This is a weird one. I’m about 25 hours into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and I can now go into the final area. I’m not sure if it’s a point of no return, but it feels like it, and I suspect I might be under-levelled.
I could be all wrong and have loads to go. But it seems like now is the time to take stock, to grind some levels, and get ready for the end.
Has the journey been satisfying? Will the end tie it all up in a way that blows me away? It seems unlikely that I’ll be walking off this one thinking it’s one of the best games of 2025.
It’s not bad
This whole review and playthrough has been overshadowed by the mass praise the game received last year. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is solid on all fronts. But I’m always waiting for that massive moment, that realisation that this game is something special.
It’s unfair to the game that I’m waiting for it to be more, when it is absolutely complete and capable. Exceptional combat, solid story, great voice acting and a rich new world to dive into.
All that said, the praise is what got me to want to play it. The hype has to come from somewhere and I wanted to feel it. I’ve been more open and hopeful to get hooked-in than any other game I can think of in recent history.
The stakes
The story and characters move along at a lovely pace. Stellar voice acting and motion capture present the narrative naturally and beautifully.
With the concept of the Paintress, the dwindling number of years people will have to live, and the fight to save Lumiere. You have all the ingredients for a great, original story. It works and you feel like you have purpose.
All the characters you talk to and bond with at camp become even more likeable and your attachment grows, too.
Yet, it isn’t sinking in beyond a skin-deep level. I hate that I don’t care more, but that’s where I’m at.
Everything is primed to deliver, but nothing seems to. The impact feels shallow.
The end
All being well, the ending and my final hours grinding some levels, getting ready for what might come, will end up helping me fully attach to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
I don’t think it will, but stranger things have happened.
In the meantime, I’m desperately trying to love something that on many levels is excellent. I just can’t, and it’s so frustrating.
Something is missing, and whilst I can’t quite put my finger on it, I hope that it’ll come to me in the twilight of my playthrough.
Otherwise this whole review feels quite hollow, with nothing really to say.
How can a game so criticially lauded feel so shallow? It must be me, right?
