5 reasons to be excited for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 promises to become one of the best RPGs of 2025 and is highly anticipated by gamers of all ages. This new turn-based RPG by indie developers Sandfall Interactive draws inspiration from JRPG titles like Persona 5, Metaphor: Refantazio, and the classic Final Fantasy games. However, unlike its Eastern inspirations, it tries to do things differently to make the turn-based genre more enticing and less of a niche for the Western audience.
This article lists five reasons to be excited for Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 when it launches on April 24, 2025.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.
Five reasons to keep an eye out for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
1) It brings a refreshing twist to traditional turn-based combat
The gameplay for Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 modernizes the turn-based RPG genre. While role-playing games have become a mainstay in the Japanese market even today, they’re slowly fading into obscurity for Western gamers who are more interested in action over tactics. This title innovates the genre’s combat fundamentals by incorporating real-time actions, a feature never seen before.
If you've played JRPG games like Metaphor: Refantazio, you probably know that the turn-based style of combat can often become mundane as you wait an eternity for attack animations to finish. As such, this title adds real-time elements like a dodge and parry button that you must click at the right time to negate damage taken from enemy attacks.
Moreover, many special attacks have QTE (quick time event) sections where you must press the correct buttons to land a critical hit.
Read more: 5 things to know before playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
You can also counter enemy attacks by pressing the right button at the required time. Furthermore, if you have ranged characters in your team, you can manually aim at the enemy to hit their weak spots. Such improvements make every encounter feel more intense, forcing you to be ready for everything that the enemy throws at you.
2) The use of Unreal Engine 5 makes the game look graphically impressive
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 runs on the Unreal Engine 5 engine, which has some impressive features that make graphics look more realistic and better than ever before. Based on the trailers and gameplay videos online, the game looks (and runs well) good for an indie AA game, especially when compared to modern AAA games rife with poor optimization.
Read more: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a fascinating melding of Soulslike gameplay and turn-based RPGs
The requirements are also not staggeringly high, meaning that many older systems will be able to run this game smoothly, albeit at the lowest settings. Even in low settings, it looks gorgeous. The environments, character models, and even enemy monsters are made with striking detail, making this a must-play for gamers who thrive on realistic graphics.
3) The plot with a cool and unique concept
One of the primary hooks of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lies in its story teased in the title itself. In the game, a powerful being known as the Paintress wakes up and paints a cursed number. As she finishes her canvas, everyone whose age matches the number turns into smoke and fades into obscurity.
This catastrophic event happens every year, with the number ticking down. This time, she is ready to wake up and paint the number 33, which makes everyone of this age prepare for their sudden demise.
You play as Gustave, a 32-year-old marked for death next year. You must now go on a journey with allies you meet along the way to take down the Paintress by the end of the year and stop her madness once and for all — a feat no one has achieved before. The concept seems unique for a Western RPG, as you get to uncover mysteries about the Paintress.
4) A mature and interesting cast of characters
Gustave, a 32-year-old man, is the primary protagonist of Clair Obscure: Expedition 33. As such, it deviates from standard JRPG tropes of high-schoolers, peasants, and wandering warriors ending up as the chosen one to save mankind. Voiced by Daredevil star Charlie Cox, he helps flesh out Gustave as a mature character with more realistic ambitions that give him his unwavering determination.
Read more: 7 best RPGs to play while waiting for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Then, there's Maelle, voiced by Jennifer English. The characters should feel more relatable to older gamers, as evident from the banter between Gustave and Maelle, both of whom are flawed and complex.
As such, if you are tired of one-dimensional teenage protagonists who use the power of friendship a bit too much, you will probably enjoy this game.
Fun Fact: Industry veterans Andy Serkis (Gollum from The Lord of the Rings) and Ben Starr (Clive Rosenfield from Final Fantasy 16) also appear as voice actors in this game.
5) Not being an open-world action game makes the experience more focused
Most modern titles are shifting to the new trend of featuring massive but hollow open worlds with nothing to do but complete banal and irrelevant fetch quests, as seen in the latest Ubisoft games. Many gamers have become bored with this formula and want a more compact and focused experience that prioritizes quality over quantity.
If you are one such player, you would be excited to know that Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 is a linear game with more open levels that you can freely explore to unlock secrets and face hidden bosses. Moreover, it will take you roughly 25 to 30 hours to complete, which should be better than 100-hour open-world snoozefests.
For more info about Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, check out these articles:
- Clair Obscur Expedition 33: Release date, platforms, and system requirements revealed
- Is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 coming to Xbox Game Pass?
- Is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 coming to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2?