One of the most highly praised game releases of 2025 has been Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from Sandfall Interactive. It not only blends together beautiful visuals with emotional and impactful storytelling, but takes traditional gameplay mechanics from Japanese role-playing games and modernizes them in clever ways. And because of that, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the best games to come out within the year. But some people also view the game as the release that revived the JRPG as a whole, despite multiple games in the genre being released not that long before.
The truth is that JRPGs were not in a bad place before the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Saying that the game was the reason that JRPGs are returning to relevance would be wildly inaccurate. But that doesn't mean the release of the game hasn't done some good for the genre as a whole. Here's why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 didn't revive the JRPG genre, but is carrying it forward.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
Echoes of inspiration
Seeing the classics in it
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
As a whole, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a very original with its dark story and fantastical world. The island of Lumière and the surrounding locations that you visit in the game look great and are filled with a lot of intriguing aspects to the plot. But many of the game's parts are heavily inspired by classic Japanese role-playing games that the developers grew up with, including many iconic series like Final Fantasy and Persona that shaped the genre. The team at Sandfall Interactive was inspired to make a game that looked great and presented JRPG gameplay that modern audiences could enjoy, which they also felt was neglected by many larger studios.
Even in the small details of the game's environments and character models, one can see a lot of similarities to some of the RPG franchises the team pulled from. Traversing the larger world outside of key locations looks very similar to games like Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy VI, while battles look and feel as if they can stand alongside the battles that take place in games like Persona 3. It never feels like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 outright copies what those classics had done, but instead takes the right combination of aspects from those games and uniquely adopts them into the world that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 tries to create. And the result is a very beautiful spectacle.
Trials of the journey
The challenges to face-off with
clair-obscur-expedition-33-gustave-maelle.jpg 
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
clair-obscur-expedition-33-gustave-maelle.jpg 
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
Credit: Sandfall Interactive
One important aspect of classic Japanese role-playing games from the 80s and 90s was how difficult they were. Most JRPGs require an element of grinding for experience points through battles in order to overcome big roadblocks that players encounter, which are usually hard boss battles or key story moments. Recent games, like Metaphor: ReFantazio, have a similar approach with combat and character growth. This type of difficulty is presented in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is much the same, but also through the way battles take place in it. Instead of just turn-based combat, there is a small bit of real-time interaction where players can dodge or parry incoming attacks.
Certain battles require this to be done with strict timing frequently, which can reward players with big counterattacks against foes that drain their health bar. But failure to do so can have the inverse effect, and leave the entire party at the mercy of enemies. It's a unique way of challenging players in every battle they encounter, and pushing them to take risks while learning the rhythm of incoming attacks. The more that a player masters parrying attacks, the stronger they can be against bigger foes and stand a better chance at overcoming them.
But it's all easier said than done, and comes with time as someone gets into more battles and understands how to counter what is thrown at them. Combining this with traditional JRPG leveling through experience, and the result is a layered JRPG battle system that feels refreshingly fun. Not everything in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is brand-new to the genre, but its execution of everything is very well done.
A great story to tell
Keeping the real focus of the genre
More than anything else that makes up a good JRPG is a great story to follow. Despite all the inspirations that the game pulls from, the plot of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is interesting enough to keep people invested in playing it. The characters you meet have their own likable traits and curious backstories, all of which develop and evolve as the plot of the game unfolds. With more than a few shocking moments, we grow to care about these characters enough that we want to see them fall into a better place by the time the conclusion of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 arrives.
Other releases in the genre over the past few years have created their own worlds and cast of characters for players to follow, in ways that made them feel unique and interesting in their own ways. Like the greats of the JRPG genre, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 keeps string players along with a good mystery. It's a central part of the greater conflict, which is carefully unveiled as the story goes on. Some of the best games in franchises, like Final Fantasy, do a similar thing that keeps pulling players through its many hours of gameplay. It's a combination of great story aspects that enthralls us as players, and manages to keep everyone playing it for a very long time.
Carrying on the torch, not reigniting it
There will be a lot of discussion about how good Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is compared to other games that were released in 2025. But it's undeniable that the game is a fine example of how great the JRPG genre can be. However, the genre has been going strong for quite some time, and it wasn't revived by the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The truth is that there have been a number of solid JRPGs to have come out in the past few years, which have kept the genre relevant to everyone. But Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues to keep everyone talking about JRPGs in a big way, and continues to carry on the torch that was lit many years ago by the JRPG classics that inspired it.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
