“Lead the members of Expedition 33 on their quest to destroy the Paintress so that she can never paint death again. Explore a world of wonders inspired by Belle Époque France and battle unique enemies in this turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics.” – Steam Synopsis
Expedition 33 is a special game. This is one of those rare games that can define a generation or a moment in gaming history. I remember seeing this at one of the gaming showcases last summer and it instantly caught my eye. It was just something about the voice acting, story set up, and the setting that really intrigued me. I was already super excited for this game and it exceeded every expectation that I had for it. The first hour of this game made me cry. The next few hours catapulted it into my top 10 games ever and by the time I finished the main story, there is little doubt in my mind that Expedition 33 is my favorite game ever. From game-play that exceeds its JRPG roots. A story that is genuinely emotional, impactful, and mature. This game hits every note perfectly and I’m glad that it is getting its praises sung everywhere because it is amazing.
For the better part of a decade now, there has been a strong trend for game studios to make games feel more movie like, more cinematic. Now there are so many types of movies that it’s a wide umbrella but the way most games have gone about that approach is to bring the camera closer, slow the game down, make the graphics more realistic, and above all, tell a mature and compelling story. Sony is obviously the leader in that field with their God of War and The Last of Us series. And I think those games succeed completely in that goal and in much the same way those games succeed in their graphics, characters and storytelling. It’s the highest praise that I can give to this game in a genre that often has a flare for stylistic (mainly a lot of anime inspired) art styles. A genre that has the capability and has often had a lot of moments of telling compelling heavy hitting stories but that gets lost under the weight of 70-100+ hours of varying quality of writing and once again a lot of anime-ism. That is Expedition 33’s greatest triumph. Taking these elements that we know games are capable of and putting them beautifully into this genre of game and elevating it.
The first hour of this game is the best first impression of a game I’ve ever experienced. Better than the intense action that culminates in you fighting Thor in God of War Ragnarok. Better than the weird and lonely, but at the same time, mesmerizing trek back to Capital Knot City with the beautiful soundtrack playing in Death Stranding. In just one hour this game introduced me to this world and made me care about everyone in it so much so that when the music finally reached its crescendo and the gommage happened and it was just Gustave standing on the pier alone looking out at the Paintress, I cried. It completely engulfed me and the story only gets better. It only becomes more compelling when this journey hits its tragic moments, when it hits its whimsical, wondrous moments. This is a story about perseverance and grief. It really hits these notes hard, and they hit every time. The two mottos of the expeditions are, “for those who come after,’ and “for those who remain.” And those words end meaning so much more when everything is said and done.
When the plot threads twist and turn until the full picture of what is really going on gets revealed and you/us/the player has to make a genuinely tough decision at the end. Once those plot beats get revealed, it is such a wow moment. It changes so many previous scenes and interactions between characters. The pieces all start to fall into place. It is a feeling that I rarely get in media and I loved it. It makes this game very re playable for the story alone. This game has the strongest first impression ever to me, and it not only keeps that momentum, it ends on a genuinely thought provoking note that has already sparked really interesting conversation and one that I’ve been thinking about since I’ve beat it.
This is the strongest cast of characters in a video game that I’ve ever played and one of my favorite casts ever across media. From even just the minor characters that have just a few lines to the side characters to especially the main characters and main villain, they are all remarkable and what makes them so great is that they are real people. They talk and have dialogue and conversations like real people. I love the way the main cast interacts. There is this genuine sense of trust and comradery between everyone and that makes the moments later on and reveals even more impactful. If I had to pick the characters that I liked the most, it would be Gustave, Verso, and Renoir. Respectively, Charlie Cox, Ben Starr, and Andy Serkis give some of the strongest performances in this game amongst a cast of powerful performances. And stepping back and looking at the narrative as a whole, it makes sense that these three characters are my favorites. They are emotional corner stones in different but related ways. Gustave is such a strong protagonist that emotionally carries the game throughout. Unraveling the truth and reality behind Verso is a treat, and it had me looking at him differently ways but ultimately really connecting with his story. And Renoir is just absolutely amazing as this mysterious and complex antagonist to the expedition. He commanded every scene he was in. It was an award worthy performance amongst a game full of 10/10 performances. That’s not even to mention the strong performances and characterizations of Maelle, Lune, and Sciel. Even the characters that we don’t directly meet are amazing. I listened to every single expedition journal. They were that good and added so much to the world.
The gameplay is a perfect blend of two different genres of games. A JRPG that’s pretty traditional on the offensive side. There are QTE’s on attacks that are mostly optional but can give your abilities boosts, but also there are certain abilities that have to be timed, but those are few and far between. On defense, that’s where everything is elevated. As frustrating as it can be, on defense, this game turns into Elden Ring. Delayed timing attacks and all. Which makes every fight not only constantly engaging, but always winnable. Up until almost the end, the game continues to introduce new defensive mechanics and new enemy types. I never got bored fighting anything in this game. The boss fights were all amazing (especially their soundtracks) and varying degrees of challenging. There is a difficulty slider to make things easier and harder as you wish, but the pictos/lumina system is so amazing. It opens up such a variety of builds and playstyles with each character. It was always exciting (albeit sometimes tedious. I wish we could save builds) to sit down every couple hours and tweak my builds, stats, abilities, and weapons. You get so much of all of those and yes, there is a meta. Yes, there is op stuff. Beyond those things, though, so many other playstyles are viable. I didn’t start doing meta stuff until the deep endgame when I was going for trophies and was going up against the hardest content in the game. This combat system is peak.
Visually, this game is beautiful. The cut scenes are a treat to look at and the actual in game environments maintain that high level of fidelity. All of these environments are stunning. When you go from looking at a dystopian-esque version of Paris to all of the wonderful and fantastical environments that are so varied and always interesting to look at. There wasn’t one zone or area that I wasn’t in awe of when I first went there, and even on subsequent visits. The music just adds so so much. Every main track, every side track, character track. I never thought a soundtrack would rival Death Stranding’s to me, but this one is right up there. From beautiful piano ballads to funky jazz numbers, to even some electronic stuff. This soundtrack may be the best thing about this game and that’s saying something. It may genuinely end up in my favorite projects of the year. It’s that good. All of this mixed together with amazing scene direction, voice acting, mocapping. Down to the very minor details, this game nails it.
So yeah, Expedition 33 is to me one of the greatest games ever made. It elevates every system that it integrates within its self. It tells a compelling and mature story that with its ending and themes will have people talking about it for a long, long time. This game is a triumph in every way. I tried my hardest to steer away from spoilers because I really believe that if you have even a slight interest in playing this, play it. In an age of video games where the prices keep going up and the quality and polish keeps going down. This game came out on game pass day one. It is $50-60 dollars depending on the edition you get and there are discounts on various sites. And the quality is pristine. My game ran great, with only one crash in almost 70 hours. Yeah, it sometimes shows its AA nature with some minor things, like lip syncing can be rough. But you know what? This game is an achievement in gameplay, storytelling, and character writing. I can’t express enough how much this story has impacted me. How much it all worked and how this story about grief left my emotions in a complete knot. This is my game of the year. I don’t see anything else beating it. And it is also one of, if not my favorite, game ever.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: 10/10
Notes: Eventually I’m gonna do a whole write up on the ending and the themes with some heavy spoilers because I’ve thought about this game and the ending pretty much everyday since I’ve beaten it a couple weeks ago. It’s so good and thought provoking. Yeah… what an amazing game.
