Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has all the makings of a modern turn-based classic. After playing a few hours of Sandfall Interactive’s dark fantasy RPG, I can say that Expedition 33 grasps the melodrama of modern Final Fantasy and marries it with the tactical turn-based combat fans of that series have been craving a return to for decades. On top of this, the game also has a Paper Mario-like timing mechanic to make that combat about more than just picking which attacks and items you use during a turn. Sandfall Interactive is cooking with some excellent ingredients, and the small taste I’ve gotten has me eager to try the full meal.
If I wasn’t already on board for the incredible voice cast led by standouts like Daredevil actor Charlie Cox, Baldur’s Gate 3’s Jennifer English, and Clive Rosfield himself, Ben Starr, I would have been pulled in by Expedition 33’s tragic premise. In this world, a malevolent sorceress paints a number each year, and everyone in the world who is of that age is Thanos-snapped away. The titular expedition is made up of people who go on a journey to try and stop her, but even in thee early hours I played, there’s little hope that they’ll actually succeed. The expedition seems more concerned with carving a path for those who eventually can. No one hopes for much in a world where everything you know and love can be gone in the stroke of a paintbrush. Growing old is so improbable that meeting a senior citizen is like finding a member of an endangered species. The world of Expedition 33 feels so far gone to the cast trying to save it that the act of trying feels like a futile suicide mission. It is deliciously dreary, like listening to the most heartbreaking emo song I’d ever heard on a loop, reveling in the melancholy just to feel something.
In the short time I got to play Expedition 33, it introduced plenty of lore and jargon that I hope will make more sense when seen in the context of the full game, but even if I don’t know what all its proper nouns mean yet, I’m already intrigued by how the game commits to a broken world that feels beyond saving. And yet, the party moves forward anyway. It’s tantalizing, and luckily the turn-based combat is just as compelling.
Expedition 33 has most of the standard pillars of a turn-based battle system such as elemental weaknesses and party members who specialize in different roles. But there’s a refreshing blend of active combat systems to make fights feel more involved and less repetitive. Each character has original mechanics; as he uses standard attacks, for instance, the swordsman Gustave builds up a reserve of stored power which you can unleash after you’ve charged up enough for your liking, while the mage Lune makes use of “stains” that can be inflicted upon foes and used to increase the power of certain spell combinations. But in between those strategic decisions, you also have quick time events to juice up attacks, ranged attacks that you aim by hand to target weak points, and a dodge and parry mechanic to waste your opponents’ turns. I enjoy these defensive options in premise, but I’m not sold on the execution of them just yet. Some attacks that enemies dish out have a rhythmic quality that makes them easy to read and execute dodges or parries. Others feel more clunky, arbitrary, and difficult to react to. Some of that game sense will likely come with more time, but it was still a frustrating obstacle in some of the more difficult boss fights.
That small wrinkle aside, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 oozes drama, tactical depth, and style. I can’t wait to dive into it when the game launches on April 25.