Picture Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s turn-based combat and add in QTE’s, that’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in a nutshell. Not many games come to mind with both genres combined.
Inspired by Belle Époque France, this unique blend of JRPG is coming to PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 in 2025. It will also be available in the Xbox Game Pass.
“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.” Tomorrow we depart on our final mission – Destroy the Paintress, so she can never paint death again. -We are Expedition 33.”
Yearning to break the cycle, Gustave and his team must set out before the next countdown by working together and following the trails left by previous Expeditioners.
An interesting mechanic in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the real-time actions. When enemies attack, you can dodge, parry and even counter. All these can be chained into combos. You can even target enemy weak points with their free-aim system too so get those critical hits in.
Remember to add to your wishlists to experience the heartbreaking story and soundtrack once it releases next year. If you’re looking for another RPG to scratch that itch, check out Dragon Age: The Veilguard.