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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review - A Deeply Satisfying Homage to JRPGs

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The new game 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' offers a rich, stylized RPG experience, paying tribute to classic Japanese role-playing games. Nostalgia hits hard.

Gamers rejoice: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has arrived, and it’s basically Final Fantasy’s artsy French cousin who studied philosophy abroad and came back with a killer sword collection.

This stylized JRPG is dripping in painterly visuals, turn-based swagger, and enough existential angst to make even Cloud Strife say “bro, you okay?” The plot?

Beautifully convoluted, obviously. A world-ending prophecy. A tortured protagonist. Some weird time loop stuff.

Also, masks. Lots of masks.

But it’s not about understanding everything—it’s about feeling very deep emotions while a harp plays in the background and your party member quietly dies of plot development.

Gameplay-wise, Expedition 33 goes full throwback, but with just enough innovation to keep it fresh.

It’s like playing a love letter to 90s JRPGs, only this one is written on parchment and sealed with a wax stamp of pure aesthetic agony.

You’ll cry, you’ll grind for loot, you’ll spend 20 minutes debating whether to equip the +3 dagger or the +2 katana with better vibes.

And the soundtrack? Oh, honey.

It slaps, mourns, and elevates every cutscene to Oscar-bait levels of melodrama.

This isn’t just a game—it’s a mood board come to life.

Latest update?

Critics are swooning, fans are obsessing, and somewhere in a Square Enix boardroom, a jealous executive just sighed, “Why didn’t we make this first?” Sources: IGN – “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 delivers modern JRPG magic” (24 Apr 2025) Polygon – “A hauntingly beautiful homage to the golden age of JRPGs” (24 Apr 2025)

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