{"id":1236358,"date":"2025-03-03T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T14:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1236358"},"modified":"2025-03-03T09:00:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T14:00:52","slug":"clair-obscur-expedition-33-preview-stunning-visuals-innovative-combat-prime-melodrama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1236358","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Clair Obscur: Expedition 33&#8217; preview: Stunning visuals, innovative combat, prime melodrama"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>I\u2019ve been wondering why everyone seems so hyped on <em>Clair Obscur: Expedition 33<\/em>. It\u2019s the debut game from Sandfall Interactive, an independent French studio with fewer than 30 employees, and it\u2019s attracted massive partnerships in video games and film over the past five years. <em>Expedition 33<\/em> has a high-profile <a data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/gaming\/the-jrpg-inspired-clair-obscur-expedition-33-has-a-stacked-voice-cast-165228134.html\">cast of voice actors<\/a>, including Andy Serkis, Charlie Cox, Shala Nyx and Jennifer English. It<em>\u00a0<\/em>received an <a data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SandfallGames\/status\/1499039924183568394\">Epic MegaGrant in 2022<\/a>, it was picked up by <em>Pacific Drive<\/em> publisher Kepler Interactive in 2023, and it was <a data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/gaming\/xbox\/everything-announced-at-the-xbox-developer-direct-showcase-190406197.html\">a tentpole<\/a> of Xbox\u2019s first showcase of 2025. Even though the game isn\u2019t out until April, Story Kitchen has already signed on to turn it into a <a data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/entertainment\/tv-movies\/clair-obscur-expedition-33-secures-a-movie-adaptation-before-its-even-released-000443246.html\">live-action film<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At the very least, it&#8217;s seemed like an easy game to fall in love with.<\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"end-legacy-contents\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>After playing just over three hours of <em>Expedition 33<\/em>, I understand all of it \u2014 the hype, the quick love and the quiet excitement generated by the game\u2019s writing, acting, world and mechanics. <em>Expedition 33<\/em> is innovative and absolutely stunning.<\/p>\n<div id=\"7c3cfcf92785498797f8a9993f3afec6\">\n <iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EsElVZ0sLtU?rel=0\" style=\"top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute;border:0;\" allowfullscreen scrolling=\"no\" data-embed-domain=\"www.youtube.com\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Expedition 33<\/em> feels like a prestige drama set in a surreal, slightly gothic 3D landscape. Tonally it\u2019s drenched in melodrama, and visually it\u2019s reminiscent of <em>Game of Thrones<\/em>, but with Belle \u00c9poque stylings and mountains of diabolical magic. The realm of Lumi\u00e8re has been consumed by a powerful being called the Paintress \u2014 she paints a new number on the tower each year and all people of that age instantly die. She\u2019s been counting down for more than half a century, killing the oldest citizens first, and she\u2019s just painted the number 33. The people of Lumi\u00e8re send out annual expeditions to stop the Paintress, but so far, they\u2019ve all been met with death. The heroes of expedition 33 have one year to live.<\/p>\n<p>When we meet Gustave in the preview, things aren\u2019t going well for expedition 33. His party has been ambushed by a mysterious white-haired man \u2014 someone so old that he shouldn\u2019t be able to exist in this world \u2014 and Gustave is alone. Gustave has a magical robot arm and a very French moustache, and he sets off through lush forests and dark, wet caves to track down other survivors. He does find some, but only after he nearly kills himself in despair. Lune, a strong-willed and scholarly mage, appears just in time to save Gustave from himself, and together they meet up with Maelle, Gustave\u2019s introverted but powerful foster sister.<\/p>\n<figure>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/56095fb0-f7de-11ef-bfea-1c225db2578e\" data-crop-orig-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/56095fb0-f7de-11ef-bfea-1c225db2578e\" style=\"height:1440px;width:2560px;\" alt=\"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33\" data-uuid=\"99f7b6e7-5a17-3f70-bd02-c571f92a8593\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><div class=\"photo-credit\">\n  Sandfall Interactive\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Your party supports six playable characters in the full game, but the preview focuses on these three. The prestige-drama vibes stem from their interactions, and particularly their personality clashes. In one cutscene, Lune and Gustave find themselves sitting around a campfire on a starry night, screaming at each other about the ethics of utilitarianism. Between tirades, Gustave screams, \u201cFuck the mission!