There are very few games that can claim to be genre-defining. Street Fighter 2 for fighting games, Grand Theft Auto III for Sandbox games, and Final Fantasy 7 for roleplaying games, and I've come to think that perhaps, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, should definitely be in the conversation now.
Expedition 33 is a rare game. One that was made with a sole purpose in mind. To alleviate the boredom of Guillame Broche, the head of Sandfall Interactive, developers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. To this end, we find a tale of a talented and dedicated individual who took on other talented but inexperienced developers. Those who always dreamed of creating a game like those they grew up with and created something far better. Expedition 33 has become another example of what makes a game tick. Creative genius, determined to push its own potential. And with this foundation, we have the building blocks for something incredibly special.
But to talk about this game, I first need to talk about Metaphor: ReFantazio and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Because if you looked at the discourse surrounding this game, you'd be led to believe turn-based JRPG games haven't existed since 2002. Of course they have, and they've been of amazing quality. But the feeling of quality returning, that is the essence of 33.
Not because it's better than these games, or that those games are discounted for being modernized, but because 33 has somehow, someway, returned that feeling of awe and wonder that a 30-year-old man like me thought was long lost back in the days of the 2000s. Not because of a fall in quality, but because of seeing it all before. No game can return to me the feeling of first playing Final Fantasy 9 at nine-years-old. That's what I thought, but I was wrong. 33 has somehow done that. And now I have to try to go through my thoughts with you and discuss why.
Expedition 33 is a master class in character work. From the start, you're shown exactly what a character is about, and it doesn't matter if a character is about to be forcibly ejected from the story or if they're with you to the end; they will treat them with all the grace and attention of a main character. When you behold them, they are the focus.
There is no such thing as a worthless character in this game. If an antagonist turns up, the entire environment twists around their agenda; if a hero is performing an attack, every inch of that attack is detailed and flawlessly rendered. If a character is around for a substantial amount of time, a very appropriate and amazing voice actor will accompany them. Ben Starr provides his iconic voice as Verso, Maelle's VA is Jennifer English of Baldur's Gate 3 fame, Charlie Cox as Gustave from Daredevil fame, and Andy Serkis makes a hefty appearance too, from too many amazing projects to count. It's a very surprising level of quality; even Final Fantasy has the odd character you'd rather not see. Not one character in this game is wasted or a pointless inclusion.
I want to give special attention to the character Sciel. A character who, in a normal game, would be given the treatment of a hard and tough female character, and not delve deeper into her personal story. But in Expedition 33, she provides such an amazing foil to the nihilistic themes that overwhelm certain parts of the story that you have to honestly just admire how deep and well-written her story becomes. I don't want to spoil anything at all with this game, because this experience is something you'll only get to see for the first time once. I still feel like these characters are vital to my own personal growth, understanding of human grief, and the will to press on. That's how highly I rate these characters.
If there was ever a tale of being noticed by the right people, this would be it. Lorien Testard, the game's main composer, was found on SoundCloud, and they gave him everything: an extremely talented lead vocalist in Alice Duport-Percier, an industry-revered male vocalist in Victor Borba (Of Devil May Cry 5 fame). Backing vocals from the production team and an entire orchestra. And this soundtrack takes no prisoners. Every single track is oozing with passion and nostalgic wonder. If I had to describe it, it would be modern video game beats meet traditional French operatics. It's a soundtrack that will be remembered fondly for years to come.
Also, there's a fun little language bonus if you happen to know French; the soundtrack gives hints as to the true nature of the world in which the characters inhabit. Even going so far as to be the opening area name drops a late-game antagonist and hints at his origins. But given that said name is shared with a famous artist, you would be none the wiser without the additional context.
Expedition 33 loves to explore different levels of its own universe, revealing more and more outside of the box as you go on. You start as mild-mannered and incredibly likeable Gustave, meet with fiery Lune, and ambitious Maelle, and set sail to a continent filled to the brim with dangerous enemies to uncover the mysteries of the paintress, a giant woman who changes a number on her monolith every year. The lower the number gets, the more people of that age and above pop out of existence. From the get-go, the stakes are the entirety of your world, but… somehow this game's story succeeds in making that into an inconsequential point.
