Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall underestimated just how much players would engage with the game's various sidequests and optional content, and as a result of this extra grinding would find the final boss fight a tad underwhelming.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall will focus on what those at the studio personally think is "cool" for its next game, rather than feel any pressure to focus on what anyone else thinks it should do.
43.8 million player votes later, the winners of the 2025 Steam Awards have been announced, with Hollow Knight: Silksong securing top prize, Game of the Year.
It's been another strange, difficult, and yet somehow also brilliant year for video games in 2025. Triple-A releases have been sparse again, compared to the boom times of old, with a great big GTA 6-shaped hole left in the final few months of the year. And yet once again, every gap left by the established order has been filled twice over with something brilliantly new.
2025 has gone by in a flash, hasn't it? Well, apart from the days I've spent tabulating all your Game of the Year votes and presenting the results here - that has felt like an eternity and I think has given me permanent neck pain. But, let's not worry about that. I'm sure you'll agree it was worth the sacrifice.
Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've been playing. This week it's not about what we've been playing, but what we hope to be playing on Christmas Day (you're reading this now, but we wrote this back in June or something as we plan ahead).
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 didn’t win any awards for best plot twist, likely because they don’t exist. So we’ll have to talk about it because it deserves it, yes, but also because of how it reminds me of a game I’d expect to have nothing in common with it. Deep spoilers follow for both games.
I’m talking about Link’s Awakening from 1993, the first Zelda game to come out for the Game Boy. It takes place in Koholint Island, one of the few locations outside of Hyrule seen in the entire series, and with good reason. It's a really neat place, filled with likeable inhabitants, but over the course of the game, appearances of characters such as Yoshi, Kirby, and even some from Sim City hint at how this place is the strangest place ever visited in the series.
Still, no matter, as Link just needs to go back home anyway. To do so, he has to wake a mystical creature named the Wind Fish. Before doing so, however, Link discovers that the reason for all the wackiness is not a regular pre-Smash Bros. attempt at a multiverse, but rather that he’s not experiencing his waking reality. The dream of this fish fabricated the entire island, and incidentally absorbed Link as he crashed into it.
Most of Expedition 33 also doesn't take place in its world's base reality. Though its real world also features fantastical elements, such as people of various artistic backgrounds possessing magical powers, it's much closer to our 19th-century Paris than to the overly magical world we see surrounding the city of Lumiere. Learning that likely came as a shock during your playthrough. Even tougher, probably, was learning after you'd have to choose between staying in that reality at the expense of your own family and of your own health, or escaping, but in a manner that would kill every living being in that small world.
Similarly, Link’s Awakening requires Link to wake the Wind Fish from his slumber to be set free, even though that will also abruptly end that small pocket of reality, immediately ending all life on it. Worse yet, that game never gives players the choice to spare anyone.
Under normal circumstances, players would be able to excuse their actions, arguing that it was possibly all just a dream and that nobody was really harmed, since they never really existed in the first place. But the Zelda game's secret ending shows that one of the "fish's creations" actually managed to somehow break through and be materialized into this world after the destruction of their own. So, even though the secret ending is there to leave players on a more hopeful note, it actually confirms that a load of people and fun creatures actually died because Link would only get good at sailing in Wind Waker.
I don't know whether Expedition 33 was inspired by Link's Awakening, but it doesn't really matter. What earns E33’s plot a place among the greats is not really the surprise value or the originality. Most who are gushing about E33 were already familiar with The Matrix, The Truman Show, or even Dream-Zanarkand in Final Fantasy X. What truly makes the big reveal at the end of E33’s second act is the emotional weight it puts on our backs and has us carrying until the end.
That’s not the case with Link’s Awakening, which spends absolutely no time disentangling the complexities put forth by the game’s own plot. Link’s Awakening carelessly plays the whole dream scenario as just a cool idea, one that gets way too dark for a Zelda title upon even surface-level inquiry. Whatever the case may be, it’s always cool to see another thing that E33 did better than the big guys.
The original version of Link’s Awakening only ever came out for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and the Virtual Console, but you can now also play the Switch version. Alternatively, you can also play this game called Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on your PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, or PC.
The post This obscure Zelda title asked Expedition 33’s big existential question first, in a much darker way appeared first on Destructoid.
The developer behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has admitted that the final boss of the game was a little too easy for some players, who had been busy grinding away on the various side quests on offer and thus levelling up their character to massive proportions.
As a result, by the time they did come up against the final boss of the game, many Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 players were able to dispatch their adversary easier than Sandfall Interactive had perhaps intended. Elaborating on this, Michel Nohra, Lead Game Designer on the critically acclaimed title, told EDGE magazine:
The only thing I regret is not making it clearer that if you want the intended difficulty for the boss, you have to go beat it now. Often, people don’t want to finish the game, so they do all the side content before finishing it, because once the story is over, you’re usually less motivated to do the side content. And that’s something I underestimated, which made people that wanted a challenging end boss fight feel a bit disappointed. I don’t regret doing it the way we did it, but [we could have] had more explanation about your choice [in Act 3].
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was released for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S in April 2025, and was one of the biggest success stories of last year, garnering critical acclaimed and vastly exceeding Sandfall’s expectations. The RPG also picked up numerous Game of the Year accolades, including PSU’s Game of the Year gong. You can read our full review here.
[Source EDGE Magazine via GamesRadar]
The post Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Final Boss Was Easier Than Planned As Players Were Busy Grinding In Side Quests appeared first on PlayStation Universe.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's producer, Francois Meurisse, says that Sandfall Interactive basically "did twice the work" of other studios to finish the game thanks to the team's focus on setting up younger developers.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 transports players into a haunting Belle Époque fantasy world where an ancient entity called the Paintress condemns humanity to slow extinction through an annual ritual known as the Gommage. This award-winning narrative, which earned Best Narrative and Best Game Direction at The Game Awards 2025, weaves together themes of loss, hope, sacrifice, and human connection against the backdrop of turn-of-the-century France.
The game’s title carries profound meaning – “Clair Obscur” translates to “light and dark,” perfectly encapsulating the story’s core themes of hope and despair, life and loss, courage and fear. Set in the isolated city of Lumière, the narrative follows a desperate band of volunteers who risk everything to break the Paintress’ deadly cycle and reclaim humanity’s future.
This comprehensive guide explores the complete Clair Obscur story, from the Fracture disaster that started it all to the complex character journeys that earned Jennifer English the Best Performance award. Understanding these narrative elements enriches your experience while exploring this visually stunning world inspired by Belle Époque France and the Art Deco movement.
The world of Clair Obscur takes place in a dark fantasy interpretation of Belle Époque France, a period that literally means “the beautiful age” and spans from 1871 to 1914. This specific historical period provides more than aesthetic window dressing – it serves as the thematic foundation for the entire narrative experience.
Director Guillaume Broche and his Montpellier-based team at Sandfall Interactive chose this setting deliberately. After initially exploring a steampunk Victorian setting with science fiction elements including zombies and aliens, potential investors encouraged Broche to “think bigger” about six months into development. This led to a complete narrative reset.
