Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was revealed for the primary time at Xbox Video games Showcase, and wowed an unsuspecting viewers with its mixture of gorgeous visuals and RPG fight, set inside a really distinctive fantasy world impressed by the French Belle Époque. It’s all of the extra spectacular for being the debut sport from Sandfall Interactive, telling the story of a world wherein the ominous Paintress often condemns everybody of a set age to loss of life – and the group of adventurers who got down to put an finish to the cycle.
That reveal was a tease for what’s to come back – and in a walkthrough at gamescom 2024, I acquired a much more in-depth have a look at the sport. Watching a celebration helmed by Gustave, a personality we met within the reveal trailer, I noticed two areas from the sport: a fantastical underwater realm known as Flying Waters (with attractive, shifting lighting and large coral reefs) and a glimpse of Historical Sanctuary, lined in blood crimson vegetation and dotted with imposing constructions on the horizon.
However maybe essentially the most detailed a part of the walkthrough centered on fight, a mix of basic turn-based methods accented with real-time inputs. Clearly impressed by the Persona collection, and with flashes of latest Last Fantasy titles, it’s instantly hanging in the way it turns what could possibly be acquainted, simplistic methods into one thing deeply trendy and gratifyingly reactive.
Right here’s a rundown of the way it all works:
Exploration and Pre-Battle
Areas in Expedition 33 are freely explorable – you management a single character (it’s your selection who out of your occasion that will likely be) as they navigate places, discovering treasures, secrets and techniques, and factors of curiosity. Enemies roam these areas, and interacting with them kicks off an occasion of battle – however you’ve the chance to strike them earlier than they strike you, providing a flip benefit because the battle begins.
Your Flip
When in a battle, you and your enemies’ flip order is displayed prominently always, permitting you to arrange for battle accordingly. When one in all your characters’ turns arrives, you’ll be offered with a slick menu, providing the power to assault, use gadgets, use expertise, or enter a free-aim mode (extra on that under).
Your expertise are the important thing level of distinction between characters, providing particular bodily assaults, elemental skills, stat buffs and debuffs, and extra. Key to all of your expertise is timing – every assault comes with an onscreen immediate, asking you to hit a button on the right time to make the talent extra highly effective or add further useful results.
Every character additionally has an entirely distinctive capability that adjustments how they play. Gustave has a mechanical arm that’s charged by different skills, and does large injury when unleashed. Lune can create “elemental stains” which might be created by casting spells and could be consumed to unleash additional results, whereas Maelle can seemingly take up completely different swordfighting stances to permit for a variety of various skills and stat adjustments.
Free-Purpose Talents
As talked about above, you can begin your flip with a free-aim capability that acts barely otherwise to different choices. Your character will use a pistol or magic, and also you bodily goal them at your enemies, including additional injury. This will include some added advantages – within the instance I noticed, an enemy known as a Demineur was hooked up to a floating sea mine, which could possibly be shot and detonated with Gustave’s gun. This dealt injury to all of the enemies, moderately than only one, and made the evasive Demineur susceptible to follow-up bodily strikes.
Enemy Turns
You’ll be able to’t take your eye off the ball throughout enemy turns, both. Expedition 33 has a neat risk-reward system for enemy assaults – many assaults could be dodged or parried with well-timed button presses, however which you select can decide how effectively you succeed. A profitable dodge has an extended enter window, and can negate all injury you obtain. Parries, nevertheless, are tougher to tug off – however handle them efficiently and you may carry out large counterattacks in addition to avoiding the injury. Neither is designed to be straightforward to tug off, however there’s a transparent indication about how it’s best to prioritize which to make use of throughout harder bouts.
Boss Battles
I solely noticed sections of a single boss battle – towards a huge monster known as Goblu – but it surely’s clear that Expedition 33 will add extra to consider in its signature fights. Goblu can assault all of your occasion members directly, making dodges and parries extra vital than ever – and naturally comes with an infinite well being bar meaning your selections are extra vital than ever.
Submit-Battle
Whereas I solely noticed a glimpse of its talent bushes, Expedition 33’s battles finish with the loot and XP rewards you’d count on – in addition to extra in-depth stats like the best injury you probably did, the variety of profitable parries and dodges, and extra. You’ll be able to even get a bonus for taking no injury in any respect inside a struggle, teasing the potential for doing a difficult no-hit run of the sport for die-hard gamers. How all of this ties into your occasion’s development remains to be a thriller, and I sit up for seeing extra.
Even in a brief have a look at the sport’s fight, it’s clear that Expedition 33’s fight is as flashy and in-depth as you’d hope for from that first look – and a tease of the areas and enemies we’re nonetheless but to see guarantees that there’s a lot extra to seek out out.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 involves Xbox Collection X|S in 2025, and also you’ll be capable of play on day one with Recreation Cross.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Kepler Interactive
“12 months by yr, She erases us.”
Every year, the Paintress wakes and paints upon her monolith. Paints her cursed quantity. And everybody of that age turns to smoke and fades away. 12 months by yr, that quantity ticks down and extra of us are erased. Tomorrow she’ll wake and paint “33.” And tomorrow we depart on our remaining mission – Destroy the Paintress, so she will be able to by no means paint loss of life once more. We’re Expedition 33.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a ground-breaking turn-based RPG with distinctive real-time mechanics, making battles extra immersive and addictive than ever. Discover a fantasy world impressed by Belle Époque France wherein you battle devastating enemies.
Reactive Flip-based Fight
On this evolution of JRPGs, real-time actions improve the center of turn-based fight. Craft distinctive builds to your Expeditioners that suit your playstyle by way of gear, stats, expertise, and character synergies. Open an lively dimension in fight – dodge, parry, and counter in actual time, chain combos by mastering assault rhythms, and goal enemy weak factors utilizing a free goal system.
“Tomorrow Comes”
With just one yr left to dwell, be part of Gustave, Maelle, and their fellow Expeditioners as they embark upon a determined quest to interrupt the Paintress’ cycle of loss of life. Comply with the path of earlier expeditions and uncover their destiny. Get to know the members of Expedition 33 as they be taught to work collectively towards not possible odds.
A Hauntingly Lovely World
Discover a fascinating realm populated by surreal adversaries. Wander by way of breathtaking landscapes, from the Island of Visages to the Forgotten Battlefield, discovering secrets and techniques and hidden quests alongside the way in which. Discover allies of fortune in creatures of legend and recruit particular companions, entry new journey strategies and uncover secret areas within the World Map.
Expertise the debut sport from Sandfall Interactive, absolutely realized in Unreal Engine 5 with gorgeous graphics and a heartbreaking soundtrack.
