Among the many sequels, expected reveals and re-debuts that made their presence known during the latest Xbox Games Showcase, a new RPG from French studio Sandfall Interactive caught the attention of many. It’s called Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and it looks stunning.
Promising to evolve turn-based combat by mixing in real-time action, the story revolves around the Paintress and her strange, death-inducing powers. Once a year she wakes to paint her monolith with a new number, slowly ticking down to zero as each calendar ends. With every number, anyone of that same age fades from existence, never to be seen again. Now a team of heroes take it upon themselves to stop her once and for all, with only a year left to live.
As debuts go, it’s a stunner of a trailer. A painterly dark art style that mimics Persona 5’s stylish use of UI elements, mixed with reactive combat, dodges and counters in real-time. It’s early days yet, but there’s something special about this one already. Its tone may be dark and brutal, but there’s some colourful magic at play here, especially as an RPG from outside Japan.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC in 2025. Are you keen? Did you notice Clive, aka Ben Starr is the main voice actor? Let us know in the comments below and on our socials what you think.
Known on the internet as Kartanym, Mark has been in and out of the gaming scene since what feels like forever, growing up on Nintendo and evolving through the advent of PC first person shooters, PlayStation and virtual reality. He'll try anything at least once and considers himself the one true king of Tetris by politely ignoring the world records.