The Belle Époque represents a period of peace, progress, and hope in French history – characteristics that seem almost antithetical to Clair Obscur’s world defined by stagnation and never-ending loss. This juxtaposition creates powerful narrative tension, as the expedition fights to reclaim the very ideals this historical period represents.
Lumière serves as humanity’s final refuge, isolated amidst an ocean and scarred by decades of the Gommage. The city features iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, placing its timeline roughly at the turn of the 20th century based on architectural details and period-accurate costuming.
City streets blend Art Nouveau and Neoclassical architecture, creating a visually distinctive environment that honors real Parisian history while establishing its own identity. Men wear narrow suiting while women sport shirtwaist and skirt ensembles characteristic of the late 1890s, grounding the fantasy elements in historical authenticity.
The Art Deco movement heavily influenced the game’s visual design, creating a unique aesthetic that blends classic beauty with haunting surrealism. Every character, environment, and enemy showcases meticulous attention to detail, immersing players in an emotionally charged adventure where style becomes substance rather than surface decoration.
The Gommage represents the existential horror at the heart of Clair Obscur’s narrative. Every year, the mysterious Paintress awakens and paints an ever-decreasing number on an enormous rock formation called the Monolith. All humans whose age matches or exceeds that number immediately disappear, turning to smoke and fading from existence without explanation or pattern.
This annual event threatens humanity with eventual extinction as the number ticks downward year after year. The Paintress first appeared 67 years before the game’s events during a catastrophic disaster known as the Fracture, which isolated Lumière from the rest of the continent and began the cycle of death.
The inevitability of the Gommage shapes every aspect of society in Lumière. Characters live under constant temporal pressure, knowing their final year approaches when their age matches the current number. This creates a culture simultaneously resilient and fatalistic, where people cherish each day while accepting the brutal reality of their world.
After each yearly Gommage, Lumière sends an expedition of volunteers to head to the mainland in an effort to slay the Paintress before she can paint a new number. These expeditions rarely succeed – most are decimated by hostile monsters called Nevrons that populate the fractured continent.
Expedition 33 represents the latest attempt to break the cycle. The group’s name reflects that the Paintress painted “33” on the Monolith, meaning everyone aged 33 was erased. This expedition carries the hopes of everyone remaining in Lumière, who understand that time runs out faster with each passing year.
The remnants of past expeditions scatter across the continent – journal entries, abandoned equipment, and ruined camps tell stories of courage, desperation, and ultimate failure. These discoveries provide context for your journey while honoring those who attempted the mission before you.
The core cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 features six playable characters, each bringing unique abilities, personalities, and narrative significance to the journey. Their relationships, personal struggles, and character development form the emotional backbone of the experience.
Gustave, voiced by Charlie Cox (Daredevil: Born Again), serves as the initial protagonist. This resourceful and dedicated engineer spent his life developing technology to protect Lumière, including the revolutionary Lumina converter that gives Expedition 33 advantages previous groups lacked. With his final year ticking away after reaching age 33, Gustave risks everything to defeat the Paintress and reclaim a future for Lumière’s children.
Gustave wields a mechanical arm that charges through combat actions and unleashes devastating damage when fully powered. His engineering background translates into gadget-based abilities offering both offensive pressure and utility support. As the foster brother and father figure to Maelle, his protective instincts drive many crucial story decisions.
Maelle, voiced by Jennifer English in an award-winning performance, represents the youngest member of Expedition 33 at just 16 years old. Orphaned at age 3, she’s never felt at home in Lumière and has difficulty connecting with and trusting others beyond her foster brother Gustave.
Unlike other Expeditioners motivated by duty or desperation, Maelle views the expedition as her chance to explore the world beyond Lumière and finally forge her own destiny. Her character arc contains major spoilers, but Jennifer English’s nuanced portrayal captures both vulnerability and strength, earning her the Best Performance award at The Game Awards 2025.
Maelle wields a rapier and employs dynamic swordfighting stances that alter her available abilities and stat distributions. Switching between Defensive, Offensive, and Virtuose stances mid-combat allows tactical adaptation to changing battlefield conditions, making her extremely versatile in skilled hands.
Lune, voiced by Kirsty Rider (Sandman), brings intellectual prowess and magical expertise to Expedition 33. As the daughter of prominent researchers, she possesses a deep thirst for knowledge and has sacrificed everything to complete her parents’ work. Her singular goal focuses on unraveling the mystery of the Paintress.
Entrusted with charting the expedition’s path, Lune feels the weight of responsibility and the stakes involved keenly. She cannot and will not allow this expedition to fail. Her magical abilities create elemental stains through spellcasting that can be consumed for additional effects, rewarding thoughtful spell sequencing and strategic resource management.
Lune’s elemental magic exploits enemy weaknesses through four affinities: Weakness (50% increased damage), Resistance (50% reduced damage), Nullify (no damage), and Absorb (heals instead of damages). Understanding and exploiting these mechanics becomes crucial for combat efficiency.
Sciel, voiced by Shala Nyx (The Old Guard), represents wisdom, warmth, and acceptance in a world defined by loss. A former farmer turned teacher, she embraces life day by day with genuine joy, masking the pain of a tragic past. Despite accepting the brutality of their world, her commitment to the expedition’s success never wavers.
Sciel’s philosophical nature and resourceful creativity help herself and others navigate difficult situations. Her calm demeanor and playful spirit provide emotional balance for the team during dark moments, while her combat prowess proves she’s more than capable of handling threats.
At ease with death after years of witnessing the Gommage, Sciel approaches each day with gratitude and wonder. This positive outlook contrasts sharply with the grim reality surrounding them, making her an invaluable emotional anchor for the expedition.
Beyond the main expedition members, several key characters shape the narrative trajectory and provide crucial context for understanding the world’s mysteries. These individuals each carry their own burdens, secrets, and motivations that intersect with Expedition 33’s journey.
Renoir, voiced by Andy Serkis in a powerful performance, initially appears as a mysterious old man attacking expeditions. His true identity and motivations reveal themselves gradually, connecting deeply to the Paintress’ origins and the Fracture disaster that started everything. Serkis brings gravitas and emotional complexity to this conflicted character.
Renoir’s ruthless determination stems from protecting his family and preserving what remains of his world. As a member of the first expedition who received immortality from the Paintress, he guards her not out of malice but from a twisted form of love and duty. Understanding his perspective adds moral complexity to what initially seems like straightforward antagonism.
Verso, voiced by Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI), tracks Expedition 33’s every move with unclear motives. His dangerous aura and moral ambiguity create tension throughout the early acts. Ben Starr describes the role’s appeal: “The moral ambiguity of Verso was so immediately enticing. He’s such a darkly mysterious character.”
Verso eventually joins the expedition after revealing shocking connections to both Renoir and the Paintress’ history. As Renoir’s son and a fellow immortal from the first expedition, Verso has grown tired of eternal life and wishes to kill the Paintress to finally end his existence. This death wish drives his willingness to help despite the risks.
His friendship with Monoco adds another dimension to his character. The bond between immortal human and ancient Gestral creature demonstrates that meaningful connections persist even across centuries of existence and suffering.
