Amid all the doom and gloom in an industry that has recently seen a wave of bad news, ranging from price hikes and layoffs to the numerous failures of live service games. A small, hardworking, and passionate team from France called Sandfall Interactive has proven, with the backing of publisher Kepler Interactive, that when studios step away from chasing arbitrary metrics and instead focus on creating the games they genuinely want to make, the results will follow.

There is no better example of this lately than Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. A Western RPG inspired by Japanese RPGs that came before it: Final Fantasy, Persona. Yet, Sandfall Interactive haven’t been afraid to take this age-old formula that has stood the test of time and add its own spin to it.

Set in a seemingly alternate version of Paris called Lumière, an expedition sets out each year to put an end to a mysterious being known as the Paintress. Every year, she awakens during what the citizens of Lumière call the Gommage to strike another number off the Monolith; anyone older than the newly inscribed number disappears. 

The prologue immediately grabbed me, even causing me to shed a tear as it set the tone for our interesting characters. It’s supported by excellent writing and outstanding performances, mainly by Charlie Cox as Gustave, Jennifer English as Maelle, Kirsty Rider as Lune, Andy Serkis as Renoir, and Ben Starr as Verso.

This stacked cast tells an emotional tale from beginning to end. In particular, there are a couple of scenes early in the game between Gustave and Lune where the back-and-forth between the actors is top-tier, something that felt straight out of film or TV. Brilliant motion capture further elevates the impressive storytelling on display.

The focus on death, its finality, and how the characters approach it drives their motivations as they aim to end the Paintress’s seemingly never-ending cruelty. The typically darker tone isn’t without its more whimsical and lighter notes, though, and there is no better example of this than through the game’s fantasy world and inhabitants. A race you’ll meet while exploring it is the Gestrals. These paintbrush-like, fight-hungry little creatures bring plenty of laughs, heaps of charm, and surprising courage. They’re a delightful bunch to have as an ally during the expedition.

The world isn’t without its many dangers, though. Nevrons of all shapes and sizes await you at every turn, but don’t worry, they’re a blast to take down thanks to the game’s unique turn-based combat. Unlike standard turn-based games, which often follow a predictable back-and-forth pattern, Expedition 33 takes a satisfying new look at the combat style. I’m not saying that the classic approach doesn’t work; there’s a reason turn-based games are so beloved, but here, the combat is so much more interactive and keeps you occupied at all times.

What sets the game apart is how it adds more difficulty to the gameplay. Attacking enemies triggers a sort of quick-time mini-game where, if you land each input perfectly, you’ll deal increased damage. On the defensive side, most turn-based games have you block enemy attacks or tank the damage in a war of attrition. In Expedition 33, however, a skill-based dodge and parry system requires precise timing: press B to dodge or RB to parry just as the enemy attack is about to land. It took some time to get used to, but it’s a brilliant change to the genre, and one I hope becomes a new standard. 

Every enemy has unique attacks, including variations with delayed timings, which adds challenge and forces you to consider whether it’s better to go for a parry or dodge out of the way so you can return to the offensive. Speaking of offence, each character has a few different ways to approach each fight. For example, Gustave charges up his arm by dealing damage, dodging, or parrying until he reaches Overcharge, which allows him to deal increased damage.

Lune casts skills that generate Stains, which are then consumed by her abilities to deal more damage. Meanwhile, Maelle changes stances to either increase damage dealt, reduce damage taken, or gain more AP, which is required to use skills.

Throw in the different elemental effects each character can use, and it makes for some truly dynamic gameplay that, even after dozens of hours, never got old. Fire elemental damage, for example, could burn enemies, dealing extra damage over time or marking them so they take increased damage from your next attack. Of course, you can also suffer from these status effects, just like your foes, so a lot of strategy is involved.

Like all great RPGs, deep customisation in Expedition 33 is possible. Levelling up gives you skill points that you may place into different attributes to boost your stats, a robust skill tree that unlocks new abilities to add to your arsenal, different hairstyles, outfits or weapons and a tool called Pictos. Pictos are buffs that give you added skills and better stats, such as dealing more damage on a successful parry or possibly marking an enemy after using your free aim. Your inventory has three Pictos slots, so you can mix and match to complement the build.

After a few successful battles, the Pictos passive effect will unlock, allowing you to permanently equip it using Lumina points, meaning you can switch out old Pictos and not worry about losing the skills associated with it. This enables freedom to change your builds on your quest to take down the Paintress.

The art direction is striking. Enemies all have unique designs that fit their biomes, and these environments are just as stunning. Little divers carrying sea mines like balloons are in the Flying Waters area, one of the most beautiful areas I’ve seen in a video game. It’s an area that is under the ocean, yet somehow, you aren’t affected by the water surrounding you, which people who don’t like water levels will be pleased to know and may explore it entirely on foot.

Outside these biomes, you traverse the world via the large game over-world, which turns your characters into giants (or shrinks the rest of the world) as you travel the continent in seconds. This diorama, HD-2D-like perspective, is a cute way to do the world rather than just fast-travelling via a map or jarring cuts between biomes. This space is still free to explore, though; there are weapons and items to find, many secrets and tough optional bosses scattered around.

If your party is tired from one of these bosses, you can set up camp with the press of a button at any time. This is a great place for your party to rest and interact with each other through optional cutscenes, which act just as well as the main narrative. You even have a vendor to level up your weapons, gear, and attributes. A jukebox in the corner lets you throw on some music from the game’s deep soundtrack.

When the game begins, you’re greeted by a beautiful classical piece that gets more upbeat as you explore the city. The battle music changes depending on the type of enemy you’re facing, keeping things fresh. This is a huge soundtrack where you’ll rarely hear the same theme twice, so I recommend taking a moment to appreciate the music you’re hearing.

On a technical level, besides some minor lip-syncing issues during cutscenes, everything else is well polished, like a paintress meticulously working on a canvas. The UI is simple and easy to understand, and it doesn’t get in your way even when navigating through the many abilities and gears you have to deal with.

Overall, in a time when so many games feel designed by committee and driven by trends, ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’ stands out as a heartfelt statement of artistic vision. Sandfall Interactive has delivered a deeply emotional, mechanically rich RPG that respects its JRPG inspirations while confidently forging its own path. It’s a rare debut that not only reaffirms the value of creative freedom in game development but also sets a high bar for the genre moving forward, and will be a contender come the end of the year.

Written by: Dylan Kocins