Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ★★★★★

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it’s game of the year before the prologue is even over with.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and every other video linked to it can be seen on our Patreon, and if you’re wanting to know what other games we’ve played and have posts for, here’s our list of current games.

• Action/Adventure
• Emotional
• RPG
• Singleplayer

---

Explanation to Negative Feedback

---

Characters can get stuck on debris

This is probably the one main con that frustrates me with playing this game.

Sometimes going through certain areas there will be rocks on the ground or an uneven surface, and if you don’t follow the flat ground precisely, your character can get hung up on the debris on the ground, which causes them to stop moving, and you have to get around that little bit of debris that shouldn’t have troubled them in the first place.

It’s like not being able to step over a stick on the ground, come on now.

And Lune floats over the crap, so what the heck!

Weird camera angles in combat

There was one battle I went into and I had to laugh, because when the enemy began attacking, I was on the opposite side of one of my character’s heads, so I couldn’t see the enemy and their attack almost at all. Luckily, it was an enemy that was doing a certain lightning attack, so I could time it correctly from the lightning coming down and then striking.

I don’t know what was up with that camera angle, but there have been some others that have been questionable, and I don’t think I really noticed it on my first playthrough up to a certain point, so maybe they did a patch and that made things a bit wonky?

I’ll say it definitely adds a new level of difficulty at times.

Enemies in combat can be hard to see

I’m being nit-picky here, but sometimes in a darker setting there can be an enemy near the main one and it’s just not something you notice until it attacks, or one of your multi-attacks hit them and they become more noticeable.

It’s more like an ah-crap situation than anything else.

No map for specific areas

This one really hurt me. I’m so bad with directions are remembering where I’ve been and haven’t been that a map would’ve been really nice for the different areas we find ourselves in.

There were so many instances where I missed things because I just forgot I didn’t go a certain way, and then sometimes I’d get lost on trying to find the entrance to leave an area. It was kind of a mess for me and my directionally challenged mind.

I mean, you’d think the game was fairly linear, and it is to a point, but there’s also so much to explore that certainly places are not as small as they seem.

Only characters in battle earn XP

Ugh, it’s so unfortunate when you get a lot of characters, but you have to shuffle them in and out of your party in order for everyone to gain XP appropriately. In one way it’s good because you get used to your characters all working together in one way or another.

But also, sometimes you just like to have a certain line-up of them.

---

Explanation to Positive Feedback

---

Epic Soundtrack

I mean, there’s really nothing else to say about this. Straight from the start, and I mean on the title screen itself, the soundtrack is gorgeous and something worth listening to. From the different areas you enter, to the combat situations, to the cutscenes, everything’s emotional and on point.

Combat unique to each character

I love that we get so many characters to choose to fight with and each one has their own unique fighting style. It’s not your average RPG where you’ve got a warrior, a mage, a healer, and all that, although you can choose to have certain characters take those roles depending on how you raise their stats and what abilities you give them as well as the skills they’ll be using in combat.

But I mean there’s a range of combat from eating character skills in order to use them for ourselves in combat, to someone who can manipulate the elements, to someone who uses cards to destroy foes.

It’s just unfortunate not all of them can be in a battle at once.

Emotional storyline

Well if the prologue doesn’t make you cry, then there’s definitely another chance the game gives you to squeeze out those tears to prove you’re not completely heartless.

They’ve somehow made us love the characters so much given the effort they’re taking to go through with this Expedition in order to get rid of the Paintress, and while there are definitely some humorous bits (especially when you meet Esquie and Francois), it’s all tied up in a really tragic festival that continues year after year.

Not Now Mom Podcast Transcript

This is the transcript of our podcast episode for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on Not Now Mom, I’m Gaming.

[scene] means it’s a scene playing within the game.

All links within this section do not pertain to the game itself, and don’t need to be clicked. They are affiliate links that take you to random products I think are interesting.

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Not Now Mom, I’m Gaming.

