat that demands both careful planning and swift reflexes, along with innovative mechanics, is simply breathtaking. To top it off, the visuals are stunning, creating a captivating world that never fails to impress. In short, Expedition 33 is a game I’ll always champion.

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2025-04-23 12:17