Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Was Easily the Best Surprise of the Xbox Games Showcase

The Xbox Showcase during Summer Game Fest showed off a lot of incredible titles. One such title, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was one of the most interesting surprises of them all. Taking place in the French city of Montpellier, players will engage in a third-person open-world story with turn-based gameplay elements. The story also seems incredible, with characters being a part of the 33rd expedition to find and destroy the Paintress before she paints her next cursed number.

Much of the trailer shown during the showcase reminded me of when The Order: 1886 was first announced. Of course, we know about the fate of that game now and believe that no other developer will be making that mistake again. Considering that there’s actual gameplay in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, we can already cross off a dynamic gameplay system on top of how gorgeous it looks.

It almost feels as though we are getting a dynamic, FInal Fantasy X combat paired with more modern turn-based elements. In a lot of ways, it seems as though it’s a French JRPG with various NPCs you’ll meet along the way. It also seems that you’ll have various party characters you’ll employ who each have their own fighting styles. In some points of the trailer, it looks like you’ll be able to play between two of these characters. It doesn’t seem like a male protagonist – female protagonist thing so much as it does that you’ll be playing through two different stories.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is set to release some time in 2025. Between now and then, we hope to see more information about the characters we will be playing as well as who exactly the Paintress is. It looks like we still have a lot to discover before we can even begin diving into it.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be available on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC at some point in 2025.