Monoco, voiced by Rich Keeble, represents the Gestrals – mysterious creatures untouched by the Paintress’ Gommage. As a Gestral warrior associated with Verso, his specialized skillset offers unique combat options unavailable to other party members. Rich Keeble describes voicing a “Loyal, eloquent, terrifying” character.
Esquie, voiced by Maxence Cazorla, belongs to another category of mythical creatures inhabiting the mainland called Grandis. This local creature aids the expedition during their journey, showcasing that not all inhabitants of the fractured continent oppose humanity’s survival. Esquie’s underwater swimming ability unlocks new areas during exploration.
These non-human allies demonstrate the expedition’s willingness to forge alliances across species boundaries when fighting existential threats. Their unique perspectives and abilities prove invaluable for overcoming challenges human expeditions couldn’t handle alone.
The Paintress, voiced by Tracy Wiles, serves as the central antagonist whose annual rituals condemn humanity to gradual extinction. Understanding her true nature, motivations, and origins requires piecing together clues scattered throughout your journey. The complete picture reveals a tragedy far more complex than simple villainy.
The Fracture occurred 67 years before the game’s events, isolating Lumière from the rest of the continent and beginning the Gommage cycle. This catastrophic disaster fundamentally altered reality in ways that become clearer as you progress through the narrative’s three acts.
The Paintress’ connection to Aline Dessendre and the Dessendre family forms the emotional core of the narrative’s final revelations. Without spoiling specifics, the story explores how grief, loss, and desperate attempts to preserve loved ones can twist into something monstrous that threatens everyone.
The Monolith represents more than just a canvas for the Paintress’ numbers – it stands as a physical manifestation of the curse affecting humanity. This enormous rock formation visible across the continent serves as a constant reminder of mortality and the ticking clock counting down to extinction.
Each year when the Paintress awakens and paints her cursed number, the Monolith becomes the focal point of humanity’s fear and despair. Its presence dominates the psychological landscape as much as the physical one, shaping how people view their limited futures.
The narrative unfolds across a prologue and three acts, each shifting focus to different expedition members as protagonists. This rotating perspective approach allows deeper exploration of individual character arcs while maintaining overall narrative cohesion.
The prologue introduces the main cast and establishes the world’s stakes efficiently. Within an hour, players understand the Gommage threat, meet key characters, and witness the expedition’s departure from Lumière. This compressed introduction creates immediate investment before the journey truly begins.
Act I centers on Gustave as the primary protagonist, establishing his relationships, engineering expertise, and protective instincts toward Maelle. The act concludes with a shocking development that writers Jennifer Svedberg-Yen and Guillaume Broche planned from the earliest stages as part of the emotional journey they envisioned.
Act II shifts focus to Verso following Act I’s conclusion. This perspective change allows exploration of immortality’s burden, complicated family dynamics, and moral ambiguity surrounding the Paintress conflict. The act expands understanding of the world’s history while introducing new locations and challenges.
Act III centers on Maelle following major revelations about her true identity and connection to the overarching narrative. This final act brings together all story threads, forces difficult choices with lasting consequences, and delivers the emotional catharsis the journey builds toward.
The story offers multiple endings based on player choices, with the final decision between Maelle’s path and Verso’s path determining the fate of Lumière, the expedition, and the painted world itself. Each ending provides satisfying resolution while honoring the themes explored throughout.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 explores profound themes that resonate beyond its fantasy setting. The core theme of loss of loved ones originated with director Guillaume Broche’s mother. When stuck on the narrative draft, Broche asked what would be the worst thing that could happen to her – she answered losing any of her children.
This answer became the foundation for Aline’s character and the catalyst for her decision to dwell in her departed son’s canvas. The entire narrative spirals outward from this central trauma, examining how grief can consume individuals and societies when left unresolved.
Hope versus despair creates constant tension throughout the journey. The Belle Époque aesthetic represents humanity’s dreams of peace and progress, while the harsh reality of the Gommage embodies crushing despair. The expedition fights not just for survival but to reclaim the possibility of hope itself.
Sacrifice defines the expedition experience. Every volunteer knows the likely outcome – most won’t survive the journey. Yet they embark anyway, driven by duty, love, desperation, or the simple recognition that someone must try. This willingness to sacrifice for others’ futures provides the emotional weight behind combat encounters and exploration.
Human connection emerges as the antidote to isolation and despair. Characters who open themselves to relationships – Gustave and Maelle’s bond, the growing trust between expedition members, alliances with Gestrals and Grandis – find strength unavailable to isolated individuals. The narrative rewards emotional vulnerability alongside tactical skill.
The Relationship Interactions system mechanically reinforces this theme. Building connections between characters through camp conversations unlocks Gradient Attacks, powerful combination moves impossible for individuals alone. This design choice elegantly ties gameplay benefits to narrative themes of cooperation and trust.
The exceptional voice performances in Clair Obscur significantly contributed to the game’s narrative impact and critical acclaim. Recording took place at Side UK under voice director Joanna Green, with motion capture and performance capture bringing additional authenticity to character expressions and movements.
Jennifer English’s portrayal of Maelle earned universal praise and the Best Performance award at The Game Awards 2025. Her ability to convey Maelle’s emotional complexity – vulnerability, determination, fear, and growing confidence – resonated deeply with players. English described Maelle as “the epitome of a dream character for me – captivating, intricately layered, exquisitely written.”
Charlie Cox brings warmth and paternal protectiveness to Gustave while maintaining the character’s technical expertise and tactical mindset. Cox’s previous work as Daredevil prepared him for portraying heroes carrying heavy responsibilities, making Gustave’s leadership feel authentic and grounded.
Andy Serkis delivers a haunting performance as Renoir, bringing decades of motion capture expertise to the role. His ability to convey complex emotions through subtle facial expressions and body language enriches Renoir’s conflicted motivations. Serkis’ involvement raised the production’s profile significantly.
Ben Starr portrays Verso with appropriate moral ambiguity and dangerous charisma. Fresh from his acclaimed work as Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI, Starr brings similar intensity and emotional depth to this mysterious character. His chemistry with other cast members enhances ensemble scenes.
Kirsty Rider (Lune) and Shala Nyx (Sciel) round out the core expedition with distinct personalities that complement rather than compete with each other. Rider emphasizes Lune’s intellectual drive and vulnerability beneath confidence, while Nyx captures Sciel’s philosophical warmth and hidden melancholy perfectly.
Leaving Lumière’s relative safety, the expedition ventures across the Continent – a monster-infested mainland featuring diverse environments each hiding secrets, enemies, and journal entries from past expeditions. These locations progressively reveal the world’s history and the true nature of the Paintress’ curse.
Spring Meadows provides early exploration opportunities with relatively manageable enemy encounters. The area’s deceptive beauty contrasts with lurking dangers, establishing the pattern of environments that seem peaceful until hostile Nevrons appear. Collectible journals here establish context for failed past attempts.
Flying Waters showcases the game’s visual artistry with surreal landscapes that challenge normal physics and spatial understanding. This location exemplifies how the Fracture distorted reality across the continent, creating areas where normal rules don’t apply. Navigation requires attention to environmental storytelling and careful observation.
