In two of the most captivating turn-based RPGs to release within the past year, Metaphor: ReFantazio and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 know what it means to make strategy count. Both have broadened the impact of how compelling turn-based combat can be, showing a level of care and nuance to their gameplay that makes battles consistently interesting. This could not have been achieved without thinking of how combat ties into their greater gameplay loops, and through the example set by Metaphor and Clair Obscur, players can see just how much agency is put to the forefront. Character and team builds are a feat of creativity through their respective equipment approaches, demonstrating the merits of thinking tactically on and outside the battlefield.

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If the Next Final Fantasy Features Turn-Based Combat, It Should Take Notes from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Final Fantasy has been shying away from turn-based combat systems for a while now, but Clair Obscur shows how the series can reintegrate it.

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How Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Metaphor: ReFantazio's Equipment Turn the Tides on Strategy

Strategy in Builds, Tactics Beyond the Battlefield

Though Clair Obscur does not share in Metaphor's malleable approach to character classes, it manages to evoke the same scale of customization by virtue of its weapons and Pictos. Metaphor's weapons, armour, gear, and accessories operate on a similar wavelength to Clair Obscur's equipment through their emphasis on unique effects; both titles consider not just damage output or defensive capabilities, but how gear can change the course of battle itself. On surface level, Metaphor's gear encourages covering elemental weaknesses or status ailments; past this, is the consideration of all types of strategic elements, from accessories that affect the press-turn system to weaponry that alters an attack's affinity.

Unique Effects that Add Nuance to Combat

Metaphor's equipment approach manages to be multi-faceted because it considers both unique abilities and the typical focus on defense, evasion, and offensive capabilities. Though its weapons are tied to their respective Archetypes, the malleability of accessories encourages strategy across the board; some require tradeoffs, while others allow the player to hone in on specific stats, going all in on agility and evasion-raising gear for a Thief Archetype, as an example. Clair Obscur's Pictos and weapons consider the same nuances of its own gameplay, where weapons are tied to their respective users, but Pictos can be freely equipped, ensuring a level of agency that makes each player's approach unique.

Approaching From a Different Perspective

The beauty of Clair Obscur's weapons and Pictos, like Metaphor, is in how they synergize with one another. Pictos can make builds centered on Base Attacks or even death viable; consider a weapon like Verso's Dualiso, which allows him two turns if he uses a Base Attack. Pair that with the Free Aim system and Pictos that raise his Base Attack to two hits while applying Defenceless to the enemy and Powerful to himself, and the player can easily get his Perfection to almost S rank before the battle has really begun. Pictos like Auto Death are even viable when considering team synergy; having a Pictos that deals damage on death applied to two characters, and one character with several Pictos that buff on fighting solo, and there's a strategy centered around wiping out most of the party on purpose.

The way that Clair Obscur considers status ailments not just as a detriment, but a boon, is exceptional too. Like Metaphor, some of its weapons and Pictos center on ailments, but not only through inflicting or setting resistances; a weapon like Maelle's Stalum purposefully stacks Burn on her to increase the damage she deals, while a Pictos that applies Inverted can increase a character's damage exponentially at the tradeoff of not being able to heal for the first three turns. Neither weapons nor Pictos are ungenerous in what they can offer, and the fact that they are so plentiful throughout the game is proof of the depth in strategy that Clair Obscur offers. Though Metaphor and Clair Obscur take inspiration from the trailblazers of the RPG genre, they have already become inspirations of their own, setting the stage for even more nuance in what turn-based games can offer.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Tag Page Cover Art

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Turn-Based RPG
JRPG
Fantasy
Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 PC-1
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
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Press Image 1
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Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Press Image 1
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL

Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Genre(s)
Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy