Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review

Game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Developer: Sandfall Interactive, Sandfall S.A.S.

Genre: RPG / Adventure / Action

Release Date: April 24, 2025

Completed: September 2025

This is your second warning for spoilers, since this game’s narrative is integral to the experience. This review contains spoilers. For those who come after...

COE33 Banner. Source.

Overall Impression

Holy moly this game broke me in the best way. It has been a while since I played a new game around its release that invigorated me like the way COE33 did. COE33 displays a seamless combination of gameplay, story and music only is dragged a bit behind by its undeveloped menu UI. I only have a small few qualms with an otherwise fantastic game with a remarkably chilling story. COE33 is absolutely worth your time and dare I say GOTY! Gameplay Mechanics & Performance

The game begins with a strong and immersive tutorial without the pressure of failure that allows players to adapt to its specific turn based combat system. As the game progresses, there is a strong feeling of constant progression. The leveling pace feels consistent however starts to slow or feel more challenging around Act 3. The 9-AP cap in battle (before Picto [equipped skill] use becomes advanced) feels proportionate to the battle system. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how the battle menu is very reminiscent of modern Persona games and a special mention to the Weakness Picto which in my mind is a reference to the press turn system (a stretch I know).

Each character's unique combat style is creative and also somewhat aligned to their identity/personality.  The recoat option is great for players who care deeply about minmaxing without having to hard commit to a certain playstyle. I found myself using the recoat option mostly in early games to adapt to harder bosses.

Bosses and enemies are imaginatively designed and even ones that share visual similarities feel individualized. The encounter rate is very well balanced in hand with exploration. The level scaling works well with the narrative, again until Act 3 where players can do almost anything. In Act 3, there is a striking jump in scaling for the optional content and it felt like everywhere I tried to explore was too high level. I had to basically write down everything and return to it later when I had gained some 10 levels. It was worth it but I still feel like I missed a lot. I finished the game around level 70, and plan on doing a NG+ eventually.

In dungeon exploration, the exclusion of minimap is annoying as someone directionally challenged did indeed strengthen the feeling of exploring the unknown. Map designs are fairly cyclical, but sometimes progression points were a bit obscured (lol) creating some frustrating moments of feeling stuck/lost. The same is to be said about some very visually dark points in the map designs, but again, I understand thematically why they exist. I did get physically stuck once, meaning my Lune got stuck between a rock and hard place (literally) and I had to reload the save, but the auto-save function is so frequent I wasn’t bothered. 

Moreover the dungeon crawling elements don’t super feel like dungeon crawling to me because of the grand art. There were few “breaking the fourth wall moments” in exploration for me because of how well rendered, rounded and edited each location is. I seldom felt the metaphorical walls of the game, but rather felt the experience of the art, an extremely commendable feat (not feet, sorry Monoco). 

Beyond the main story gameplay there were a chunk of side quests but more specifically optional bosses. I wish there was a menu to track side quests/accomplishments, and although I understand the need for the emphasis of absence in this game’s narrative, this critique is more from a gameplay perspective. Similarly, most of my gripes were with the game’s UI, specifically the menu. The entire menu could have done well with more high contrast elements, notably for the cursor. It was very difficult to keep track of the cursor/what was selected. The Picto editing needs an upgrade overall, but could do well with some more clear highlighting in what is using Lumina and what isn’t. 

Of course, I’m no game designer so it feels bad to make a critique without offering an alternative, but I just know a good chunk of the menuing, a huge part of most RPGs, needs a bit of a QoL upgrade for easier organization and navigation. I am never a fan of any menu, list or inventory that isn’t super intuitive or visually accessible. That being said, I was able to adapt and learn the menu, but it never felt like that smooth menuing I love in other RPGs.

Story and Characters

Cry counter: 4*

*Crying here is calculated when a tear leaves the eyeball, welling up does not count.

COE33 is a story drowning in sadness that flashes glimpses of hope about trying to reshape the inevitable. Themes of its grand narrative include grief, death, loss, friendship and (found) family. The story feels very special because it hinges on the flushed out character development of each character, specifically Maelle, Verso and also Renoir. The story does not hesitate to go right for your jugular and I’m sure many of us had a jaw drop at early major story points like most of the expedition being wiped out almost immediately and more notably Gustave’s death. 

The characters feel like dynamic individuals who you really come to know and understand. Optional content in Act 3 really gives light to why each character is the way they are. The small pieces of friendship, especially in 1 on 1 settings, really add some humanity in a world where the threat of destruction and death towers over. Friendships between cast members also feel tangible, especially the iconic banter between Verso and Monoco, however I wish there was something explored more between Lune and Sciel (yes, friendship, but honestly romantic would have been epic). This makes sense to me since Lune and Sciel’s motives are almost opposite, with Lune’s pursuit for logic and understanding countered by Sciel’s demonstration of radical acceptance. Verso and Sciel’s relationship turned situationship, is another versatile tool for showing the need for human connection in the vacuum of their harsh reality. 

