Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has formally been named Recreation of the 12 months at The Recreation Awards 2025, alongside a number of different wins. If that successful sweep has you leaping in for the primary time (or returning for an additional playthrough), IGN has you coated with guides, explainers, and wikis that can assist you get began on your journey throughout The Continent.
What Is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Ought to You Play It?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG (it is form of like Remaining Fantasy VII… form of) set on the planet of The Continent. It follows a gaggle known as Expedition 33 on a mission to destroy The Paintress, a mysterious determine who wipes out anybody over a sure age in a yearly ceremony known as the “Gommage.”
Alongside extraordinarily distinctive turn-based fight, which emphasizes varied expertise and parries to deal harm to bosses with “tells” and loads of secret weak factors, you and your social gathering discover varied completely different areas, encountering enemies, discovering treasure, and discovering what occurred to different Expeditions that ventured out to beat the Paintress – and failed – earlier than. You can also additionally construct your group to deal ridiculous combo-based harm, one thing that hardcore gamers have come to like about Expedition 33.
In the event you’re an RPG fan however do not have time to sink 100+ hours into them, Expedition 33 could also be excellent for you. In the event you solely deal with the primary story, you’ll be able to count on to roll credit in round 28 hours. With facet quests, this will increase to 45 hours. In the event you’re set on finishing every little thing, it’s going to take roughly 65 hours. And if you wish to beat a bunch of non-obligatory bosses with loopy builds, you are able to do that, too. Oh and we gave Expedition 33 a fantastic rating in our evaluate if you’d like a extra in-depth take!
How Fight Works in Expedition 33
As talked about beforehand, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 options turn-based fight, which signifies that everybody in battle, together with enemies, assaults one after the other, somewhat than everybody directly – assume basic Remaining Fantasy, Persona, or Baldur’s Gate 3.
You do not simply look forward to enemy assaults to hit you, although. Right here, one of many predominant promoting factors is the power to parry, dodge, and leap to keep away from and counter assaults. When an opponent makes use of a transfer, you are capable of press a button that, when timed proper, both dodges, jumps, or parries to keep away from harm utterly or deal harm again to them.
In the case of your individual expertise, these are powered by Pictos and Luminas. Pictos are particular items of kit that you just equip to characters to grant particular advantages and improve stats. Luminas, working hand-in-hand with Pictos, are particular expertise that unlock after you’ve got received a battle with a Picto 4 instances, and may be carried over and used with each member of your social gathering.
Builds are an important a part of fight in Expedition 33, and you may have to pay thoughts to not solely your Pictos and Luminas, however weapons and attributes. Irrespective of the character, we have Construct Guides that can assist you plan, so that you’re at all times suited up in one of the best gear and stats.
If all this sounds complicated or overwhelming to you, head to our Fight Information that explains every little thing you should find out about Expedition 33’s battle system in additional element, together with the extra intricate mechanics we’ve not coated right here. For extra fight and party-adjacent Recreation Assist, try:
Exploration and World Design Defined
After you set off in your journey to defeat the Paintress, you may arrive at The Continent, which is basically an enormous overworld. Not solely is that this the way you journey to new areas throughout the primary story, however there are additionally enemies that roam round, ready to be defeated (or prevented).
As well as, The Continent is house to numerous collectibles to search out, Elective Bosses to take down, and Aspect Quests to finish. In the event you’re a completionist, you’ll be able to spend hours simply on The Continent overworld alone, monitoring down each merchandise, Secret, and Easter Egg potential.
Our Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 interactive map is the proper companion instrument to assist you in exploring The Continent. Not solely does it lay the complete space out that can assist you plan your subsequent transfer, however it additionally tracks important places, corresponding to new areas, facet quests, collectibles, and managers, so that you at all times know the place to go to fulfill your goal.
We now have loads of Recreation Assist out there that can assist you in exploring and gathering every little thing that The Continent has to supply, together with:
The “Thank You” Replace
Launched as a because of the neighborhood, the free Expedition 33 “Thank You” replace was surprise-dropped throughout The Recreation Awards on December 11, 2025. It added new content material, corresponding to Luminas and weapons, bosses, Picture Mode, and a brand new surroundings to discover, plus a handful of enhancements and bug fixes.
We’ll have a full walkthrough of the brand new content material quickly, which we’ll hyperlink right here when out there. For now, you’ll be able to try every little thing that was added on our Replace 1.5.0 Patch Notes web page.
Meg Koepp is a Guides Editor on the IGN Guides group, with a deal with tendencies. When she’s not working, you could find her taking part in an RPG, getting Victory Royales in Fortnite, or cuddling her corgi.
