Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – shaping up to be one of the hottest games of 2025 – has one very unique premise. The Paintress, once a year, paints on her powerful monolith a number. Every person of that age perishes. The number this year? 33!
Assemble Your Expedition
And that’s not on!
33 is too young to die, in the eyes of the aptly-named Expedition 33, so this merry crew of adventurers are on a mission to put a stop to the Paintress.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is now available on Xbox, PlayStation and PC, with a day-one launch onto Game Pass to sweeten the deal. This unique blend of turn-based strategy and real-time combat ensures that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will have you heart-in-mouth at all times, as you edge out a number of Lovecraftian horrors in meticulously designed battles.
The apocalyptic world on offer here is drop-dead gorgeous, from the Forgotten Battlefield to the stunning Isle of Visages. Along the way through your journey you’ll encounter a number of companions that will aid Gustav, Maelle and the others on Expedition 33, opening up new ways to navigate around the expansive world.
There are reasons this has been included in our Best Games of April article.
Key Features
- Reactive Turn-Based Combat: Master a unique system blending strategic turn-based decisions with real-time actions like dodging, parrying, countering, and chaining combos through rhythmic inputs.
- Deep Character Customization: Craft unique builds for each Expeditioner using distinct gear, stats, expansive skill trees, and powerful character synergies.
- Hauntingly Beautiful World: Explore an enchanting fantasy realm inspired by Belle Époque France, brought to life with stunning graphics powered by Unreal Engine 5.
- High-Stakes Narrative Quest: Lead Expedition 33 on a desperate, year-long final mission to destroy the Paintress and break her deadly cycle of erasure before your time runs out.
- Rich Exploration & Secrets: Discover hidden quests, legendary allies, and lore across diverse, breathtaking landscapes like the Island of Visages and the Forgotten Battlefield.
- Strategic Free-Aim System: Target specific enemy weak points in real-time during combat for tactical advantages and unique interactions.
- Unique Playable Heroes: Command a party where each character possesses distinct combat mechanics and strategic roles (e.g., fencer stances, spell stains, charge build-ups).
Play Now!
For a debut title, Sandall Interactive certainly have a lot on their plate. And with many comparing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to ‘what modern Final Fantasy should be’, the pressure is truly on.
To find out if they’ve managed to pull it off, you can pick up a copy of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and PC. F
or Xbox players, the choice is yours: the Standard Edition will cost you £41.74 (or nothing, if you already have Game Pass!), or the Deluxe Edition throws in some additional cosmetics for £49.99 all-in.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Description
“Year by year, She erases us.”
Once a year, the Paintress wakes and paints upon her monolith. Paints her cursed number. And everyone of that age turns to smoke and fades away. Year by year, that number ticks down and more of us are erased. Tomorrow she’ll wake and paint “33.” And tomorrow we depart on our final mission – Destroy the Paintress, so she can never paint death again.
We are Expedition 33.
