In June of last year, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was unveiled, surprising everyone with its stylish gameplay and turn-based combat. In an era dominated by action-adventure and soulslike titles, this game stands out by embracing its old-school influences with a French flair, offering a refreshing change.

As the April 24 launch approaches, we had the opportunity to play a preview build of this highly anticipated title from Sandfall Interactive, Kepler Interactive, and Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia. Based on the few hours of gameplay we experienced, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is shaping up to be a heavy favorite among JRPG fans that will delight many.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Hands-on Preview

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s premise is anything but ordinary. At the heart of the story is The Paintress, a central figure with powers so immense that she can wipe out every individual of a given age by merely writing a number. This intriguing setup alone is enough to capture your attention, but the game offers so much more, particularly in its combat systems, which are the true highlights.

During the 4-5 hours we spent finishing the contents of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s preview build, we were treated to fascinating settings that fully attracted our attention. The art style serves the game exceptionally well, with characters and landscapes that are absolutely gorgeous, paired with haunting music that’s sure to bring chills. Character models look realistic with impressive facial animations, but there’s something about the eyes that tend to give off an uncanny valley look.

The user interface is stylish and unmistakably inspired by the Persona series, adding a layer of visual appeal while keeping the whole user interface clean and readable.

The map available in the preview build was linear, lacking open-world exploration, but it compensates with hidden secrets waiting to be uncovered in every nook and cranny. While exploring, players can encounter special and optional enemies that will challenge their skill levels, proving an enticing treat for thrill-seekers.

It is a welcome sight that these challenges can be overcome with pure skill, especially since players can attempt no-hit runs that are reserved for only the most determined. One enemy in the preview build was challenging but fair, prompting me to take it on multiple times only to come up short. I’ll get back at it when the full build comes!

Combat in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is where the game truly shines. The multiple skill-based elements at play make for a very engaging experience, as the game aims to evolve the genre with faster and more dynamic combat. Regular attacks charge up action points, with more powerful abilities requiring more action points to cast. This makes combat a highly strategic affair, incentivizing players to engage deeply with the systems.

While attacking, players need to time extra button presses to deal more damage. Gustave, one of the characters, can accumulate shock charges by attacking, dodging, or parrying. These shock charges can increase the damage of a skill called Overcharge, which deals massive damage.

Lune, another character, has a unique system called Stains. Depending on the elements of the spells she uses, she can accumulate elemental stains to empower other spells (e.g., the Immolation spell consumes an Ice Stain to deal increased damage, while casting Ice Lance generates an Ice Stain).

As they say, defense is the best offense, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 greatly rewards players skilled enough to take on its defensive challenges. Dodging and parrying are of utmost importance, as a perfect parry can lead to a counterattack while evading damage altogether.

Enemies have varied attack patterns, utilizing slow or fast attacks to disrupt the timing of your dodges and parries. An in-game prompt telegraphs them, giving you a fair warning to prepare. Pulling off a counterattack, or any attack, is super satisfying, with particle effects exploding across the screen in a flash.

Gaining experience points (EXP) and leveling up rewards players with stats to distribute and skill points to allocate for learning better skills, which have varying costs. Players can obtain Pictos, items that modify the effects of some abilities. You’ll encounter various pictos, such as gaining an action point when using a Perfect Dodge or gaining 3 AP while killing an enemy, allowing for creative builds.

While it’s still too early to comment on the story and how the rest of the game will play out, this preview build is an extremely confident showing by the developers, and experiencing it has only made us look forward to it more when it comes out next month.

This is surely a strong contender for a must-play title this year.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is launching on April 24, 2025, for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam.