General Gaming Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | A Reactive Turn-Based RPG Inspired by the Lavish Art and Culture of France’s Belle Époque | PS5/Xbox Series/PC | 2025 - First Look Gameplay and hands-off previews

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[crispy4000]

I went in thinking Judas or the next Bioshock, and got something even better.

 

I may need to think on it, but gut reaction is this is my game of the show.

[Bacon]

I want Ben Starr to be the main character

 

And this is clearly French Lost Oddessey.

[Dodger]

39 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

I went in thinking Judas or the next Bioshock, and got something even better.

 

I may need to think on it, but gut reaction is this is my game of the show.

Might be second after Doom for me

[jaethos]

This was the best reveal of the show. I hope it's good 

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[Firewithin]

this looks very good 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Some further details on the gameplay video from the developer:

 

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Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics, centered around the eponymous Expedition as they strive to prevent The Paintress from ever painting again. 

 

This video offers a glimpse into an early area of the game, shortly after the Expedition sets out, focusing on a region known as Flying Waters. Here, Gustave and Lune are searching for Maelle, another member of the Expedition, and must navigate the area to uncover clues to her whereabouts.

 

 

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We've infused Expedition 33 with rich environmental storytelling. Throughout the game, you’ll encounter numerous destroyed structures, worn paths, and remnants of the Expeditions that came before. For example in Flying Waters, Expedition 68 met their end, and by exploring the setting you can see how they met their demise.

 

You can switch the party leader at any time when you traverse the world of Expedition 33, letting them lead the Expedition as you explore the world and overcome the challenges ahead. Whether you prefer to lead with your favorite character or the one best suited for the upcoming battle, the choice is yours. 

 

You can also customize their appearance, with unique outfits and hairstyles discoverable across the world. These customized looks have no effect on your character’s skills or abilities, so you are free to use whatever fits your style the best.

 

 

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You can interact with the environment using climbing hooks, ledges left by previous Expeditions, or the Grapple in your kit to ascend great heights.

 

Exploration is heavily rewarded throughout the game, and you’ll come across environmental puzzles called Paint Cages that can aid your journey, along with items called Pictos that teach you new abilities. Pictos work similarly to accessories or gear in traditional RPGs, and bestow stat bonuses to the character who has them equipped. 

 

They also have unique passive skills associated with them, called Lumina. Having a Picto equipped allows the character to learn the associated Lumina permanently, and you can equip a wide range of them to diversify your builds, and customize your party to suit a preferred playstyle.

 

 

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Our battle system is what we call Reactive Turn Based, where you’ll need to input commands when you attack, but also remain reactive whilst enemies attack to effectively defend your party from damage. Players take turns attacking or defending, with the turn order displayed on the left side of the screen. 

 

While basic attacks deal low damage, skills often involve a timed reactive command to maximize their effectiveness and add additional bonuses. Skills cost Action Points (AP) to use, and the cost varies between skills. Though you gain one AP per turn, you can customize your build to get AP from other sources - such as successful parries 💥

 

Some multi-hit skills may allow you to chain an attack combo, unless you fail your inputs. Some may even backfire and cause damage to you if you fail your input, so careful timing and practice will be key to maximizing your effectiveness in battle.

 

Similarly, when an enemy attacks, you'll need to time your inputs to minimize damage. The timing windows for these inputs vary—dodging has a larger window, allowing you to evade the attack entirely, while parrying has a tighter window that negates damage and can trigger a powerful counter attack if you successfully parry the entire enemy combo.

 

 

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Bosses may also have unique mechanics or additional challenges to overcome. For example, Goblu is surrounded by flowers in the encounter, which can bestow it with powerful buffs and advantages that can quickly overwhelm the party. 

 

In this case, you can make use of the free-aim system to fire at these flowers and close their buds, limiting their effectiveness and ensuring the Expedition has the upper-hand against these powerful adversaries. Finding and exploiting these unique mechanics can be integral to boss battles. 

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's fresh take on RPG traditions could revitalise the genre

WWW.EUROGAMER.NET

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It's fair to say Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 caught the eyes of many - myself included - when it was revealed during th…

 

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In all, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feels like a particularly ambitious project, with Broche inspired by some of the greatest RPG classics in gaming history. Despite its spectacular presentation, this appears more limited in scope compared to recent open world giants like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - world design in particular is not open, but does feature branching paths to explore - and I can't imagine card games and karaoke here. Yet by bringing modern presentation and gameplay elements to a traditional RPG structure, I've no doubt Expedition 33 will satisfy fans of the genre eager for a fresh interpretation.

 

As the preview ends with the party arriving in a beautiful autumnal area of vivid red leaves, I find myself itching to see more and play for myself. Clair Oscur: Expedition 33 had already caught my eye, but now it's shot to the top of my most-wanted list.

 

 

[eventide11]

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - The First Preview - IGN

WWW.IGN.COM

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With its QTE-infused battles, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks like an exciting and long-overdue buff for turn-based RPG combat.

 

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Ever since I pitted my brand new Bulbasaur against my rival’s Charmander in the opening chapter of Pokémon Red, I’ve loved turn-based combat. But I know this style of battle isn’t for everyone. Plenty have skipped over the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3, Persona 5, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns because of the slower, more managerial-like pace of turn-based combat. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wants to provide the solution to those issues. The upcoming RPG has plenty of smart ideas that aim to evolve turn-based battles, transforming them from baton-passing attack sequences to thrilling, skill-based conflicts.