The Ancient Sanctuary holds crucial lore about the world before the Fracture. Ancient texts, preserved artifacts, and architectural details provide clues about how society functioned when the continent remained whole. This historical context makes the current tragedy feel more profound.
Renoir’s Mansion represents a pivotal location where major narrative revelations occur. The mansion’s preservation amidst continental decay raises questions about its occupants and their relationship to the Paintress. Exploring this location triggers irreversible story progression, so thorough exploration beforehand proves wise.
The Thank You Update added Verso’s Drafts, a new area accessible during Act III once players acquire Esquie’s swimming ability. This colorful, whimsical environment contrasts with the typically serious tone, offering fresh experiences for completionists and late-game challenge seekers.
Director Guillaume Broche drew inspiration from multiple sources when crafting Clair Obscur’s narrative. The French fantasy novel “La Horde du Contrevent” by Alain Damasio influenced the core concept of explorers traveling through hostile territory on a crucial mission. The novel’s focus on group dynamics under extreme pressure resonates throughout the expedition’s journey.
The initial concept originated from a painting Broche admired, which led him to envision a giantess and a doomsday clock. This visual starting point shaped the Paintress’ design and the Monolith’s role as a literal countdown to extinction. Translating this striking image into interactive narrative required building an entire world around the central concept.
Final Fantasy, Persona series, Lost Odyssey, and Blue Dragon provided gameplay and narrative structure inspiration. These JRPGs demonstrated how turn-based combat could coexist with cinematic presentation and emotional storytelling. Clair Obscur builds on these traditions while establishing its own identity through unique mechanics and themes.
Understanding the Belle Époque’s historical context enriches appreciation for Clair Obscur’s narrative choices. Historian Dominique Kalifa explains that “the term was adopted by public opinion after the First World War” as “a generation that had known terrible suffering tried to forget the blood and mud from 1914-1918 by exalting the long period of peace and stability that had preceded it.”
The Belle Époque represents nostalgia for a time before suffering – a fiction created by those who experienced horror and desperately wanted to believe something better existed before. This perfectly mirrors how Clair Obscur’s world views its own past before the Fracture, creating thematic resonance between historical reality and fantasy narrative.
Expedition Journals scattered across the continent provide crucial backstory about previous attempts to defeat the Paintress. These written accounts offer perspectives from doomed expeditions, revealing their discoveries, struggles, and final moments. Collecting journals creates a more complete understanding of the world’s history.
Nevron Quests involve tracking down and defeating specific monsters while uncovering their origins and connection to the Fracture. These optional challenges provide both combat variety and lore expansion. Understanding Nevrons’ true nature becomes important for comprehending the continental transformation.
Gestral Games and Lost Gestrals encourage thorough exploration while revealing information about these mysterious creatures unaffected by the Gommage. Their existence raises questions about why the Paintress’ curse only affects humans and what makes Gestrals immune to this existential threat.
Beyond explicit collectibles, environmental storytelling communicates narrative details through visual design and world layout. Ruined buildings, abandoned camps, and scarred landscapes tell stories without words. Attentive players discover additional context by observing how different areas changed after the Fracture.
Paint Cages and Paint Spikes represent physical manifestations of the Paintress’ influence across the continent. These mysterious structures hint at how her power extends beyond annual Monolith paintings to actively shape and corrupt the physical world. Their distribution patterns provide clues about her true nature.
Q: What is the Gommage in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?
A: The Gommage is an annual event where the Paintress awakens and paints a descending number on a massive rock formation called the Monolith. Everyone whose age matches or exceeds that number immediately turns to smoke and disappears from existence.
Q: Who is the Paintress in Clair Obscur?
A: The Paintress is the central antagonist responsible for the annual Gommage. Her true identity, motivations, and connection to the Dessendre family are revealed gradually throughout the three-act narrative. Tracy Wiles provides her voice performance.
Q: How long is the Clair Obscur story?
A: The main story takes approximately 25-30 hours to complete, with an additional 30 hours available for side content, collectibles, and optional activities. Completionists can expect 50-60 hours of total gameplay.
Q: What happened during the Fracture?
A: The Fracture was a catastrophic disaster that occurred 67 years before the game begins. It isolated the city of Lumière from the rest of the continent and began the annual Gommage cycle. The complete story behind this event unfolds throughout the narrative.
Q: Who are the main playable characters?
A: Six characters become playable: Gustave (Charlie Cox), Maelle (Jennifer English), Lune (Kirsty Rider), Sciel (Shala Nyx), Verso (Ben Starr), and Monoco (Rich Keeble). Each brings unique abilities and perspective to the expedition.
Q: Does Clair Obscur have multiple endings?
A: Yes, the game features different endings based on player choices. The final decision between supporting Maelle’s path or Verso’s path determines the fate of Lumière, the expedition members, and the painted world itself.
Q: What is Belle Époque and why is it important?
A: Belle Époque means “the beautiful age” and refers to a French historical period from 1871-1914 characterized by peace, progress, and hope. The game uses this setting to create thematic contrast between humanity’s dreams and the harsh reality of the Gommage.
Q: What are Gestrals and Nevrons?
A: Gestrals are mysterious creatures untouched by the Paintress’ Gommage who inhabit the continent. Nevrons are hostile monsters that populate the fractured mainland and are the primary cause of failed past expeditions.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 delivers a masterclass in video game storytelling that honors JRPG traditions while establishing its own narrative identity. The Belle Époque setting provides more than aesthetic appeal – it creates meaningful thematic resonance between historical nostalgia and the story’s exploration of loss, hope, and human resilience.
The character-driven narrative earned universal critical acclaim for good reason. From Gustave’s protective determination to Maelle’s emotional journey and Jennifer English’s award-winning performance, every expedition member contributes meaningfully to the story’s emotional impact. Their relationships, sacrifices, and growth create investment that transforms combat encounters into personally meaningful moments.
Understanding the complete lore and world-building enriches every aspect of gameplay. The Paintress’ true nature, the Fracture’s aftermath, the expedition’s desperate mission, and the moral complexity surrounding potential solutions all reward players who engage deeply with narrative elements. This depth contributed significantly to the game’s historic Best Narrative award at The Game Awards 2025.
Whether experiencing the story for the first time or replaying to discover hidden details, Clair Obscur offers narrative rewards that match its acclaimed gameplay mechanics. The fusion of turn-based combat, reactive real-time elements, and emotional storytelling creates an unforgettable journey through a world where light and dark, hope and despair, constantly struggle for dominance.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has revolutionized the turn-based RPG genre with its innovative Reactive Turn-Based Combat System that seamlessly blends traditional strategy with real-time action elements. This groundbreaking approach earned the game its Best RPG award and contributed significantly to its historic Game of the Year victory at The Game Awards 2025.
The combat mechanics in this Belle Époque fantasy masterpiece challenge everything players thought they knew about turn-based battles. By incorporating real-time parrying, dodge mechanics, and free-aim targeting, Sandfall Interactive created a system that keeps players engaged during every moment of combat. The result is an addictive battle experience that feels fresh and dynamic while honoring classic JRPG traditions.
This comprehensive combat guide breaks down every mechanic, strategy, and technique you need to master Clair Obscur’s battle system. From understanding Action Points and Break mechanics to perfecting your parry timing and utilizing Gradient Attacks, you’ll learn how to dominate even the toughest encounters in Expedition 33.
The Reactive Turn-Based Combat System represents Clair Obscur’s most significant innovation in RPG design. Unlike traditional turn-based games where players simply select commands and watch animations play out, this system demands constant attention and precise timing throughout every battle encounter.
Director Guillaume Broche designed the battle system around a specific vision of creating a game that could be cleared without taking a single hit. This philosophy shaped every combat decision during development, ensuring that player skill and pattern recognition always provide a path to victory rather than relying solely on level grinding or statistical advantages.
The combat timeline displays prominently on the left side of your screen, showing exactly when each character and enemy will act. This transparency allows for strategic planning and helps players anticipate dangerous attack sequences before they happen. Understanding turn order becomes crucial for setting up combos and defensive positioning.
Action Points serve as the primary resource management system during battles. Every character action beyond basic attacks consumes AP, making efficient resource usage the difference between quick victories and drawn-out struggles. Your party shares a pool of AP that slowly regenerates, with successful defensive maneuvers providing additional points.
AP generation strategies become increasingly important in longer battles. Perfect parries reward players with bonus AP, while certain character abilities can manipulate AP gain rates. Managing this resource effectively allows you to unleash powerful skill combinations when opportunities present themselves.
The Battle Wheel interface provides quick access to your combat options: Attack, Skills, Items, and Free Aim. Each option serves distinct purposes, and learning when to use each creates dynamic combat flow. Later in the game, Gradient Attacks join your Battle Wheel, adding another layer of tactical depth.
Real-time defensive actions define what makes Clair Obscur’s combat system special. During enemy turns, players must actively defend by executing perfectly timed parries, dodges, or jumps to avoid damage. This constant engagement eliminates the passive waiting that plagues many turn-based RPGs.
Parry timing revolves around reading audiovisual cues rather than reacting to raw speed alone, with distinct animation peaks, weapon flashes, or sound effects occurring fractions of seconds before hits land. These consistent markers provide repeatable reference points that players can learn and master through practice.
Parrying mechanics offer the highest reward but require precise timing. Successfully parrying an attack not only negates damage but grants bonus AP and triggers a powerful counterattack. This risk-reward balance encourages aggressive defensive play and rewards players who study enemy attack patterns.
Dodging provides a safer defensive option when parry timing feels uncertain. While dodges don’t generate AP or trigger counterattacks, they reliably avoid damage with more forgiving timing windows. Smart players know when to play safe versus when to risk parries for greater rewards.
Jump mechanics handle specific attack types that can’t be parried or dodged. Certain enemy moves require vertical evasion, adding variety to defensive patterns. Reading enemy animations helps identify which defensive action each attack requires.
Expedition Counters represent the ultimate defensive challenge. When enemies launch attacks targeting your entire party, all active characters must execute a synchronized parry to successfully counter. These coordinated defenses create spectacular moments and substantial AP gains when executed perfectly.
Training against slower early enemies allows new players to internalize patterns before facing faster bosses with complex multi-hit strings where parry timing becomes more demanding. This gradual difficulty curve helps players build skills naturally without overwhelming them early on.
Audio design plays a crucial role in combat success. Attack whooshes, impact chimes, and other sound effects provide reliable timing indicators. Players struggling with visual clutter often benefit from raising sound effect volumes relative to music, making these crucial audio cues more prominent.
Break mechanics introduce a posture system where sustained pressure forces enemies into vulnerable states. Similar to games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, depleting an enemy’s Break gauge creates openings for devastating damage that can turn the tide of challenging battles.
Break bars require players to understand which attacks, elements, or weak points accelerate Break buildup, creating combat rhythm where players alternate between survival-focused defense and aggressive Break setups. This dynamic flow prevents battles from becoming repetitive or predictable.
Efficiently building Break requires strategic coordination between party members. Certain characters specialize in Break damage even when their raw HP damage appears lower. Understanding these specializations and building your party composition accordingly maximizes your Break potential.
When enemies enter Break states, they become temporarily defenseless and take significantly increased damage. This window presents the perfect opportunity to unleash your most powerful skills and Gradient Attacks for maximum effect. Timing your big damage abilities around Break windows optimizes your damage output.
Free-aim targeting accelerates Break buildup dramatically when focusing on enemy weak points. Large bosses with exposed limbs or cores take substantial Break damage when players accurately target these vulnerable areas. The precision required adds skill expression to what could otherwise be automatic targeting.
Shield mechanics protect enemies from all damage types until broken. Anti-shield skills, multi-hit attacks, and free-aim shots excel at shattering defensive barriers. Always prioritize shield removal before attempting major damage combos to avoid wasted resources.
The game features six playable characters, each bringing unique mechanics and playstyles to combat encounters. Understanding how each character functions allows you to build synergistic party compositions and leverage specific character strengths against particular enemy types.
Gustave wields a mechanical arm that charges through combat actions and unleashes devastating damage when fully powered. His engineering background translates into gadget-based abilities that offer both offensive pressure and utility support. Managing arm charge timing becomes crucial for maximizing his damage potential.
Maelle employs dynamic swordfighting stances that alter her available abilities and stat distributions. Switching stances mid-combat allows her to adapt to changing battlefield conditions, making her extremely versatile. Mastering stance management separates good Maelle players from great ones.
Lune creates elemental stains through spellcasting that can be consumed for additional effects. This combo system rewards thoughtful spell sequencing and strategic resource management. Planning multi-turn combinations with Lune opens up powerful damage opportunities unavailable to other characters.
Monoco, a Gestral warrior untouched by the Paintress’ Gommage, brings combat expertise and unique abilities tied to his non-human nature. His specialized skillset offers options that other party members can’t replicate, making him valuable for specific encounter types.
Each character can equip up to six active skills at any time, chosen from their complete learned ability pool. This loadout system encourages players to customize characters for specific challenges rather than using one-size-fits-all builds. Experimenting with different skill combinations reveals powerful synergies.
Free-aim targeting adds an active skill element to traditional turn-based combat. Instead of automatic targeting, players manually aim pistols or magic at enemies, dealing bonus damage for accuracy. This mechanic rewards player skill independent of character statistics.
Free-aim can provide added benefits beyond damage – shooting environmental objects like floating mines can trigger explosions affecting multiple enemies and creating tactical advantages. Observant players discover creative uses for the aiming system beyond simple damage dealing.
Weak point targeting using free aim accelerates both damage and Break buildup significantly. Learning enemy vulnerable spots and consistently hitting them drastically improves combat efficiency. Boss encounters especially reward players who identify and exploit weak points throughout fights.
The free-aim system enables environmental interactions during battles. Explosive objects, destructible cover, and interactive elements provide tactical options beyond direct damage. Smart players scan environments before engagements to identify potential advantages.
Demineur enemies demonstrate environmental combat perfectly – shooting the mines they’re attached to triggers explosions that damage nearby foes and makes evasive enemies vulnerable to follow-up attacks. These contextual opportunities add strategic depth to seemingly straightforward encounters.
Gradient Attacks represent the most powerful offensive options in your arsenal, dealing massive damage when properly utilized. These special abilities use a shared party gauge that fills through regular skill usage, creating interesting resource management decisions during extended battles.
The Gradient gauge fills slowly as party members execute skills, encouraging active combat participation rather than defensive turtling. This design philosophy keeps battles dynamic and rewards aggressive play while still requiring defensive skill during enemy turns.
Gradient Counters and Gradient Skills provide additional options within this system. Counters offer powerful defensive responses to specific enemy actions, while Skills deliver devastating offensive combinations. Learning when to spend Gradient resources versus saving them creates meaningful tactical choices.
Coordinating Gradient Attacks between party members creates spectacular battle moments. Chaining these powerful abilities at crucial moments – like during enemy Break states – multiplies their effectiveness. Team composition directly impacts Gradient strategy effectiveness.
The shared resource system encourages players to maintain balanced party participation rather than overrelying on single characters. Every party member contributes to Gradient generation, making even support-focused characters valuable for enabling powerful attacks.
Status effects significantly influence combat outcomes in Clair Obscur. Buffs like Powerful (increased damage), Shell (reduced damage taken), and Rush (increased speed) create temporary advantages worth fighting for. Understanding status management becomes crucial in difficult encounters.
Debuffs turn the status system into a strategic weapon. Applying negative effects to enemies while maintaining positive buffs on your party creates substantial power differentials. Many challenging encounters become manageable once you master status manipulation.
Elemental affinities add another strategic layer. Enemies exhibit strengths and weaknesses against different elemental damage types. Ineffective elements deal minimal damage, while exploiting weaknesses dramatically increases your offensive pressure. Always check enemy resistances when struggling.
Certain boss encounters practically require specific status applications to succeed reasonably. These fights test whether players understand the full depth of Clair Obscur’s combat systems beyond simple damage dealing. Status effects often provide more value than raw damage in these scenarios.
Duration management matters for both buffs and debuffs. Short-duration effects require frequent reapplication, while long-lasting statuses allow focus on other tactics. Party composition should account for status maintenance requirements alongside damage needs.
Clair Obscur offers three difficulty settings that dramatically alter combat challenges: Story mode, Expeditioner mode, and Expert mode. These settings can be changed anytime, allowing players to adjust challenge levels without commitment penalties.
Story mode weakens enemies and provides generous timing windows for defensive actions. This accessibility option lets players experience the narrative and world without mastering complex combat mechanics. No judgment exists for choosing the difficulty that maximizes your enjoyment.
Expeditioner mode offers balanced challenge designed for typical RPG players. Enemy stats remain fair while defensive timing requires reasonable precision. This represents the intended baseline experience for most players.
Expert mode demands perfect execution and deep system mastery. Enemies hit harder, defensive timing windows shrink dramatically, and mistakes prove costly. This difficulty rewards players who’ve thoroughly learned combat mechanics and pattern recognition.
The design philosophy allows technically skilled players to beat the final boss at Level 1, as the system was built around the vision of clearing the game without taking hits. This skill-based approach means dedicated players can overcome statistical disadvantages through pure mechanical execution.
New Game Plus mode allows replaying the game with increased difficulty while retaining character progression from previous playthroughs. This mode satisfies completionists and players seeking greater challenges after mastering the base game.
Pictos serve as Clair Obscur’s equipment system, providing stat boosts that increase as they level up. Strategic Picto selection allows you to emphasize character strengths or shore up weaknesses depending on your preferred playstyle and party composition needs.
Build diversity enables dramatically different approaches to identical encounters. Damage-focused builds prioritize offensive stats and Break generation, while defensive builds emphasize survivability and support capabilities. Experimentation reveals powerful synergies unavailable to single-minded builds.
Weapon variety adds another customization layer. Each character can use multiple weapon types with distinct stat distributions and special properties. Matching weapons to specific challenges optimizes performance in ways that transcend simple damage numbers.
Effective party composition considers how character abilities interact. Some combinations create powerful synergies that multiply effectiveness, while poor compositions waste potential. Understanding these interactions separates average players from combat masters.
Skill trees provide long-term progression and specialization options. Characters learn new abilities through skill point investment, with branching paths allowing different specializations. Planning skill progression around your intended playstyle and party role maximizes effectiveness.
Boss encounters represent the ultimate test of combat mastery. These fights combine all mechanics – defensive timing, Break exploitation, status management, and resource efficiency – into comprehensive challenges requiring both preparation and execution skill.
Sandfall Interactive designed Expedition 33 so players only die from not taking advantage of patterns correctly, something they can learn and overcome, making victories feel rewarding. This design philosophy means every boss has learnable patterns and strategies that guarantee success for prepared players.
Multi-phase bosses escalate challenge throughout fights. Later phases introduce new attacks, faster patterns, and additional mechanics. Staying calm and adapting to these changes while maintaining defensive discipline determines success or failure.
Pre-battle preparation significantly impacts boss difficulty. Ensuring proper skill loadouts, equipment optimization, and item stocks before engaging gives you every advantage. Taking time to prepare prevents frustrating defeats to avoidable problems.
Pattern learning requires patience and observation. Most players need multiple attempts against difficult bosses to fully internalize attack patterns and optimal responses. Treat early attempts as learning experiences rather than failed runs.
Reserve characters can be called in if your active party falls, providing a second chance at victory. This safety net prevents total wipes in close fights but requires maintaining progression on backup characters to remain effective.
New players often make predictable mistakes that hamper their combat effectiveness. Over-reliance on basic attacks wastes opportunities for more impactful actions. Skills generally provide better damage and utility than standard attacks despite AP costs.
Ignoring defensive mechanics leads to taking unnecessary damage. Even perfectly built characters struggle when absorbing hits rather than parrying or dodging. Defensive skill development matters as much as offensive optimization.
Poor AP management leaves players unable to act effectively during crucial moments. Spending all AP immediately often means having no resources when important opportunities arise. Maintaining an AP reserve for emergencies prevents avoidable defeats.
Item hoarding represents a common player tendency that reduces effectiveness. Clair Obscur replenishes items at Expedition Flags (the game’s checkpoint system), meaning conservative item usage wastes potential power. Use consumables freely when they’d help.
Neglecting Break mechanics significantly reduces damage output. Players who ignore Break bars miss substantial damage windows and extend fights unnecessarily. Actively working toward Break states makes even difficult encounters manageable.
Expedition 33 drew inspiration from Final Fantasy, Persona series, Lost Odyssey, and Blue Dragon, particularly their use of quick time events during combat and cinematic presentation. These influences created a combat system that honors JRPG traditions while pushing the genre forward.
Director Broche praised Persona 5’s user interface and camera work during battles, aiming to create the feeling of watching a movie. This cinematic approach manifests in dynamic camera angles, stylish animations, and seamless transitions that maintain visual engagement throughout battles.
The dodge and parry mechanics took specific inspiration from FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This influence brought precision timing and pattern recognition into turn-based framework, creating unique gameplay that stands apart from both traditional JRPGs and action games.
During design phases, developers asked whether bosses using specific mechanics could be defeated without taking damage – if the answer was no, they didn’t use that mechanic. This constraint-driven design ensured every combat element served player skill expression rather than creating artificial difficulty.
The resulting system rewards player learning and improvement over statistical grinding. While character progression matters, skill development provides more dramatic power increases than level gains alone. This philosophy makes combat consistently engaging throughout the entire game.
Q: What is Reactive Turn-Based Combat in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?
A: Reactive Turn-Based Combat blends traditional turn-based RPG mechanics with real-time defensive actions. Players select actions during their turns like classic JRPGs, but must actively dodge, parry, or jump to avoid enemy attacks in real-time during enemy turns.
Q: How important is parrying in Clair Obscur combat?
A: Parrying is extremely important as it not only negates damage but also generates bonus Action Points and triggers powerful counterattacks. Mastering parry timing is key to combat efficiency, though dodging provides a safer alternative when timing feels uncertain.
Q: Can you beat Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 without taking damage?
A: Yes, the combat system was specifically designed around the vision of creating a game that can be cleared without taking a single hit. Director Guillaume Broche confirmed players can technically beat the final boss at Level 1 through perfect execution.
Q: What are Break mechanics in Clair Obscur?
A: Break mechanics refer to an enemy-specific stability gauge that, when depleted, forces targets into vulnerable states. Broken enemies take significantly increased damage and become temporarily defenseless, creating windows for devastating attacks.
Q: How does the free-aim system work?
A: The free-aim system lets players manually aim pistols or magic at enemies instead of using automatic targeting. Accurately hitting enemies deals bonus damage, while targeting weak points dramatically accelerates both damage and Break buildup.
Q: What difficulty should I choose?
A: Choose Story mode for relaxed narrative focus, Expeditioner mode for balanced standard challenge, or Expert mode for demanding precision gameplay. Difficulty can be changed anytime without penalties, so experiment to find your preferred experience.
Q: How many characters can be in combat at once?
A: Six characters can be recruited to your party, but only three can be used in battle simultaneously. Reserve characters can be called in if your active party is defeated, providing a second chance at victory.
Q: What are Gradient Attacks?
A: Gradient Attacks are powerful special abilities that use a shared party gauge. This gauge fills slowly through regular skill usage during combat, and Gradient Attacks deal massive damage when unleashed at optimal moments like during enemy Break states.
Mastering Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s combat system requires dedication, practice, and strategic thinking. The Reactive Turn-Based Combat represents one of the most innovative evolutions of traditional JRPG mechanics in recent years, successfully bridging turn-based strategy with real-time action skill.
The depth of combat mechanics rewards players who invest time learning enemy patterns, perfecting defensive timing, and understanding strategic systems like Break mechanics and status effects. Every encounter offers opportunities to improve execution and discover new tactical approaches that make challenging fights manageable.
Whether you’re playing on Story difficulty for narrative enjoyment or tackling Expert mode for ultimate challenge, Clair Obscur’s combat system adapts to your preferred experience. The skill-based design philosophy ensures that player improvement always provides paths to victory, making defeats feel like learning opportunities rather than frustrating roadblocks.
This revolutionary combat system contributed significantly to the game’s critical acclaim and historic Game of the Year victory. By respecting player intelligence and rewarding skill development, Sandfall Interactive created a battle system that sets new standards for what turn-based RPGs can achieve.
This week's launch of NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, following the company's traditional CES keynote, has been yet another monumental step for the technology. Now available via a new driver and NVIDIA App update, every game that supports previous versions of the technology can take advantage of the 2nd-generation Transformer model to enjoy superior image quality, which often matches or even surpasses that delivered by native resolutions in both older games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and in newer titles like Sandfall Interactive's celebrated role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. A new comparison video shared by Bang4BuckPC Gamer on YouTube puts the Game of the Year […]
Read full article at https://wccftech.com/this-really-puts-a-nail-in-amd-fsr-redstones-coffin-clair-obscur-expedition-33-nvidia-dlss-4-5-performance-mode-stuns-with-image-quality-close-to-native-4k/
The 29th annual DICE Awards are set for February 12, 2026, and the full list of nominees has been revealed, with an unsurprising list of games leading the way in nominations. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yotei lead the pack with eight nominations each, while Dispatch and ARC Raiders tie for second place with six nominations each. All four titles are also nominated for the big prize, Game of the Year. The DICE Awards are hosted every year by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, with the nominees and winners picked by an academy of more than […]
Read full article at https://wccftech.com/29th-annual-dice-awards-nominees-full-list-clair-obscur-ghost-of-yotei-arc-raiders-dispatch/
As is tradition by now, Valve hosted the annual Steam Awards, which ran for a couple months near the end of last year. Entirely player-based, the Awards are granted by Steam users alone, who, believe it or not, did not pick the undisputed king of gaming, Expedition 33.
Instead, the ultimate Game of the Year among Steam users was none other than Hollow Knight: Silksong, a game so wildly popular it crashed the platform upon its launch. Enjoyed by millions and highly-anticipated, it's no surprise Silksong won, given just how long players had waited for its release since the first game in the series blew everyone away back in early 2017.
That isn't to say that Expedition 33 won nothing. It, indeed, did carry home one award, the one for Best Soundtrack, and I wholeheartedly believe it deserved it. We can argue about how much E33 deserved the many awards it got, especially in some categories at the TGA (cough, Best Direction over Death Stranding 2, cough), but the soundtrack is so phenomenal and outstanding that no number of awards would do it justice.
Silksong also won the Best Game You Suck At Award, again no surprise due to its overall difficulty, as is only natural for a Soulslike title.
Dispatch, too, was awarded here even if it was snubbed at last year's award shows, primarily because its episodes started coming out after most shows had cemented their nominees. We should see Dispatch considered in the 2026 window, though, but it's nice to see the Steam community recognize the game on such short notice, and in a category as prestigious as they come: Outstanding Story-Rich Game.
Other categories and winners include:
The post The 2025 Steam Awards are here, and believe it or not Expedition 33 didn’t sweep through it appeared first on Destructoid.
Since its reveal, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has sparked a question that feels both familiar and deeply divisive among RPG fans. Is it closer to Final Fantasy, or does it lean more toward Dark Souls?
With another stellar year of gaming squarely in the rearview mirror, the staff here at PlayStation Lifestyle decided to take a trip down memory lane, tally up what new games we played over the past 12 months, and see which ones got enough votes to land a spot on our coveted list of best games from 2025.
Interestingly, in what might be an all-time record low, only five Sony first-party titles launched this year (discounting ports and rereleases), so a vast majority of our list is comprised of indie and AAA titles from other publishers. Chances are, you’ve heard of or played most of the games that made the cut, but a couple of our inclusions might take you by surprise.
And without further ado… the list!
Showing just how loaded this year with great games, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 barely managed to lay claim to the number 10 spot. However, there’s no denying the sheer artistry on display with Sandfall Interactive’s debut title. Most RPG fans worth their salt are at the very least familiar with Clair Obscure, but if this one passed you by entirely, we’d love to know what rock you find yourself living under.
