Today’s Xbox Games Showcase was bursting at the seams with global premieres, but while plenty of the titles that finally got to see the light of day were already on the cards (or leaked), we did get a brand new title nobody was expecting: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The new RPG, helmed by French developer Sandfall Interactive, has all the single-player fantasy trappings you could hope for and it’s coming in 2025 to Xbox, PC and PlayStation for once.
The nearly three-minute long Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reveal trailer dropped during the Xbox Games Showcase explores a world where a being known as the Paintress “repaints” the world every year. As she does so, she paints a new number that looms over civilisation and counts down with each new stroke – but anyone that age turns to dust and disappears, Thanos click style. Desperate to stop the destruction of waves of humanity, a yearly expedition sets out to stop the Paintress’ deadly art from happening again, and it would appear all the previous missions have been none too successful. You can view the full trailer below:
You’re part of the next expedition – expedition 33, to be exact – in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, ready to set out and try to finally put a stop to the Paintress on what seems to be a pretty doomed mission. Gustave and Maelle are part of this new group as they make their journey across a fantastical continent to try and put an end to the yearly suffering. Based on the website (and the sick as hell trailer), the game leans pretty hard into a unique blend of fantasy and French Belle Epoque style aesthetics, with what appears to be a warped Eiffel Tower appearing in the trailer’s opening moments.
The first Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 trailer gave us a good look at the combat and world exploration, and much to my delight – it’s turn-based combat with real time elements to really change things up. It’s pretty clearly JPRG-inspired (the devs even say so), with that Persona-style interface and snappy fights with showstopping abilities. Colour us keen as fuck. You’ll be able to level up six characters and customise their gear, skills and “character synergies” for a unique combat experience to suit your playstyle.
Sandfall Interactive’s debut title, published by Kepler Interactive, is set to launch in 2025 on Xbox Seires X|S and will be available from day one on Xbox Game Pass. While today’s trailer focused on the Xbox release, the website seems to suggest we’ll be getting a PC launch for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 via Steam as well as a PlayStation release. It’s a good day for JPRG-style and fantasy fans today, that’s for sure.
Today’s Xbox Games Showcase has now wrapped up, but not before dropping a metric tonne of new trailers, release date announcements, and global premieres, including Doom: The Dark Ages, Perfect Dark, and the newest Gears of War. You can check out all the trailers shown during the livestream here.
Image: Sandfall Interactive
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