Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is roughly two weeks away from launch on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, but I’m chomping at the bit to play it. Thus far, the art direction, the music, the combat – everything about this turn-based RPG has me hyped. With everything we know and have seen from previews, trailers, and whatnot, here are 15 things I can’t wait to do in the game.
Hunting for Secrets
There’s an interesting dichotomy in play with Clair Obscur’s environments. Though many previews note their linearity, they also highlight the different rewards, optional encounters, and more to be discovered off the beaten path. With Sandfall Interactive not providing a mini-map, there’s only one thing to do: Sweep every nook and cranny of these environments to uncover everything. And with how gorgeous they look, it doesn’t feel like a task at all.
Mastering the Art of Parrying
With Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice serving as an inspiration, I’m keen to see how the parrying works out. Not just because timing-based defense is fun (see: Paper Mario) or because the counters look extremely hyped. There’s also the thrill of facing a new enemy and learning their moveset, initially stumbling but quickly dominating once you’ve got the timing down.
Playing on Higher Difficulties
Learning enemy patterns and mastering the art of parrying becomes all the more enticing because Clair Obscur has a higher difficulty (Hard Mode). The parry and dodge windows seemingly become smaller but they’re much more essential to survival. How punishing will it be? Will enemies have newer attacks to compensate? If you’re in for that kind of challenge, it’s enticing to think about.
Exploring the Overworld
Speaking of gorgeous, there’s the overworld. While you traverse the “levels” from a third-person perspective, they’re all tied together via the overworld map. It’s standard RPG fare, but the presentation is something to behold. “Diorama” is the word used, and it really conveys an almost light-hearted yet adventurous scale, especially given the relative size of the characters to the environment.
Sea and Air Travel
While exploring on foot is interesting enough and opens up several unique avenues, it’s the other modes of traversal that excite me. Various trailers have teased crossing water bodies and flying through the air. These are seemingly tied to Esquie, which the official site notes is “able to soar through the heavens and dive deep beneath the sea”. He’s also noted as “lazy” and “born at the dawn of time.” How his story unfolds is something to look forward to, but the added exploration certainly doesn’t hurt.
Wandering Into Higher-Level Areas
Even without air and sea travel, you have a significant amount of freedom to explore the overworld of Clair Obscur. That also means wandering into dangerous areas, which are higher-level. You’ll get a warning, but if I want to run in and test my admittedly subpar skills, nothing is stopping me.
Fighting Optional Bosses
One such location is Abbest Cave, and I’ve spotted some content creators going head-to-head with what seems to be its optional boss – the Chromatic Abbest. Its attack patterns look easy enough to discern, but they involve tons of parrying/dodging, and one hit deals massive amounts of damage. I’m hoping this is only the tip of the iceberg and that there are numerous other optional bosses to fight (and reap rewards from).
Embarking on Side Quests
Interestingly, Sandfall Interactive hasn’t spoken too much about the side content in Clair Obscur. It takes 30 hours or so to finish the main story but the side content is seemingly the same amount, which means 60 hours for everything. Exploring levels, finding useful items, venturing into higher-level areas and challenging optional bosses are a few things, but what about any potential side quests? Whatever the case, I’m hoping they veer into truly bizarre directions befitting the setting.
Building Bonds
Various previews have confirmed that you can set up camp on the overworld, which allows for the usual – adjusting character stats, unlocking new skills, and even playing music on a gramophone. However, I’m interested in speaking to different party members and learning more about them. What is Lune’s deal? What kind of dark past does Sciel have? I don’t know if these mysteries will unfold through campfire chats, but the interactions thus far look enticing.
Learning More About the Gestrals
Aside from the expedition and whatever hostile creatures roam the land, you’ll also run into the Gestrals. They’re described as “a group of friendly beings who enjoy the thrill of battle and view competition as a form of meditation,” per the official website, and one of them, Monoco, even joins the party because, to quote, “the prospect of combat” entices him. If the rest of the Gestrals are as charismatic (and bloodthirsty), I’m interested to see what role they play.
Fight the Merchant
As another example – Noco, a Gestral merchant encountered during your travels. You can buy items like Chroma Catalysts and Colour of Lumina, which is straightforward enough. However, you can also fight him. Why? Besides the fact that it unlocks another item for purchase, well, why not? How many other merchants could you take on in combat, and what benefits could they offer?
Experimenting With Pictos
As you progress through Clair Obscur, there are different weapons and Pictos to equip. The latter is interesting because it provides passive benefits like increased Free Aim damage, a chance to Burn on Free Aim shots, and applying Defenceless for one turn with your Base Attack. However, there’s also something called Luminas, which you have limited points for, which seemingly lets you apply a Pictos effect without equipping it in a slot. This is all based on preview footage so we need more details on how this works, but it could open up a lot of potential builds.
Making Broken Builds
To further that point, one of the most important things is the range of skills and how they’ll synergize with different builds. I want to make some truly broken set-ups for each character, and given how characters like Maelle can have 200 percent increased damage ready on demand, there must be ways to tap into that and potentially break the game.
Replaying the Story in French
If replaying the game on a higher difficulty to test your parrying timing and skills isn’t enough, there’s another reason – the French cast. Alongside an incredible assortment of English talent, Clair Obscur also features many famous French actors voicing its characters. On top of adding a more authentic flavor to the experience, it’s always endearing to see how the performances differ. Who knows? The French dub may even be superior in several ways.
Solving the Mystery of Renoir
Last but not least, I want to know about Renoir, played by Andy Serkis. How has he grown so old, especially in a world where humans at a specific age are slowly dying out? Without getting into spoilers, why does he become involved with the expedition? The official website says he’s “relentlessly driven and myopic in his quest to save his family,” but that “His grit masks deep pain, desperation, and fear of loss.” Interpret that as you’d like but he’s ready to sacrifice for the sake of victory, whatever the price may be. Here’s hoping the core mystery behind him is as compelling as Serkis’s performance will doubtless be.
