If you love turn-based RPGs but also crave a little real-time action, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is shaping up to be perfect for you. The surrealist adventure takes active combat prompts to their logical extreme, and in doing so opens up the potential for you to tackle its threats at levels far beyond what might ordinarily be possible – if you’re good enough. I sat down to preview the upcoming RPG at Gamescom 2024, and I’m pleased to report that it’s certainly bringing the style.
Every year, The Paintress awakes and paints a number on a giant monolith. Each year, the number goes down by one, and when she paints it everyone of that age disappears. Tomorrow, she’ll awake and paint the number 33. Thus begins your final mission in Clair Obscura: Expedition 33 – stop The Paintress, and prevent her cycle of death from continuing.
While several of the best turn-based RPGs have experimented with real-time mechanics in the past, Clair Obscura pushes it to dramatic effect. You can parry – or if the situation demands, dodge – every single incoming attack in the game. Each one you block prevents you from taking the damage, and if you can deflect a full chain you’ll also deliver a powerful counter attack. This presents the possibility that, if you’re good enough, you can overcome any threat by perfectly timing your defenses.
While that’s certainly an appealing prospect, what’s really going to catch people’s eye here is Clair Obscur’s look, which developer Sandfall Interactive says is heavily inspired by the Surrealism movement. As a perfect example, most of our demonstration takes place during the game’s second level, which finds the party in a city that appears to be – but isn’t actually – underwater. There are even flying electric cuttlefish.
Our protagonists are Gustave, who boasts an overcharge ability that powers up his attacks once it’s filled, and Lune, who gains elemental ‘stains’ during battle as she casts certain spells. Soon after, the pair is joined by a young woman, who Gustave has been searching for. Her name is Maelle, and she brings the ability to deal bonus damage to marked targets to the fray.
Perhaps even more interestingly, Maelle is in the company of a mysterious figure with a hole for a face – described as the ‘Curator,’ Lune remarks that “the chroma around him is quite different from the Nevrons” (the latter being the main threat in the region). The Curator says nothing, but engages the party in a fight to help you train. Satisfied, he then leaves, although it’s heavily implied that this won’t be the last we see of him.
As we progress, we also get a glimpse of one more major opponent. As Gustave approaches a prominent, rose-like, red flower, he sees the vision of a woman. Moments later, a giant creature called Goblu leaps out and challenges the party. During the fight, he summons four differently colored flowers around him – leave them active for too long, and he’ll absorb their power, gaining potent buffs.
To remedy this, Gustave pulls out his pistol. This is also handled in real-time, allowing you to freely aim at each of the flowers, spending one action point for each shot taken. The flowers removed, Goblu poses less of a threat, and as our demonstrator, Sandfall VFX artist Leo Paris, leaps the entire party over his incoming attack at once and counters, we learn that Goblu is actually weak to lightning damage, and is quickly dealt with.
As the fight wraps, the group note that Goblu remains peaceful as long as they stay clear of the flowers. Maelle even reaches out to the creature, remarking, “it seems familiar somehow.” We don’t find out exactly how, though, as the impulsive Gustave decides to start blasting, causing Goblu to flee. “We won’t learn anything if we kill everything that moves,” Lune chastises.
Sandfall doesn’t yet have an exact estimate on the length of Expedition 33 – it’ll depend on playstyle, creative director Guillame Broche explains, but it won’t be as short as ten hours nor will it reach up to 100. He’s also excited about the possibility of players tackling the game without taking a single hit. “If you perfectly master all the patterns it’s possible to beat everything at level one – it’ll be tough.” That certainly sounds like a challenge people will be eager to take on, I say, to which he simply replies “I hope they do.”
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is set to launch in 2025. It will also be launching via Game Pass on day one if you’re a subscriber to the service. Alternatively, you can wishlist it on Steam.
Looking for more of the best upcoming PC games? We’ve got you covered. If you’re after something that’s already here, take a glance through the best RPGs instead.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.