We wouldn’t blame you if you forgot that Kingdom Come: Deliverance II even came out in 2025, seeing as how it launched at the very beginning of February. This is the second, and final, European-developed RPG to make it onto our list, but unlike Clair Obscur, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II trades in the linear, dark fantasy Belle Époque setting for a truly stunning recreation of 15th-century Bohemia. If an unrivaled sense of freedom, a vast open-world that’s begging to be explored, and the unforgiving, harsh realities of medieval life and warfare pique your interest, you shouldn’t pass this one up.
With a handful of Metal Gear fans on staff, it’s no surprise that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has slithered its way onto our list. Even though series creator Hideo Kojima parted ways with Konami a decade ago and had zero involvement with the development of this remake, the original PS2 version was (or rather, still is) such a remarkable game, that its success was all but guaranteed. With a handful of quality of life improvements, a modernized control scheme, and a next-gen coat of ray-traced paint, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater looks and plays like a proper remake; anyone claiming that it’s a simple, by-the-numbers cash grab is woefully mistaken.
Much like the previous entry on our list, Lumines: Arise doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel when it comes to its moment-to-moment action. In fact, aside from the newly-added Burst mechanic, Lumines: Arise’s gameplay is almost identical to the original PSP version that launched over 20 years ago. Of course, if you know anything about the series, the gameplay is only a part of the magic. From its entrenching, mesmerizing visuals to its stellar soundtrack, Lumines: Arise is a feast for the eyes and ears, and is also a sight to behold when playing in VR.
Having laid out the foundation with A Way Out and upping the ante with It Takes Two, it’s hardly a surprise that Split Fiction was a smash hit right out of the gates. Developer Hazelight Studios has perfected its craft of creating compelling co-operative gaming experiences, and with Split Fiction, it has even managed to upend our expectations once again. Whether you’re taking to the skies on the back of a dragon or fending off cyber-ninjas, there’s plenty of fun to be had here. If we were to make one suggestion, if you give this one a go, try to find a co-op buddy who can play on the couch next to you if that’s at all possible.
Like a few other titles on this list, Blue Prince sort of took us by surprise when it launched, and once it sank its roguelike hooks into us, we couldn’t get enough of it. Granted, some of its puzzles border on cruelly obscure, and at least one writer on our team lost hours of progress to the dreaded (and thankfully, fixed) save bug, but Blue Prince successfully wormed its way into the inner recesses of our brains, keeping us hooked on its addictive loop of drafting new rooms, uncovering more lore, and peeling back more layers of its seemingly never-ending puzzle. It’s an onion lover’s dream! Or, parfaits, if you prefer.
After a string of middling releases and years of losing ground to its competitors, Battlefield is finally back, and baby, it’s as good as it’s ever been. Sure, there are dozens of other shooters, competitive and casual alike, that are constantly vying for our attention, but Battlefield 6’s objective-focused, squad-centric flavor of running and gunning offers an experience that few other games come close to matching. The environmental destruction and sheer number of vehicles and weapons to master are just the icing on the cake.
Even though its story is a rather conventional revenge tale that doesn’t exactly break the mold, Ghost of Yotei is still a top-tier experience from start to finish. Building off the foundation laid out in Ghost of Tsushima, developer Sucker Punch is firing on all cylinders this time around and pushes the PS5 (and PS5 Pro, for that matter) to its limit. It’s one of the most gorgeous games we’ve seen to date, and with a handful of visual filters and audio mixes to choose from, it’s almost begging to be replayed a second (or even third) time.
2025 saw the launch of a handful of different skating games, but none of them came close to matching the sense of wonder and awe that Sword of the Sea manages to evoke. It strikes an amazing balance between offering up platforming challenges and puzzles, and letting you explore a beautiful world that’s chock-full of surprises that are just waiting to be discovered and experienced firsthand. If you enjoyed Journey, or either of developer Giant Squid’s previous titles (Abzû, The Pathless), this one’s a no-brainer.
Sure, its detractors will be quick to label it as a glorified walking simulator, but Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is so much more than that. It’s a reflection on our current society, a world in which everyone is more connected than ever, but simultaneously, more isolated and alone. It’s a stunning achievement on a technical level, serving up some of the best visuals and most lovingly crafted cutscenes we’ve seen to date. And, for a handful of us staffers and contributors, it’s another opportunity to take a peek into the mind of Hideo Kojima, an absolute juggernaut of a game developer who’s been reinventing genres and subverting expectations for four decades at this point. But, above all, it’s a game about sticks. And ropes. Oh, and chiral networks. And don’t forget Timefall. Plate gates too!
The post PlayStation LifeStyle’s 10 Best PS5 Games of 2025 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
We've all been there. You're at the end of a game, you've done all of the side quests, you're strong as hell, finally read to take on the final boss, confident you can finish this quest you started 30-100 hours ago. Only to find that the fight is a piece of piss because, whoops! You overlevelled yourself by too much. This was seemingly the case for a number of people in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and now the game's lead designer Michel Nohra has expressed some regret for those who had that experience.
When a game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 rocks up, rakes in a bunch of success and critical acclaim, alongside the top game of the year prize at Geoffie's Lil Night of Ads, there will be certain expectations of what's next. It's always what's next! Because there has to be more. But whatever more ends up being for developer Sandfall Interactive, the team is trying to make sure they don't just bow down to what people want from them.
With over five million units sold and multiple awards already, all eyes are on Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to conquer The Game Awards next week. For that reason – and perhaps because the year is winding down – Microsoft has declared it the “biggest new third-party game launch on Xbox Game Pass of 2025.”
That milestone factors “the number of unique users in the first 30 days of its availability.” While it didn’t share any figures, the developer confirmed 3.3 million sales in the first 33 days of release. Keep in mind that this was with The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered launching smackdab at the same time (and becoming a huge success in its own right).
On Xbox Wire, creative director Guillaume Broche said, “This year has been so far beyond what any of us could have imagined, and it’s down to how passionate and supportive our fans have been to make that a reality. It’s really nerve-wracking to be a new studio releasing our first game, but the support of everyone has really made everything feel like a dream.”
ID@Xbox director Guy Richards added, “From the start, Sandfall’s ambition was clear, and we really felt they wanted to create something truly special, something beyond expectations for the team. Once we played early builds, we experienced their gripping story, stunning visuals and the mix of JRPG mechanics with French cultural themes that felt fresh and distinctive. It’s the kind of experience we knew Xbox players would love to discover.”
Broche also credited Xbox for their support, “From being there to announce our game back in Summer 2024, to coming to the studio for the Developer_Direct video in January, Xbox helped us get the word out there and reach a lot of players.” Game Pass also allows a “lot of people try our game when maybe they might not have before. The turn-based RPG genre has a lot of fans, but sometimes it might put people who prefer more real-time action games off but Game Pass lowered that barrier of entry.
“They could just try it and see how it feels. So a lot of curious players could start the game, explore Lumière and the early game, and realize there’s a lot to enjoy here, even if they weren’t expecting it at first.”
Say what you will about Xbox and its many flaws, but Broche isn’t wrong. The first trailer stole the show at the Xbox Games Showcase last year and has only garnered more hype ever since. Sandfall Interactive is currently working on a major free update that adds a new environment, enemies and challenging late-game bosses. There will also be more unlockable outfits for each character and some “surprises” to look forward to.
