Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

 PC
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 58 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 58
  3. Negative: 0 out of 58
  1. Final Weapon
    Jul 29, 2025
    70
    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a graphically beautiful game, but despite its glowing reputation, it does little to innovate within the RPG genre. The lack of navigation tools makes exploring its world incredibly frustrating, and the story only starts to get interesting near the very end.
  2. PC Gamer
    Apr 23, 2025
    70
    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's gorgeously realized world is let down by its emphasis on combat, marred by a few fatal stumbles.
  3. PCMag
    Apr 23, 2025
    70
    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a beautiful RPG with exciting combat, excellent voice work, and a fantastic score, but design constraints may turn off genre fans seeking a grand adventure.
  5. But Why Tho?
    Apr 23, 2025
    70
    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a competent new JRPG with which genre fans will likely be pleased. However, it does very little to iterate on the foundation laid by those that came before it. Instead, it’s content to offer its flavor of what has worked before.
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In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Apr 23, 2025
    Very occasionally, I'll play an RPG that makes me feel ten again. Rebirth. Cris Tales. Revisiting Suikoden. Years come, the big number ticks down, and comfortable appreciation replaces the spellbound enchantment of being told a story, of being swept off to a new world. Of playing Final Fantasy 8 in that special edition shirt that Ben Starr likes to wear that I wish I'd kept because I bet it's worth a bloody fortune now. You wait for a game to bring you back there, mostly certain you've moved passed the capacity to feel that way because you now have the sort of adult concerns that cause you ask how much a shirt might be worth on Ebay. I can't say if Clair Obscur will work its magic on everyone the same way, but it certainly did for me. I'm still not ready to leave, honestly. What a special and rare thing this is: a story that feels like someone wanted to tell it so badly it hurt. [RPS Bestest Bests]
  2. Vice
    Apr 23, 2025
    But it’s also a story of perseverance. Of pushing forward even when it feels impossible. Of carrying the weight of sorrow without letting it define you. And daring to believe in a future no one has ever seen – simply because someone has to. And that’s what makes Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 so quietly powerful, and such a stroke of brilliance in this medium. [Best in Class]