Summary
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 strikes the right balance between humor and seriousness, enhancing its characters and world.
- The game's humor grows out of character and context, avoiding forced jokes common in JRPGs.
- The humor in the game reinforces character development and relationships, adding authenticity to the story.
Humor is a delicate thing in video games, so finding the right balance often proves to be a challenge. In many cases, it depends on the context whether that humor goes too far, but when it does, it's no less difficult to ignore, as forced laughs quickly become involuntary eye rolls. However, when it's done well, it can add just the right amount of spice to a game's tone, and even contribute to the development of its characters and world in the process. Sandfall Interactive's debut RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an example of humor done right, as it manages to walk that line that is so often crossed.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't necessarily one of those games where most players might find themselves laughing to the point of tears, but it also knows how to push just the right amount of comedy to ensure players are left with a warm smile on their face at regular intervals throughout its story. This characteristic puts it in contrast to many of the JRPGs it's based on, which often go over the top with their humor, that it's not just unfunny — it's even a bit annoying at times. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, on the other hand, knows when to be funny and when to be serious, when to joke and when to shut up.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Pacing Is a Masterclass in Earning Player Loyalty
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 builds trust with players through smart pacing, rewarding curiosity with fresh twists when comfort starts to settle in.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Knows How to Joke Without Breaking Character
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Trades Cheap Laughs for Humor That Grows Out of Character and Context
Humor in any genre can be tough to balance, but that's especially true of the JRPGs Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was inspired by. JRPG humor generally frequently relies on puns, slapstick, and exaggerated expressions, which can land well in some cases. The main issue is how wildly that humor swings between serious themes and over-the-top, zany comedy. This is largely where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 succeeds, as it knows how to balance the darkness of its world and its heightened emotional stakes with warm, fitting humor that grows out of character and context.
Most of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's character interactions take place at camp, although players can still experience these as they explore the world.
On that note, Clair Obscur does an excellent job of using humor to further character development and even strengthen bonds between characters. While there are some silly characters in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, like Esquie and the Gestrals, most of the game's humor emerges organically from interactions between those characters, as they attempt to find light and life in the midst of impending doom and what seems to be a hopeless mission. In fact, the dark, sunless horizon ahead of Gustave and his companions in Clair Obscur helps any humor that comes out of these interactions feel authentic and earned rather than forced.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Walks the Line Between Absurd and Authentic
To be fair, there is a decent amount of absurdity in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, particularly when it comes to the Gestrals. A great example of this is the game's Gestral Beach challenges — one of which awards players a hilarious-looking swimsuit for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Monoco. The Gestrals themselves are also rather absurd in nature, portrayed as unintelligent, forgetful beings who love to fight and trade. However, these moments of absurdity are few and far between, as the setting gives permission for weirdness, but the game still grounds everything in its internal rules and tone.
Clair Obscur does an excellent job of using humor to further character development and even strengthen bonds between characters.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 finds humor in places where many games lose it. Rather than using jokes just for the sake of being funny, it lets humor reinforce the characters and the world they live in. That restraint is part of what makes the game's tone so effective, especially when compared to the over-the-top antics common in many JRPGs. The result is a game that feels more sincere and ultimately more human. It's not afraid to be silly, but it never lets that silliness overshadow its story and world.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