My name is Kay and in this episode we’ll be talking about the game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. When I bought this, I had not heard of it before. I just saw it blowing up on YouTube with a lot of people playing it, and it looked really good with interesting battle mechanics (as far as the screenshots showed).

And when I say I go in blind with games, I really mean it. I don’t even read the game’s description, I just go by the name and the screenshots I see, honestly.

Maybe not the best plan of action when purchasing games, but I was so happy that I bought this one.

Speaking of the description…

Once a year, the Paintress wakes and paints upon her monolith. Paints her cursed number. And everyone of that age turns to smoke and fades away. Year by year, that number ticks down and more of us are erased. Tomorrow she’ll wake and paint “33.” And tomorrow we depart on our final mission – Destroy the Paintress, so she can never paint death again.

We are Expedition 33.

I did end up getting the deluxe version of this game, which provided the following:

• The “Flowers” Collection – Six outfits and hairstyles inspired by the Flowers of Lumière, along with six additional “Gommage” outfit variations. One for each playable character.
• “Clair” – A custom outfit for Maelle
• “Obscur” – A custom outfit for Gustave

So it’s all cosmetic-based. If you don’t have additional money and you don’t care too much for going all out with outfits, it’s no big deal not to have.

You’ll probably be bouncing around through different outfits in the game anyway, as there’s several to go around, even without the DLC.

There are 55 achievements to obtain, and I’m going to try for them all, but don’t know how well I’ll do because for me specifically this game is pretty difficult, seeing as the battles rely on your reflexes for parrying and dodging appropriately…and I’m just not good at that kind of thing.

Like Fromsoft games aren’t my forte because I can’t time my attacks and defenses accordingly.

This game is not terribly far out of my comfort zone in battles, but it’s toeing the line.

Before we get into the game, I want to say as of this podcast, everything on my end for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is complete–which means I’ve done the shirt review, written review, this podcast’s transcript on our written review post, as well as gameplay on our other channel.

Now, this is a longer game, so this is just the first podcast episode. If you’re interested in seeing more, give us some praise so we know, otherwise the continuation is based on how much I enjoy rambling.

And yeah, I certainly enjoy rambling.

But you’re here for the gameplay review, so let’s get into that.

The title screen has red flower petals floating on the left side and white petals floating on the right. It really reminds me of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, with just the color palette and petals. The 33 is also sort of crumbling. It all ties into what initiates the expeditions in the first place.

But ultimately, the best part of the title screen, would have to be the soundtrack.

[scene]

I loved listening to it, and I hadn’t even started the game yet. The rest of the soundtrack is just as good.

Also, I don’t speak French, and I wanted to know if Clair Obscur meant anything. If you add an E on Clair, then the translation would be light dark, as far as Google translate goes, but the actual title comes out to the term chiaroscuro.

This is a term used in art, which is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark.

Now, I won’t go into everything within the settings section, but there is an accessibility tab where you can disable the camera movements and shakes that occur, choose automatic QTE, which I haven’t done anything with, but if you’ve got slower reflexes, I suppose it will help out with attacking at the right instance, and then there’s a colourblind mode.

As far as difficulty goes, you’ve got three options.

• Story, which is focused more on narrative and less on combat, meaning the combat is still there, but more manageable.
• Expeditioner, which is the intended difficulty and for players who enjoy turn-based games with a lenient reliance on dodges and parries.
• Expert, the hardest difficulty and for players who enjoy mastering perfect dodges and parries with a love of real time mechanics.

Just so you know, for this gameplay review, I went with expeditioner, and the only reason I can say that I might get 100% achievements in this game is that none of them require you to defeat it in expert mode.

Bless the devs.

Here’s our starting scene.

[scene]

That is actually dark, considering what’s going to happen to Sophie pretty soon, but it also allows us to see that they can make light of a dark situation here. Clair Obscur.

