{"id":5530,"date":"2025-04-23T12:10:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T12:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/?p=5530"},"modified":"2025-04-24T18:20:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T18:20:24","slug":"clair-obscur-expedition-33-review-a-classic-jrpg-made-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/23\/clair-obscur-expedition-33-review-a-classic-jrpg-made-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review \u2013 a classic JRPG made in France"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Clair\t<\/div>
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – a glorious mix of old and new (Kepler Interactive)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the best Japanese role-players <\/a>of recent years is actually French and it also has one of the most enjoyable battle systems the genre has ever seen.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the term Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) we\u2019ve always been of the opinion that it describes a subgenre of games, rather than being an indication of where a title was made. Not everyone agrees<\/a> but it\u2019s undeniable that there are many games which, in terms of gameplay and structure, are functionally identical to Japanese-made titles, from obvious homages like Sea Of Stars<\/a> to Ubisoft<\/a>\u2019s South Park games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In that sense, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33<\/a> is clearly a JRPG – in terms of the style of its exploration, its turn-based combat, and its general structure – except that it\u2019s been made by French indie studio Sandfall Interactive. Although, even more so than this week\u2019s Steel Seed<\/a>, calling a game as ambitious and graphically resplendent as Clair Obscur an indie title does it a disservice.<\/p>\n

The team has openly acknowledged their love for Final Fantasy 7<\/a> in particular, but the game goes well beyond mere homage to create something that not only feels unique but is one of the most thoughtful and enjoyable JRPGs of the modern era.<\/p>\n

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s fantastic story<\/h2>\n

The story of Clair Obscur (the name is French for the Italian term chiaroscuro<\/em>, which refers to strong contrasts between light and dark in a painting) involves a god-like being called the Paintress, who every year draws a number on a giant monolith and everyone above that age instantly gets snapped away like she was Thanos – except with showers of flower petals instead of ash.<\/p>\n

Nobody knows her motivations, but the numbers are getting smaller each time and at the start of the game number 33 is about to be painted. Main player character, Gustave, is 33 but his former lover is 34. The plot may sound rather silly when you just read about it, but within the opening minutes the game\u2019s serious tone immediately draws you into the story.<\/p>\n

It quickly becomes obvious that the set-up is a metaphor for the inevitability of loss in general and a meditation on the legacy we leave behind, in terms of both family and art. The survivors of the Paintress all live on an island that is a fractured version of Paris, complete with an unnaturally mangled Eiffel Tower and which, like Lies Of P<\/a> before it, revels in its Belle \u00c9poque<\/a> style architecture and fashion.<\/p>\n

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