Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a game about a world where, every year, a Monolith has a number which ticks down. Every time that number goes down, this triggers the death of everyone who is aged the same as the previous number. This has been happening for a long time now so this city of people have been sending expeditions to the Monolith to try and understand or stop what is happening.
The way the story is told is very Western-styled, but the gameplay is entirely influenced by Japanese RPG's. It uses turn-based combat but it is very unique in that, you still have to actively participate even if it's your opponent's turn. This is done in a very dynamic style so you're never just passively sitting and choosing options like in older Japanese RPG's.
The story and the adventure in the game as the key points as they have a lot of great and unexpected twists and turns. The key question on why people are getting killed each year and how the people can stop this from happening is what drives you to keep on playing. The game has some great characters who are very three-dimensional and well-fleshed out. The graphics and voice acting do a great job of making you sympathize with them and motivate you to keep playing it. If it were a book, it's an absolute page-turner.
And the music of this game --- just wow. It's the most incredible video game soundtrack I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. It's also implemented very dynamically in the in-game battles, so this makes them even more exciting to play. There's some great vocals in many of the musical tracks and a wide, wide range of instruments are used across various genres. It's quite incredible how they meshed all these into a game and it still feels like they really do belong in there, as they really enhance the magical world and make it feel more majestic and surreal. This is one of the best game OST's ever made--- like, EVER. The music and sound design just elevate this game to a real art piece, it all blends together to make an entertainment experience that will really stick with you even after you've finished it.
If you want to experience a great story where being presented as a video game is actually beneficial to that story, Expedition 33 accomplishes that feat to a great degree. It does a great job in having you invested in the world and the characters, and this is why I enjoyed my time in the game so much (which is about 40 hours). Most games today are littered with tasks or quests. Expedition 33 does have side quests but it never pushes you to do them. You can discover them by exploring the world but it never tries to squeeze more gameplay time from you. Just play it and enjoy the adventure. The main quest itself is just very satisfying with the amount of environments and scenarios that you can end up in.
Overall, I think this game is a masterpiece. It's one of the esteemed few which elevates video games as an art form. It accomplishes the rare feat of blending story, gameplay and player engagement to provide a unique experience which you just can't get with books, television or other media. I feel that the game has a lot to say too, with themes about death and how our time is finite, and about what matters and doesn't matter. It even has some deep, profound sub-text which encourages meta-commentary, too. It's just hard to put that in this review because it involves spoilers, though. I have a feeling there will be some things written about the game's major themes in a few months or so, because there really is a lot to think about here, which can reflect on how people spend their time and what truly matters in life. It's just a very, very deep game, once you think about the whole thing and once you get to the end.
I am well, and truly, blown away by this game. 11/10
*** REACTION TO THE GAME'S FINAL MOMENTS BELOW ***
The final decision was tough. On one hand, you could side with Maelle and save the world of the painting. This is what you and your party were doing throughout the game. Siding with Verso would essentially make all that effort all for naught.
On the other hand, you could side with Verso, and help Maelle and her family accept their loss and move on. Disconnect them from the unreality of the canvas world. I saw the suffering of Maelle's mother (The Paintress) and understood why Renoir was doing what he was doing.
Ultimately I sided with choosing reality and destroying the Canvas. It seemed wrong to let Maelle continue living a lie. It was clear that the Canvas is too intoxicating for any mere human to resist. Even her mother succumbed to it, and it's only a matter of time and Maelle would be next to fall to insanity like her mother has. The cycle would never end for their family if you pick Maelle.
It isn't a great decision to make, given that I really cared about the world and the characters. It was heartbreaking to see Sciel and Verso both die as their romance was just blossoming, and to see them realize that they were not real. That was bittersweet. I think a part of me thinks that, since they were drawn on a canvas, they can be drawn again, maybe once Maelle's family recovers from their ordeal. In any case, it didn't make the decision sit with me very well even after I had made it. The game really makes you love these characters, so to have you decide to destroy them, is quite cruel.
It's also why I think the game's story is a masterpiece, and maybe this can only really work as a video game, because to have you, the player, decide their fates, is something you cannot experience as a film or a television show. As invested as you are, it's more gut-wretching when you have to make a painful decision.
Ultimately, I think my decision was the right thing to do. That's why I picked Verso's side.