Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 First Impressions | A Rough Gem

Last year, during the Xbox Game Showcase in June 2024, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was first revealed, and it immediately caught my attention. As a huge RPG fan, its core gameplay concept definitely piqued my interest, combining turn-based mechanics with a unique combat system which was reminiscent of a game I fell in love with before called “Shadow Hearts”. Now, with the game’s release just around the corner, I finally had the opportunity to get my hands on a demo and I’m here to share my experience. So without further ado, here are my Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 first impressions.

The Final Countdown

The general premise of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ‘s story is actually quite interesting. In this world, humans have to deal with a mysterious entity called the “Paintress” as she brings humanity to the brink of extinction slowly and surely. The Paintress writes a number in the sky, marking the age at which each person will die. What’s worse is that, every year, the number decreases, meaning that humans are die younger and younger. In response, expeditions are formed to venture into the distant lands of the Paintress in an attempt to stop this cycle of death. Expedition 33, as the title suggests, marks the latest in this series of desperate missions. Unfortunately, things take a disastrous turn when the expedition encounters a mysterious elderly man—someone seemingly exempt from the Paintress’s curse. After a brief encounter, this person just easily wipes out almost the entire expedition. The demo begins with you as Gustave, trying to look for any of have survived.

Promising but definitely not Perfect

It’s important to note that what I played was a preview build, so many features, I assume, were unavailable for now. The demo was roughly about 3-4 hours, but it was still enough for me to catch a glimpse of the core aspects of the game.

This did make the preview version feel quite clunky as a bunch of things just seemingly weren’t available yet – like the weapon upgrade system. I picked up items like the Chroma Catalyst, which supposedly upgrades weapons at camp, but I just couldn’t seem to use it (unless I was going about it amazingly wrong). There were also items that were supposed to be able to grant me more point to learn abilities but I couldn’t get that to work as well. However, despite these limitations, it was clear that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has potential. The world-building and combat system offered a lot of promise and hopefully, those issues are addressed.

A Beautiful yet Basic World

The world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is striking. Almost all the areas I went to in the demo were just so fantastically pretty that I couldn’t help but be stunned in awe at times. There was even an area that had an underwater aesthetic without being underwater per se. This area has floating bubbles, sea creatures and everything, while another was bathed in stunning sunlight, creating a vibrant and immersive atmosphere.

That said, I did encounter lighting issues occasionally which did detract from the experience at times. I encountered a cave where the screen went unnaturally dark, making it difficult to navigate. In some scenes, harsh light contrasts felt overwhelming, almost as if the game was trying to “flashbang” me. Hopefully, these issues will be ironed out in the final version, but they were noticeable during my playthrough.

More than that, gameplay-wise, the overworld felt… basic. A lot of times, the maps felt very corridor-y and linear. There would be a shiny thing needed to be picked up and there were even “side areas” that were practically empty corridors with one difficult enemy at the end. They weren’t guarding anything but they would drop rewards upon defeat. It feels like nitpicking yes but, everything considered, the whole thing felt positively ambitious but somehow still lacking at a few of the more basic things such a more intuitive UI, and more.

Awesome Combat but…

Combat in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a mix of turn-based RPG mechanics with real-time action elements. On the surface, it follows the familiar formula: you attack, use skills, or consume items. You also use AP for certain more powerful skills which you accumulate via attacking, dodging, and parrying.

Each character also has unique gameplay mechanics. Gustave, for example, builds up charges with his attacks, which can then be consumed for devastating moves. Lune specializes in elemental damage, leaving behind “stains” that affect the next spell she casts. Maelle utilizes a duelist kind of fighting style which focuses on stances to maximize damage output based on her positioning.

The brilliance of the game though lies in how you have reactive elements during combat. Not only can you perform quick-time events during your attacks, but you can also parry incoming strikes or dodge enemy attacks if timed right. Successfully timing a parrying all your enemy’s attacks results in a counterattack, allowing you to defeat enemies without taking any damage. This rewarding combat system promotes active engagement and keeps players on their toes.

There’s also a ranged attack system in the form of an aiming mode, where targeting specific body parts on enemies can result in massive damage or debuffs. However, as fun as the combat is, the game’s trial-and-error nature can be frustrating at times as you can get stuck just trying and trying against any enemy to hopefully learn all their patterns and just wipe them out – regardless of whether you were supposed kill them already at your level or if they were meant to be retuned to at a much later time.

Another issue I found was how the demo had a lack of enemy variety and how it was so hard to identify which enemy was which. Many of your foes looked similar, and the game doesn’t provide clear indicators of weaknesses. While the tutorial does teach you some basic mechanics, I found it difficult to remember which enemies were weak to what elements or attacks which honestly did get a bit frustrating. That being said, one of the things I DID really enjoy was inclusion of the “Picto” system—accessories that allow you to customize your characters’ abilities. By equipping Pictos, you can tweak your character’s playstyle, whether that’s optimizing Gustave and making the most out of his aimed shots by letting them MARK and BURN them or enhancing Maelle’s damage output and more.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 First Impressions

Our Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 first impressions are really promising as its an RPG with some standout mechanics, particularly with its combat. The demo provided a glimpse of what could be a highly engaging experience, but I am afraid that there may not be enough time to work through the issues I experienced unless they already have been and just weren’t part of the demo build. I definitely respect what Sandfall has created here but I really hope that, upon launch, the final game can keep up with the strong combat system that they’ve placed in it.

The demo shows promise for sure but there’s a lot to potentially improve on before the final release. With the right tweaks and optimizations, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could become a must-play RPG. But even with how it stands right now, it’s still a game worth keeping an eye on.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is set to release on April 24, 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, and PC.