Monoco gives the comic relief (and impeccable line delivery timing), along with the Gestrals, Francois and beloved Esquie gives some light to a game that is so dark. It was awesome to see characters break speech patterns that really humanize them in their need for fun and laughter, even as death looms over. 

As players get to know Maelle and Verso on a deeper level, players are positioned to side with Maelle, especially as she becomes stronger and more confident in herself. The outsider (Maelle) begins to find her place of belonging, on this team that unites on their shared quest. But it is this growth  and her new understanding of her life that twists her fate, and warps her desires. 

After the Paintress is destroyed, players learn that Maelle is an extension of Alicia who lives outside the Canvas. Although wounded, Alicia deserves to move on with her life after the loss of her brother, Verso (real/outside the Canvas). Painted Alicia points this out to Verso in her letter, where he comes to understand he too is painted, like the rest of the constructed world they are living in. The Paintress was not the enemy but rather trying to help restore life, by removing the fake reality that Maelle only continues to become attached to. Aline (Paintress/counterpart/Mom to Maelle/Verso/Clea) and her family deserve the mourn the real loss of Verso outside the canvas, to be able to move on with their life instead of clinging to this painted version of him, and even painted Verso understands this. This shifting of perception of the “antagonist” becomes completely blurred after Act 2 which I found so impressive and thought-provoking. What was once a worldwide quest to destroy the Paintress was actually a much smaller (but still grand) internal familial struggle that was extended to this entire painted world because of the Dessandre family’s unique power to “paint”.

The story was initially a bit difficult for me to understand, also because I was overwhelmed with emotion, but I was excited at the depth of the twists and turns because it means I can ruminate and read about others' analysis of such a deep story. 

Stories like this remind us that sometimes, there is truly no happy ending but rather to remind us that processing grief, although painful, is crucial and inextricable from the human experience. Love and loss are a part of life and can bring extreme emotion that should not be ignored. Both endings are crushing to the player and are weighted with extreme emotions. I’d argue that Verso’s ending would be my selection for the “true ending” because it allows the Dessandre family to finally process and admit the loss of their son, and feel the feelings they must as a family to move on with their lives. Maelle’s ending, although resurrects beloved characters like Gustave and Sciel’s husband, is a fake reality and feels eerie and wrong. The one piano key smash sound/painted eye jumpscare was scary and to me, which makes me read it as the “wrong” ending. As I’ve already seen online, many players are arguing about analyzing the game’s ending but to me this just means the story was so successful and thought-provoking.

Graphics and Sound

As noted above the graphics in the game are stunning and I seldom felt the metaphorical walls of it being a game. This aside, some visual options, particularly in terms of accessibility, seemed very exciting at first but failed to deliver. Primarily, although the game offers “large” subtitles, as someone visually impaired, I don’t think they were large enough. Moreover, there is a coloured dialogue option, but rather than each character having a unique colour assigned to their dialogue, it was only their name colour which also is only used in animated cut scenes. I have some reading difficulties so I was excited at the idea that each character’s speech would be differentiated by colour which it was not.

Accessibility knick-picking aside, the visuals in the game are stunning. I don’t play many “realistic” looking games, as I find myself a bit turned off by the Triple A modern looking game style. However, in the case of COE33 the combined epic graphics, distinctive facial mapping enhanced by the extraordinary voice acting made for a very believable visual experience. Distinct visuals in the game’s solemn yet grand universe are so striking and act as strong narrative indicators/unifiers as well. Particularly in the first acts, having the static placement of the Paintress’ monolith in the background creates a strong sense of impending doom or a building climax.  Overall, the visuals feel so well rendered and polished that I found very few moments of thinking about it being a video game, but rather just engaged with it as an experience.

Paintress' Monolith. Source.

In hand with striking visuals, is a hauntingly beautiful OST and sound design. 

First time video game composer, Lorien Testard, does a phenomenal job of creating a world in the music. The game’s namesake track is extremely catchy. There is a wide variety of not only music variation but also in enemy encounter music which I greatly appreciate. Although most music is very orchestral, there are some added styles, notably Monoco’s themes and some of the Gestral music that add some welcomed variety without feeling like it was just copy/pasted in. 

Sound effects are given a similar level of care. Chests make noise when you are close to them which was an awesome addition to gameplay. Battle noises are extremely satisfying but some of the enemy sound effects grossed me out a bit (I guess that means it's working). Ultimately, I found the music and sound design in COE33 extremely effective in hand with the other elements of the game, and have been enjoying the OST since completion with it, as a sign of a job well done.

Comparisons, Final Thoughts, Conclusions

As the axon says, “Great art is both window and mirror” and by the end of this experience, I was definitely reflecting in a multitude of ways. Having to make that ending choice, although fictional, really forces players to look inward to decide what they think is best for the party which in turn can often be a reflection of the self. A truly unforgettable game, one that makes you wish you could replay it for the first time almost immediately after completion. Like I said, I keep telling my friends that this game “broke me” but in the best way. I am looking forward to NG+ once I recover from the feelings and heartbreak of my first playthrough. 

Overall Arbitrary Rating: 9/10 spoopies