Expedition 33 Has Quickly Become My Most Anticipated Game

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had a trailer so compelling that upon seeing it, I immediately went to all of the group chats I participate in (a singular Discord server) to extol it, urging my peers to watch it back on YouTube.

After rewatching the trailer for this piece, I’m even more excited. There’s a lot of power in a good trailer and Clair Obscur’s reveal did everything perfectly. We got a taste of what’s unique about the setting, we saw the stakes our characters are facing and we got an ending that left us wanting more. All of this is accompanied by an enchanting track that combines a classical, operatic feel with the rising tension of an anime opening.

Belle Époque

Clair Obscur is the debut title of Sandfall Interactive, a French studio founded in 2020 with an eye for “single-player experiences.” The premise of the game is a Paintress awakens once a year and paints a number, causing every person with the age of that number to disappear Thanos-style. Expeditions to stop the Paintress are sent annually, with our party being Expedition 33 as the name suggests.

I’m almost certain already that the Paintress is not some evil, tyrannical being. She’s probably protecting the world from an even more apocalyptic force; that’s usually how these narratives twist. That’s the beauty of it, though. There’s going to be a mystery to unravel, it’s not going to be as black and white as presented. Why is the Paintress doing this? What’s the significance of the numbers? We’re probably not going to find out but I wonder what happens when she paints a zero.

The trailer opens with an overgrown and disproportionate depiction of Paris, a lopsided Eiffel Tower standing (leaning) at its centre. According to Sandfall, Clair Obscur is inspired by Belle Époque, the ‘beautiful era’ of France that lasted from the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1971 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. That vibe is certainly coming across in the trailer, as we see well-dressed characters mourn the loss of the Paintress’s victims in flowery, paved streets.

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It’s always good to see studios leveraging their own cultural context to create art, and I expect the French-based Sandfall is going to create a wonderful depiction of Belle Époque. This period is characterised by cultural enlightenment so expect to see a lot of art nouveau and post-impressionism.

We see some gameplay, too. Our curly-haired potential protagonist walks along various environments staring at the sky, showcasing some of the visual potential of the game. You’re also seen playing as a brown-haired woman, potentially meaning we can switch our lead character as in a JRPG.

The combat system on display is distinctly Japanese, also. It appears to be a Devil May Cry-esque turn-based system with quick-time events, presumably for more effective attacks or extra damage. I adore more dynamic takes on turn-based combat, it’s something I thoroughly enjoyed in Sea of Stars. In the trailer, there are three party members in combat, all three of which we see in snippets of cutscenes. It’s a minor detail but I appreciate the menus that sort of float dynamically in front of the character whose turn it is. It adds a sense of action to a static section of the game.

The reveal trailer is a positive start to the marketing journey of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I’m excited, and I’ve seen quite a few others who are equally as invested on social media. The game is scheduled for release sometime next year, and I’m eager to see if Sandfall can maintain this momentum going forward.