[scene]

When we progress forward, we will find stuff from past expeditioners, whether it’s trail markers, handholds for climbing, or journal entries, so yes, every expedition that’s happened has laid a trail for the ones that came after. It’s just none of them got far enough.

[scene]

This is where the Prologue begins.

Right off the bat, the setting is gorgeous, especially with the festival going on and all the flowers set up. Bear in mind that there is no HUD to get in the way if you’re wanting to take screenshots.

And no, you can’t leave this high rise view until you grab the rose on the bench.

There are a lot of flyers on the wall as you progress forward, and I don’t know French, so I can’t really tell you what they all say, though there are some portraying Tales of the Mermaid.

Aside from flower petals, there’s also some teal stuff coating the ground and buildings, but I’m not really sure what that is. I thought it was some kind of muck when I first started playing, but it seems to be solid. I’m not sure if it signifies dried paint, considering our antagonist is called the Paintress.

It also feels like we’re drowning in flower petals at the start of the game, and I don’t know if everyone’s required to clean them all up off the street, or if they disappear on their own, or they just leave them there.

If it’s the first, that’s a lot of anxiety to think about cleaning up after loved ones disappear.

There will be grappling hooks placed throughout the game over broken terrain that you can use to jump across. Especially since our jumps aren’t that great in the first place.

After a certain point, Maelle allows for a duel in order to help you relax before meeting Sophie. This duel is where you’ll learn how the combat tutorial works, as well as information on Gustave’s fighting skills.

[scene]

The combat is so good.

And yet reminds me I’m so bad at it.

Instead of climbing up or down ropes at times, there’s a string of light that you’ll automatically slide down or zoom up on. Makes for good timing.

Approaching Sophie will initiate a scene.

[scene]

That’s really sweet, and I don’t think that she’s really referring to him just setting the rose on her garland, it’s more like she’s implying there’s always room for him in her life, despite them being broken up. I wonder if that implies the break-up was his choice then.

[scene]

And this is just even more adorable how they’re both trying to convey their feelings at the same time and both are allowing the other to go first.

[scene]

While we are in Sophie’s viewpoint now, as far as controlling her character, you can always switch to another member of your party. This is actually really nice if you don’t want to keep staring at one character all the time, but also…different styles of running as well as future outfits.

There’s a flower seller and we mention she’s got a lot of flowers left. Which she states back that there aren’t many people left to buy them. It’s crazy knowledge, but it’s also like, why are there so many petals on the ground. Do people just pluck them off and drop them for every person lost to the Paintress, because that’s what it looks like.

There’s also someone who seems to be mining chunks of teal stuff from the ground, making me think it’s like ore, but I’m not so sure.

It’s also a task that just can’t be completed, so maybe he’s just trying to do something to take his mind off the impending Gommage.

Who knows, maybe he’ll disappear this time around.

There’s a ton of people you can talk to and things to interact with in the main square, and the first person we speak with is Marie, who’s also part of the Gommage. She also chides us for not having a kid, even though what’s the point of it?

She’s going to disappear and her kid’s going to be an orphan in a place that’s severely diminished in the living. Eventually, there will be nobody to make food, because who’s going to get the food, who’s going to learn to hunt in a world overrun by creatures?

It’s a conversation piece that broke Sophie and Gustave apart, but I’m with Sophie, I wouldn’t bring a kid into this world.

Knowing what the Gommage is, it’s really weird that they talk about it so nonchalantely, as if it’s someone’s birthday. In reality, Gommage means to erase, so everyone a certain age disappears. It should no doubt provoke all the negative emotions one can carry, and yet they’ve made a festival out of it and find the motivation to celebrate it somehow.

There’s an area where you can jump platforms in order to get Chroma, which is the currency. You’ll find jumping platforms can sometimes be tedious.

You can speak to someone about making a newspaper headline and credit you. You can help someone with a sculpture they’ve created, and they may credit you. You’ll meet a couple boys dressed as Gestrals, which are kind of like paintbrushes. You can help a painter find inspiration to paint and have it dedicated to you.