The strength of this game's story is managing to change your priorities as a player, based on how you interact with the characters. The ethical themes and your attachment to the characters dictate how you respond to the world. Everyone comes away with a different idea about the morality and the importance of key story points, but at the same time, we can all agree on who the characters are and why they do what they do. It's what we value as players that the game respects in a way that only others with an honest passion for gaming could understand.
Interestingly, this game has the ability to tell many, many different experiences within its narrative. Expedition 33 is only one of 67 previous expeditions; a lot of these expeditions are told and explained throughout our own journey, and there's a rather impressive story told through the story's antagonist, which breaches the realms of your own character's world. The most impressive thing this game did in my eyes was to widen the scope so immensely, but maintain the powerful energy needed to tell a very human, and very sorrowful story of grief and loss.
Combat in this game is something that works along a few interesting systems. Firstly, you have pictos, which can customize your characters with different stat boosts, afflictions, or simply being able to deal far more damage than they should. Pictos are collected from the environment and boss encounters and are generally very satisfying to obtain and mess around with.
Outside of that, every character has a full and robust skill set that meshes rather harmoniously with the pictos within the game. Everyone has a ranged attack and a melee attack, with some specializing in one or the other depending on their abilities.
Finally, we have enemy attacks that all follow increasingly complicated patterns that can be dodged or parried. Dodging does nothing, and I would recommend trying to parry everything. The timing is more difficult, but the reward is far more substantial.
Every single enemy is unique in this regard, and there is little to no repetition, making every encounter in this game fluid, engaging and not at all boring. Every fight was a new thing to try, and I honestly feel like the music accompaniment created such hype and insane moments that you can't help but feel accomplished when you finally take down that one dude who won't stop reviving because he wants to impress a girl. (You know the one if you've played)
The game is gorgeous, but not in the usual way. It knows how to hold back on being flashy for the sake of being impressive, but more than that, Obscur wants to channel the spirit of nihilistic paintings and classical French artwork into a mixture that truly reflects the spirit of the story within it.
Enemy design will occasionally dip into a disturbing level of lacking, creating a very repelling sense of dread and disgust at your adversaries. While at the same time, you'll find that enemies that are treated with significance will have attention to detail that accompanies them. Except for one enemy that I want to talk about, called Sprong. Sprong is one of the strongest enemies in the game, and his design is a really sad tale. Essentially, it's a discarded music fork, and its simplicity, yet giant stature and sheer power, is related to a certain character's lament and sadness at being unable to pursue their personal dream of music. As such, the rather simplistic design tells a very ferocious insight into this character and how they view their own desires.
This is how graphical intensity is used to the game's ultimate benefit. Any and all designs are used to tell a story, either from the viewpoint of another character or from the sad, unrelenting truth of the world around it. This is where graphical mastery becomes a tool for story depth and understanding.
Granted the combat UI is far more of a love letter to the development team's personal loves and obsessions within gaming. It's one of the very few parts of the game where inspiration and lack of originality is even the slightest bit apparent, and even then, it's taken inspiration from a game like Persona 5, one of the best RPGs ever made.
6. Finale
Talking about how a story should end without spoiling the events that make it up is a difficult idea, but in this regard, I feel as though I cannot adequately explain this game without talking about its conclusion.
You will find the conclusion bears similarities with another French-made game, called Life is Strange. A choice between two endings, where both endings give context and enrich the other, no matter which you choose first. And the endings themselves are ones that you yourself can accept or reject.
Experiencing the endings is the choice you make, but acceptance of the endings is something different. You will learn something intrinsic about yourself by playing this game to its conclusion. You will come to understand how you grieve and what you hold as important. And whether certain parts of your life matter, or should matter to you. This is what Expedition 33 will lead you to.
And that's not even a matter of saying "You will learn the message the game is trying to teach you", because that wouldn't be correct. Expedition 33 will teach you what your Light is and what your Dark is. What you feel is the right way to cope with loss, and the wrong way. And you will get to decide that for yourself. There is no holding hand. Just a choice, that you can accept, or reject and choose another. And through that. You'll know yourself a little bit better. The aptly named Clair Obscur, which means Light, Darkness, in our language.
If you've never played an RPG before, I would encourage you to play this one. It's an experience you will keep with you, I promise you that.