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eventually their intensity subsides and the conversation returns to a tentatively amicable space. At the end of the scene, the shot pans to Lune, who smirks and says, \u201cFuck the mission? Really?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gustave sheepishly responds, \u201cSorry.\u201d And suddenly, I\u2019m deeply invested in the relationship between Lune and Gustave, but also Maelle and all of the friends they\u2019ve come to save. It doesn\u2019t hurt that these cutscenes are truly gorgeous, with realistic skin textures and dirt smudges in close-up shots, and beautiful performances by all actors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From cutscenes to combat, <em>Expedition 33<\/em> is radiant.<\/p>\n<figure>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/560a7121-f7de-11ef-bffd-744f42dbb9fd\" data-crop-orig-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/560a7121-f7de-11ef-bffd-744f42dbb9fd\" style=\"height:1440px;width:2560px;\" alt=\"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33\" data-uuid=\"b493ad40-73b6-3886-97bc-60a29712c001\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><div class=\"photo-credit\">\n  Sandfall Interactive\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Environments in the preview grow more surreal as Gustave, Lune and Maelle travel closer to the Paintress, who\u2019s hidden herself across deep seas and expansive land masses. They travel through raw areas shattered by magic, boulders hovering in mid-air and ornate buildings haphazardly embedded in odd places, broken and inhospitable. Anthropomorphized rock enemies roam the lands and there are bits of chroma \u2014 currency, essentially \u2014 to find, and some upgrades hidden off the linear path. We\u2019re not talking <em>Avowed<\/em> levels of shinies, but a minimal sense of curiosity is definitely rewarded.<\/p>\n<p>When exploring, you can swap among party members without breaking stride, and Lune emerged as my clear favorite. Instead of running, Lune speed-hovers a few inches above the ground, and embodying her is like soaring through a dream. Running (or hovering really fast) feels great in the game, and so does the grapple system that flings you across gaps and up buildings. There are also climbable handholds and ropes of light that act as elevators, and all of it works a treat.<\/p>\n<p>The game\u2019s dreamlike feeling only crystallizes in Flying Waters, a region that looks and behaves as if it\u2019s at the bottom of the ocean \u2014 bubbles, shipwrecks, whales and all \u2014 but without a drop of water to be found. You breathe, walk, run and jump as normal here, but there are schools of fish swimming through the air and the waterline is visible high above you. It\u2019s wonderfully trippy.<\/p>\n<p>I could spend the rest of this preview just gushing about <em>Expedition 33<\/em>\u2019s fabulous environments, characters and enemies, or its top-notch writing, music and graphics \u2014 but let\u2019s talk combat.<\/p>\n<figure>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/56095fb0-f7de-11ef-bbfe-a6f815a7a4ac\" data-crop-orig-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/56095fb0-f7de-11ef-bbfe-a6f815a7a4ac\" style=\"height:1440px;width:2560px;\" alt=\"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33\" data-uuid=\"15056d09-fcdf-3c4f-a415-c71917dc96a9\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><div class=\"photo-credit\">\n  Sandfall Interactive\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><em>Expedition 33<\/em> is a turn-based game with clear JRPG influences, but it adds a twist to the traditional battle system: quick-time prompts. Your party members have the ability to use an item, deploy a specific skill, or plain-old attack, plus they have a Free Aim move that can snipe enemy weak points before a full strike. There are elemental weapons to equip and upgrade, and each character runs on a distinct battle mechanic. Gustave has an overcharge system that powers up his robot arm for a special move, Lune uses elemental stains to stack specific damage, and Maelle switches among three fencing stances. Balancing healing, buffs, defensive moves and attacks is a delicate dance in <em>Expedition 33<\/em>, and the preview really started to sing once I had all three members nicely leveled up, kitted out and slinging various types of elemental damage.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike traditional turn-based play, there are real-time prompts embedded in your skill attacks, and executing these delivers bonus damage and effects. The Final Fantasy series has toyed with this idea to mixed success, but in <em>Expedition 33<\/em> it\u2019s a critical, finely tuned system, and I love the tension it creates. Quick-time elements infuse the familiar turn-based loop with a twitchy kind of clarity, adding a few extra dopamine hits to the classic press-and-wait rhythm. Each QTE prompt is tricky without being punishing, and it\u2019s not just offensive moves that get the real-time treatment. Dodging, parrying and jumping are essential skills in <em>Expedition 33<\/em>, and these mechanics demand your attention with every enemy turn.