Honestly, a lot of this is kind of foretelling that you might come back and see all this after the Expedition.

Otherwise, you’re just going to happen to be the most well-known person/couple in this place once everyone is gone.

To inspire the painter, you’ll also need to have a dance-off with Sophie, involving combat.

Before we head to the harbor, I’d like to state that I missed so many things in this beginning portion, and I didn’t even think I had, but I think this is me really getting hyped for the actual game to start happening, instead of exploring the general area beforehand.

Some of the things you can find that I missed is someone in a trash can, a couple enjoying themselves behind closed doors, I think something to do with a father and his kid, plus a mime you could battle.

I did make a new game and capture the combat of the mime.

Since Sophie is technically a lover, not a fighter, she won’t be in the fight. It’ll just be Gustave, and mimes can be pretty tough just because at the start, they’ll always protect themselves with an invisible wall that you’ll have to break through.

Luckily, Gustave’s Overcharge ability can break.

Keep in mind just because you have an ability that can break, doesn’t mean it will. Normally the enemy will be susceptible to break once you’ve inflicted enough damage on it and a star shows up on the yellow bar below their health bar.

Once broken, you can deal more damage to them.

The mimes generally have two attacks.

One is a hand-to-hand combo, where they slap you twice and then headbutt. The other is a strange combo, which deals with four hammer strikes.

As far as I know, every mime will give you an outfit piece, except this one. This one will give you the achievement A Peculiar Encounter, as well as a music record titled Lumiere.

Since I didn’t get this in my initial gameplay, here’s a piece of the music for it.

[scene]

Now we enter the scene of the Gommage in action.

[scene]

His dress suit for the festival was nice enough, but the uniform Sophie gives him, just to see him in it one final time, looks very nice on him. Stylish, but in an I’m-on-a-mission kind of way.

[scene]

The shift here between quiet music to the notes being played now is very ominous and foreboding, along with the color scheme the game’s chosen for this moment. They’re stepping up to watch the Paintress awaken, and it’s not something anyone wants to see, but they’re going to witness it anyway.

[scene]

I never actually saw the Paintress when she was talked about by Sophie at the festival. I didn’t realize she was sitting at the pillar with her head down until she actually started moving, but man, she’s one tall lady. And I don’t know if it’s told, as I haven’t completed the game as of this section of the podcast, but I wonder if it’s known why she appeared. She’s clearly not been here this whole time, as the Gommage hasn’t always been a thing, so why did she come to be, and why did all this start happening? I’m a sucker for lore.

[scene]

And then the piano coming in with the dramatics again when the number changes. So freaking good.

[scene]

I didn’t cry through that scene, though I’m sure many did, but it definitely hits hard, especially as the opening setup to a game.

Like, no we haven’t known Sophie that long, but we know she’s important to Gustave, and this is important enough for him to go on an Expedition to stop it from happening again. And the music, combined with couples disappearing, kids hugging each other, children becoming orphans, and the solemn portrayal of it all is deeply upsetting when you think of what it would be like if you were in that situation.

[scene]

You’d almost think Catherine and Lucien were desensitized to the Gommage with how nonchalant they’re acting after everyone’s disappeared. Like it’s something that’s happened every year and it’s just another year of it happening. Or maybe they’re currently okay with it since they’re part of the Expedition team and they plan to end it this time around. I mean, I understand not letting someone drink and grieve alone, but maybe tone the enthusiasm down a bit? The difference between their level of energy and Gustave’s is startling in comparison, considering Gustave just lost someone he loved.

[scene]

When we’re in control again, we get a Festival Token.

Unfortunately with my first playthrough I didn’t get all the tokens, because I assumed they were more collectibles that you could find on the ground or something. And I just didn’t try hard enough to find them all. But if you defeat Maelle in combat, she’ll give you a token. And if you answer someone’s questions correctly as a history lesson, he’ll also give you a token, in which case you’ll have all three.

