Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Review
A Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy
by Quinn Levandoski
reviewed on PC
There's Beauty In Death
The city of Lumiere - which looks like Godzilla trounced through a folding Inception version of Paris - is a functional though undeniably post-apocalyptic city in which survivors live in a crumbling reality. For reasons unknown to them, a massive, Eldritch being known as The Paintress awakens once a year to paint a new number on a giant ethereal tree. When she does, reality shakes, and everyone of that age disintegrates into a mix of dust and flower petals.
While some portion of the population has resigned themselves to enjoying life as much as they can in this horrifying, mysterious new normal, the people of Lumiere do have a small, dedicated group determined to learn the secrets of The Paintress and try to stop her. These groups are the titular Expeditions. Named after the number on the tree when they embark (which started at 100 and is counting down), Clair Obscur follows Expedition 33 into a twisted, horrifying, bizarre, and beautiful world as the titular Gustav and his fellow compatriots try to survive, learn the truth, and save humanity.
No previous Expedition has ever returned, so this isn't a journey for glory or adventure. Clair Obsur opens with a gut-wrenching 20 minutes that presents the status quo that the people of Lumiere have been forced to live with, and it's quite a bit more affecting than I expected. And it's no mystery as to why. Though the game is gorgeous from top to bottom, the narrative is elevated by excellent voice acting that players will likely recognize. Though Gustav looks exactly like Robert Pattinson (to the point I'm convinced he was initially on board to voice act), Charlie Cox lends the same soft gravitas and inner mix of anger, guilt, and love that he's used to cement himself as Marvel's most iconic interpretation of Daredevil.
Fighting The Dark & Looking Good Doing It
A reality slowly breaking apart as classic French architecture is mixed with elements of fantasy and cosmic horror is an apt canvas on which the artists at Sandfall Interactive could flex their creativity. And flex they do. From enemy design to environmental effects and backdrops, almost every minute is - fittingly - like a painting. Character animations can get a little janky, particularly in the stretches of open exploration, but the artistic direction is entrancing enough that those issues largely get a pass. Unsurprisingly, the music is equally enthralling, with a mix of pure orchestral score and tracks with vocals that stands among the best aural packages in recent years.
Beautiful doesn't always mean pleasant, though, and Gustav's journey is one full of monsters - and Monsters mean combat. I mentioned earlier that turn-based combat isn't generally my thing, but the caveat here is that Clair Obscur is only half turn-based. Yes, combat sees two sides line up Revolutionary War-style across from each other. Yes, who does what is determined by a queue. Yes, characters have action points, skills, items, and the other turn-based staples. And for what it's worth, those systems work really well! The wrinkle is that there's also some real-time combat mixed in. Offensively, most powers involve a relatively simple quick-time sequence to determine the power of the ability. Defensively, players must dodge or parry in real-time. This necessitates learning attack timing and patterns through visual and audio queues, making Clair Obscur not feel too different than something like Dark Souls. I'm sure it's not the only game doing this, but it's the first that I've played, and regardless of how original it is in the medium at large, it is implemented extremely smoothly, and combat is simply a delight.
Minor Gripes With A Wonderful Package
My only real gripe with Clair Obscur is with its open exploration segments. As players assemble a party, they explore the game's beautiful locations. Here, the camera can be a bit unwieldy, and the controls aren't as tight as I'd like. Things work fine, but the sprint button, for example, doesn't consistently keep me sprinting, and the camera would sometimes get stuck awkwardly zoomed in or out. Moreover, and more frustratingly, there's no true map or objective markers. I respect the spirit of exploration, but when leaving the game and coming back later, it is easy to get turned around, and there's no obvious way to know where to go. Moreover, the overworld is filled with nooks and crannies to explore, and it's a bit disappointing that there's no way to mark these locations on a map to revisit later as needed.
However, these are relatively minor gripes, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a delight despite them. From thrilling turn-based combat to incredible artistic direction and a truly engrossing story, this is a hard game not to recommend to players of all preferences, and it has easily cemented itself as a contender for my game of the year.
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9.5
fun score
Pros
Haunting story, beautiful artistic direction, exciting turn-based combat
Cons
Some janky animations, open exploration could be better