 

I recently met with developer Sandfall Interactive to watch creative director Guillaume Broche play through just under an hour of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. While clearly inspired by Japanese RPG titans like Final Fantasy, Clair Obscur feels distinctly European. Rather than sporting outrageous anime hair and a sword larger than the Empire State Building, protagonist Gustave is a handsomely dressed gent with a face that could be almost mistaken for Robert Pattinson’s. During my demo, he and the equally elegant mage Lune explored the ocean floor-like Flying Waters region, picking through the remains of prior expeditions that had been scattered among the coral.

 

 

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Due to the somewhat contextless nature of the demo, much of what I saw outside of combat was harder to judge. What I did take away was the sense that this is almost like a next-gen Final Fantasy from an alternate timeline; like Square’s JRPGs of old, Clair Obscur is not open world, opting instead for linear regions complete with save point-like resting spots. Sandfall promises these regions have been built to be expansive enough to allow off-the-beaten-path adventures, though, including optional bosses. At this stage, I can’t say how strong Clair Obscur’s exploration chops are, but what I saw ranged from the relatively mundane (shoot three symbols to unlock loot) to the ethereal (a child NPC peeling away into the ether like an ancient painting) to the genuinely funny (a sentient, French-speaking paintbrush called Noco, who will sell you his best wares provided you fight his gigantic boss form).

 

While I’ve yet to form any significant opinions on its wider gameplay ideas, I can say that I really liked what I saw of Clair Obscur’s world. It has concepts and characters I’m looking forward to delving into, strong voice acting, and a genuinely gorgeous graphical style. But the thing I’m really excited about is the smarts-skills-smarts loop the fights seem to thrive on. A cerebral moment of lining up a clever attack is followed by a speedy burst of rhythmic button taps, a perfectly-judged parry, and then it’s back to quietly contemplating exactly what attack will rupture your foe’s defences. Staunchly traditional turn-based fans may consider this up-and-down tempo a bit too jarring – tactical combat for the short-attention-span generation. But from my perspective at least, this is the fresh approach the system has needed for some time. I hope, when I finally get to play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 myself, it proves itself to be a more involving turn-based experience as opposed to a system that simply makes concessions to the action-loving crowd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Preview – A poignant and painterly RPG

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks destined to be the biggest RPG of 2025, with beautiful graphics, great gameplay and an intriguingly poignant story.

 

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There’s no doubt about it, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the best looking games that’s expected to release next year. Built in Unreal Engine 5, it’s got the technical backing and prowess that this offers, but this would be nothing without the arresting art direction and the world that Sandfall Interactive is creating for their RPG.

 

There’s a deep and mournful sadness to the world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a resignation to the inevitability of the fate of its people to simply disappear into nothingness one year at a time. That’s all thanks to the Paintress, who wakes up once a year, paints a number on a monolith and curses all the people of that age to turn into ashes and simply fade away. There’s echoes of Logan’s Run, but it’s steeped in an even greater tragedy as that number drops down and down and down.

 

 

 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is reminding me of the greatest Lord of the Rings game

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Here's our preview of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from Gamescom 2024.

 

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Every now and then, a game comes along that embodies that. You get Lord of the Rings: The Third Age to FF10, or Undertale to Mother 2. And now, we arguably have Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to Persona 5. I think what it’s offering is thrilling - said with the caveat that I’ve only seen hands-off footage so far - and a game like this really has to be played, and for an extended period of time, to be truly understood. What I can say for sure is that my interest is now locked in. I hope the full game can live up to the lofty status of its inspirations.

 

 

Noughties-style JRPG Clair Obscur wants to recapture the glories of Lost Odyssey, with a touch of Devil May Cry

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I do like a combat system that resembles an overflowing dressmaker's draw, full of bouncing rubber thimbles and coils o…

 

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I do like a combat system that resembles an overflowing dressmaker's draw, full of bouncing rubber thimbles and coils of bunting. While it's not quite as chaotic and entangled as say, Disgaea, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of those games. I'd call it "baroque", but that would be out of synch with developer Sandfall Interactive's stated influences: the new RPG takes place in a molten and fragmented fantasy world based on the Belle Époque or "beautiful era" of late 19th century France. Your job as player is to stop a sorcerous Paintress from painting everybody over a certain age out of existence. We'll circle back to the plot, though. First, the excessively ornate battlin'.

 

 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an "homage" to the RPGs of old, and its director wants players to "break the game with crazy builds" | GamesRadar+

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Preview | Sandfall's debut game has been just three years in the making, and it looks stunning

 

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Clair Obscur's overarching storyline feeds back into its wonderfully wacky world design. Gustave and company are on a mission to find and kill the mysterious Painter, who awakens once every year and paints down an ever-decreasing number. Everyone and anyone immediately dies once they reach this number in age, and it turns out Gustave doesn't have very long to live by the time his expedition rolls around. “There was a time 30 was considered young,” he retorts to Maelle at one point, which I'm not sure the latter truly believes. 

 

Gustave is just the latest in a very long line of attempts to kill the Painter. Your party can find other expedition markers while they're out roaming the world, which act as little reminders of those that came before - and ultimately failed in their quest. At these points you can rest up, heal your party, and also level up characters using acquired XP. The expedition markers act as a checkpoint system that slot seamlessly into Expedition 33's overarching story. 

 

 

[legend]

I'm really looking forward to this one.

[jaethos]

It's still looking very good.