With these tokens, you can acquire a Pictos, resulting in Weird Pictos, a hairstyle for Gustave, and an Old Key.

There is a boy here standing by the steps leading down to Maelle, and I’m pretty sure he has something to do with an interaction with his father before the Gommage, but because I didn’t have the conversation, he didn’t really speak to me that much, and I’m pretty sure he’ll give you an item.

Since we got an item and a hairstyle that we didn’t get on our first playthrough because I’m bad at this, let’s talk about what the character overview does and all the things within it.

• So character overview: The character overview shows all information related to one character. From there it is possible to perform different actions like changing equipment or wardrobe.
• Weapon: Change the character’s equipped weapon.
• Pictos: Change the character’s equipped Pictos by selecting any of these slots.
• Skills: Change the character’s equipped skills by selecting and of the skill slots.
• Lumina: Equip learned Lumina by selecting any of the Lumina slots.
• Wardrobe: Change the character’s outfit and haircut.
• Pictos: From this menu, it is possible to see the list of available Pictos and change the character’s equipped Pictos. Pictos are important pieces of equipment.
• Pictos: Equipped Pictos are shown here. Each character can have 3 Pictos equipped at a time. Characters cannot equip the same Pictos at the same time.

It is possible to sort the list of Pictos by using these sorting options. It’ll usually stay on “level” at first, so you can press the appropriate button and it’ll bring down a list.

• Pictos: After winning four battles with a Pictos equipped, it will be mastered. Every Pictos has a unique passive effect called Lumina. After mastering a Pictos, it will be possible to activate its Lumina without having the Pictos equipped.

As far as the wardrobe goes, you have the Gommage and Flower Suit, and I think those were for the Deluxe addition?

He looks so stylish in the flower suit, oh my gosh. It’s almost disappointing to get into a battle with it.

But anyway.

After you’ve met with everyone, speak to your sister, and it gives you a decision, like before the Gommage, if you’d like to continue exploring or move on. So if you spoke with her but still need to find some tokens, the game’s very gracious on letting you do so.

[scene]

I love the transition from standing in front of your sister and listening to her words, to being on board the ship while she’s still speaking and you’re getting ready to set sail. This way we’re not standing there the whole time and we’re sort of fast-forwarding after her speech while still hearing it. And she has a good speech.

[scene]

After the Expedition 33 name-drop, you get the title of the game itself, and the achievement, Lumiere.

[scene]

The taps of this man’s cane in the otherwise silent atmosphere is chef’s kiss for implying that this is not going to be a good meet-and-greet.

[scene]

I know the man was the initial bad guy to stir up this confrontation, but I also really like how they showed an actual enemy that we’ll be confronting. It shows you how weird they’re probably going to look going forward, and weird looks painful. Fitting.

[scene]

And that is the end of the prologue.

Man, I know there are a lot of really good games out there that have good prologues to them, but this one really trumps everything I’ve played so far this year, and just from the prologue alone everyone’s saying Expedition 33 is in the running for game of the year, and I couldn’t agree more.

It’s not the kind of combat that I’m used to or really enjoy playing, as far as parrying and dodging being somewhat crucial for combat, but the battles are lenient enough that you get used to timing certain attacks.

And the enemies aren’t in motion like in Fromsoft games where you have to be aware of your surroundings and time things perfectly. I think that’s what I like the most. It’s tough, but it’s not elite level type of tough.

The amount of emotion placed into this prologue though. The fact that we don’t know Sophie or Gustave all that well but we really feel for him going through this, and that provides an emotional connection all on its own.

I can’t wait to find out more about the Paintress, personally, and the backstory on her as well as past expeditions.

This game really captured my attention from the start.

Well done on the developers.

Oh, and don’t worry about all those flower petals laying around, because we both know you’re going to be saying, Not Now Mom, I’m Gaming.