Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 (Video Game, 2025)
Clair Obscure Expedition 33 (2025)
“Sometimes, we paint the bars of our own prison.”"And repaint your throat while you're in there, before you completely forget how to have a conversation."
“I treat you as if the shadow from the worst day of our lives is going to suffocate you, and take you from us too!”
"It's going to be okay… it's going to be okay… huh. You have this incredible power to paint. You'll never have to suffer a life you don't want.”
-Clair Obscure Expedition 33
I wish there was some way to effectively illustrate the emotional staying power and thought-provoking questions of Clair Obscure Expedition 33, without robbing you of the narrative engagement of a first time playthrough. However, I know this game is not an easy introduction into the world of interactivity. Though, it is enormously worthwhile if you are willing to give it a chance. Beautifully respectful and thematically rich, Clair Obscure Expedition 33 intently traverses the valleys of grief and the climbs of disability with nuance and hope.
Here we see interactive storytelling at its highest caliber. Video games rarely get to show off their narrative prowess in such a wonderfully enthralling and enriching way. However, all this praise may not be giving this game enough credit. Claire Obscure Expeditions 33 is quite possibly the best narrative experience I've had in the past several years, let alone this year. It's one of those interactive experiences that encourages a dismantling of the barriers and misconceptions that are, in some way inherent in the interactive space of video games. To reiterate, Clair Obscure Expedition 33 is a profound meditation on grief and family trauma that seeks to find hope in the process of healing and discovering how that healing begins.
Grief and sorrow get to the very heart of a human being's relationship with mortality, and the power of memory to help us move forward. However, onward momentum is never a call to forget those who were lost or the tragedies that preceded this healing. A forward trajectory should consistently remind us of the necessity of life and the dignity and meaning it grants us for being a part of this human endeavor. No matter how brief that part may be. Expedition 33 balances all these elements with a measure of care and respect that is rarely seen in any narrative form. Enlivening its world and characters with a cohesion that beckons you to engage in mechanics that enrich the play experience with thematic weigh, as well as purpose
To that point, Clair Obscure Expedition 33 is not a second-tier expeditioner by any measure of its genre contemporaries and/or predecessors. While it is true that this turn-based historical fantasy RPG (Role-playing game) may wear its Final Fantasy influences firmly on its sleeves, with its Action Points, powers and fluid visually enthralling attacks. These mechanics also elevate Expedition 33 in such a way that the game is as much a recollection of the past, as it is a glance towards the future.
Interactive stories are the most effective when their game mechanics are a deeper elucidation of their narrative and thematic goals. Claire Obscure Expedition 33 is a shining example of that marriage of narrative and mechanics working in meaningful and tightly woven harmony. This interplay comes into focus in a simple way when you realize that the trial and error nature of turn-based combat beautifully represents the protagonist's circular struggle to come to terms with the nature of life and death. In turn, the game allows us to hope for a future where death, in the immediate sense, is not our constant companion.
However, to go any further than I have may eventually disavow you of the thematic and emotional journey Clair Obscure Expedition 33 provides. That said, I want to personally thank the games’ developer Sandfall Interactive, for not only making a beautiful meditative tapestry on death, sorrow and grief. But also, for designing that tapestry in a way that it represents disability, not as a death sentence, but as a deeply resident and purpose driven lived experience. Sandfall Interactive sincerely and innately understands the underpinnings of their game’s narrative structure. Which is no surprise, especially considering Expedition 33's most thematically resident narrative refrain. I realize now, why I made the choice I did for Maelle, as the game came to a close. I made the choice "For those who come after."
There are many sides to the disability story. Though, narrative media rarely allows disabled individuals to engage with their reality in any way. Disability is often represented in the media as a detriment to human flourishing by those who are not disabled. As a result disability stories are frequently skewed towards an able-bodied perspective, not disabled one. I should add that Clair Obscure Expedition 33's final choice for its disabled protagonist is aimed towards life, not death.
So thank you Sandfall Interactive for giving disabled players the opportunity to express what it's really like to live with a disability, and for allowing us to confront a lot of the preconceived notions that come along with it. It's amazing what one choice can do. What one kind of affirmation from a lost family member can do to change a person's perception of themselves, and the true reality of who they are as a dignified member of the society. Certainly, life after a tragedy is extraordinarily difficult. Though, the development team at Sandfall interactive, allow us to recall that grief is a powerful reminder of a life well lived.
Rated M 17+ for Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
I found Clair Obscure Expedition 33 to be deeply meaningful, mechanically rich and visually enthralling. As well as, tremendously moving and thought-provoking. I hope in some way you do too.
Click this link to see a trailer for the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VaLOc1FpSo
Clair Obscure Expedition 33 can be purchased digitally and physically on Windows PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.
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