Expedition 33 Review: The Darkest of Dark Horses

Follow me, if you will, on a brief journey back in time. It is early May, 2025 and my social media feed is being flooded with people talking a new video game from a first time developer called Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. People were absolutely raving about it so I decided to do a little digging. Unusual title aside, I was impressed by what I was seeing. It was an RPG with a unique fantastical setting and people were speaking very highly of the game's characters and especially of its story. On top of that it had a killer original soundtrack which I ended up listening to in its entirety before I even bought the game. Then, I saw what was, for me, the bad news: It was a turn-based game inspired by JRPGs like Final Fantasy. Those types of games have never been my cup of tea, so I more or less checked out. Until, that is, I happened to listen to an episode of a certain glorious gaming podcast. And from the way Josh and John talked about this game I could tell, my own personal preferences aside, Expedition 33 was truly something special. So, that night, almost certain I was going to end up regretting it, I bought the game. A year and a half later I have played it for over 100 hours, rolled credits twice, completed all of the side content, recommended it to everyone I know, and earned every achievement on Steam.

And I promise you I will play it again.

The Story

It is almost impossible to talk about E33’s story without spoilers. Suffice it to say, it’s incredible. The essence of it is that you are part of a desperate mission to take down the mysterious Paintress, an entity who paints a new number on a distant Monolith each year and everyone older than that number is erased from existence. The game’s prologue is a masterclass in emotional storytelling and immediately makes you feel the stakes of the mission and it only gets better from there. It is filled with twists and turns that are sure to have you laughing at one moment and weeping at the next. I’ve never played a game with a story quite like this one.

The Characters

The game features an interesting and compelling cast of characters, each with their own story arcs. Credit to the voice cast for making these people feel alive and their stakes feel real. The roster felt large enough to avoid getting stale but not so large that anyone felt left out. The game’s main antagonist has cemented themself as one of my favorites in all of gaming.

The Gameplay

The thing I thought would for sure keep me from liking this game became one of the things I loved most about it. The timed dodges and parries turned the turn-based combat into a riveting gameplay experience for me. The different ways you can build your party make for some really fun synergies between the characters. I never got tired of turning Maelle into an absolute nuclear missile of damage. Practically every boss fight had me on the edge of my seat and getting that sweet victory screen always felt rewarding and well worth the encounter. Exploration of the overworld and the different zones usually felt worthwhile to me and was fun enough to drive me to go on a completionist run for my second play through. I must admit, though, that the lack of maps within the game’s different zones felt like a pretty big quality of life oversight to me, but not enough to seriously detract from the experience.

The Graphics

The game looks, by and large, incredible. The game’s zones have their own unique flair and the landscapes are generally awesome to look at it. If I had a gripe, it’s that the hair looks…not great and character’s lips occasionally don’t seem to perfectly match what is being said, which seemed a little uncanny to me when I noticed it.

The Music

Sweet Christmas, I didn’t know a game’s soundtrack could go this hard. Seriously, even if you couldn’t give two farts about this game, listen to the soundtrack. You won’t regret it.

Parting Thoughts

So, should you play Expedition 33? Well, like most things in life, that depends. Do you think you would enjoy a game with gorgeous visuals, Shakespearean writing, impactful performances, tight and rewarding gameplay, exhilarating boss fights, subtle worldbuilding, themes that are somehow both profoundly existential and painfully personal, a narrative to rival a great work of literature, and the greatest soundtrack in the history of gaming?

Yes?

Then yeah, you should probably play this game.