<\/p>\n<p>In short, no, you won\u2019t be able to set the controller down during combat in <em>Expedition 33<\/em>. And, yes, I\u2019m totally here for it.<\/p>\n<figure>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/5609d4e0-f7de-11ef-bac7-6a6f7f67227b\" data-crop-orig-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/5609d4e0-f7de-11ef-bac7-6a6f7f67227b\" style=\"height:1440px;width:2560px;\" alt=\"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33\" data-uuid=\"29e50ce5-5efe-368b-be00-4b72f7c10c6e\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><div class=\"photo-credit\">\n  Sandfall Interactive\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Maybe it\u2019s because each character strikes a dramatic pose whenever it\u2019s their turn, but combat has a distinct Persona flair (and this is a great thing in my book). Meanwhile, the game\u2019s soundtrack has echoes of <em>Nier: Automata<\/em> and <em>Tetris: Effect<\/em>, and altogether, even boss battles can be a bit of an emotional experience.<\/p>\n<p>In the interest of keeping this preview under 3,000 words, I\u2019m not going to get into the specifics of upgrade trees and resource types, but I will say that I found these systems to be purposeful and responsive. I was pleased with how often my party leveled up, there were ample traits to tweak for each character, and the effects of my stat manipulation were immediately apparent in combat. Rest assured, <em>Expedition 33<\/em> is an RPG.<\/p>\n<p>Though this is just based on a preview, <em>Expedition 33<\/em> seems incredibly polished. Not only does it play seamlessly on a macro level, but it also gets the smallest details right, including voice-acted memories, haptic feedback that kicks in when a grapple point is in range, an opaque text box that\u2019s both readable and seamlessly integrated into every scene, and the ability to put a rose in Gustave\u2019s hair, even in cutscenes. The entire preview is impressive.<\/p>\n<figure>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/560abf40-f7de-11ef-affb-48c353ddb1cd\" data-crop-orig-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/560abf40-f7de-11ef-affb-48c353ddb1cd\" style=\"height:1440px;width:2560px;\" alt=\"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33\" data-uuid=\"8dd17288-dfa8-32a0-b04b-238229af88de\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><div class=\"photo-credit\">\n  Sandfall Interactive\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>That said, I wonder whether <em>Expedition 33<\/em> is <em>too<\/em> impressive, technically speaking. I played the preview at a stable 1080p\/60 on a gaming PC with an RTX 4070 Super, and I didn\u2019t encounter any issues, but locking to 60 fps at 1440p was beyond my setup. This feels like a game that\u2019s going to break a lot of hearts and PC parts. And it\u2019s not just PC \u2014 I\u2019m curious to see how <em>Expedition 33<\/em> will run on any console that isn\u2019t a PlayStation 5 Pro.<\/p>\n<p>But, that\u2019s a consideration for review time. The final preview for <em>Expedition 33<\/em> illuminates why Sandfall Interactive has received <a data-i13n=\"cpos:5;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/gaming\/clair-obscur-expedition-33-is-a-turn-based-rpg-with-beautiful-artistic-flair-130050721.html\">so much pre-launch attention<\/a> and support. <em>Expedition 33<\/em> is composed of beautiful contradictions: It\u2019s a JRPG but it comes from a Western studio. It\u2019s a fantasy RPG built outside the restrictions of <em>Dungeons &amp; Dragons<\/em> rulesets. It\u2019s an indie game that looks, sounds and feels AAA. Most of all, <em>Expedition 33<\/em> is refreshing.<\/p>\n<p><em>Expedition 33<\/em> is due to hit PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X\/S on April 24.<\/p>\n<p>\n <core-commerce id=\"443423fbf0e1476aa622e9509382d20b\" data-type=\"product-list\" data-original-url=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1903340\/Clair_Obscur_Expedition_33\/\"><\/core-commerce><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/gaming\/clair-obscur-expedition-33-preview-stunning-visuals-innovative-combat-prime-melodrama-140052194.html?src=rss<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve been wondering why everyone seems so hyped on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It\u2019s the debut game from Sandfall Interactive, an independent French studio with fewer than 30 employees, and it\u2019s attracted massive partnerships in video games and film over &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1236358\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,44,110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1236358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-engadget","category-technology","category-unfiltered-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1236358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236358\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1236358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1236358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1236358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}