I adore RPGs of all types, but I have a special fondness for JRPGs. They're frequently weird, ambitious and mechanically inventive in a way that is incredibly compelling. Many attempts to capture that feeling can seem rather hollow. That is why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from former Ubisoft developers Sandfall Interactive is such a brilliant delight. It captures everything I adore about games like Metaphor: ReFantazio but has its own distinct take. It never feels like a cheap copy of other games, and it's just a good RPG on its own merits. Sure, there are traces of Final Fantasy and Persona in its lineage, but it is never overshadowed by those traces, and in some places, it even manages to outshine its inspirations.

Clair Obscur starts on the isolated (and incredibly French) island of Lumiere. This isolated island is seemingly the last bastion of humanity in the world, but it's under constant attack. A godlike being known as the Paintress is killing everyone above a certain age. Lumiere sends out expeditions every year of those who are next in line for the Paintress' death sentence, hoping to find and defeat her. It's a combination suicide mission and desperate last stand. Players follow the adventures of Expedition 33, the latest to launch an assault on the Paintress. A terrible assault leaves the expedition in splinters, and players join Gustave, one of the only survivors, as he sets out to find his lost fellows and slay the Paintress.

Clair Obscur's world is weird and bizarre, and I love it. It immediately introduces haunted mansions, brush-headed fae-like creatures, and horrifying monstrosities with glowing holes for faces. The characters are immensely likable. Gustave and his fellows are some of the most fun I've had following an RPG party, and each individual has their own distinctive personality and feel. For a game with a grim concept, it can be frequently laugh-out-loud funny, but it never shies away from serious subjects. It's an incredibly compelling narrative, and I fear spoiling anything for those who are experiencing it for the first time.

One thing I find particularly compelling about Clair Obscur's story is that it is low on front-loaded exposition, so the player gradually discovers elements of the world, characters and backstory without the game holding their hand too much. While this might seem overwhelming, the game's incredible prologue gives you all the information you need to puzzle things out. I can see it potentially frustrating people who just want certain things explained rather than characters dancing around them, but I found it to be a breath of fresh air to have a game that assumed I could put things together from contextual clues.

Most of the game is spent exploring the various painted worlds of the Paintress' domain. These take the form of dungeons that you're free to explore. Most of the dungeons contain branching paths that lead to hidden treasures, and almost all of them have a few interesting secrets. Sometimes you'll have to find hidden locks to unlock a treasure chest or hunt down a fleeing monster, and each area tends to be so distinctive that I was excited for each new zone. There are even side-quests that ask you to go back to previous areas or the game's rare safe zones, and you'll also find records from previous expeditions.

My only real complaint about Clair Obscur's exploration is that the developers chose to not include a minimap for dungeon areas. Most of the areas are linear, but there are enough twists and turns that it can be easy to forget where you've been or where to find something that you need again. I understand the idea of preserving the idea that you're exploring a new land and encouraging you to look at your surroundings, but I don't think the area design in Clair Obscur works well enough for that. A lot of places look very similar, and if you put down the game for a bit, it's easy to lose track when you return. This is a minor complaint, and I can't see it getting in anyone's way.

Clair Obscur features some of the finest RPG combat I've ever encountered. You have three-person parties, and you and the enemies take turns attacking, depending on the character's speed stats. Every character can do a normal attack or use special skills that cost AP. AP is a resource that you gain after performing a regular attack or through certain combinations of skills, so there's a balance between attacking to build up AP and using those skills.

In addition to standard attacks, every character has an aim attack; they can pull out a gun Persona 5 style and shoot enemies at the cost of 1 AP per shot. Shooting enemies isn't always the most effective option, but it has its place. Flying enemies who are difficult to hit can't avoid gunshots, so you can inflict regular damage, and many enemies have weak points on their bodies, either hidden or obvious, that you can target and shoot. For example, if you're facing an enemy who wields a floating mine, you can shoot the mine to deal massive damage. You can also upgrade your characters to gain special effects on shooting, allowing for things like applying debuffs.

The gun system in Clair Obscur is way berter than Persona 5's gun system. Despite looking similar on the surface, it isn't just used for dealing damage. Many fights use the gun system in a compelling way. The ability to manually aim and the fact that the game includes special weaknesses that it doesn't always focus on also makes you feel clever when you spot and shoot one.

Clair Obscur is fantastic about making each character shine in their own distinctive way. Gustave excels in both combat and support options, so he's either able to do powerful combo attacks or buff and enhance his allies. When doing so, he charges up his Robot Arm, which he can use to unleash a powerful attack. Lune, your first mage, is a sorceress whose elemental spells create "stains" that she can use to power up other spells. How you chain together these spells can make or break how effective she is. My favorite is Maelle, a fencer who enters different combat stances depending on her last move. She's encouraged to constantly swap between damage and defense, and she can be your most dangerous physical attacker or a party tank.

Most characters also have multiple build paths. You can upgrade your characters by unlocking skills using skill points, but you can also find and equip special Pictos that grant passive bonuses. A mastered Picto (used in multiple battles in a row) can be used by anyone but costs a special resource to equip, so you need to balance who gets which upgrade. Characters also get different weapons which, in addition to looking cool, come with passive skills that improve as they level up. Lune can get one that makes her ice spells better or her fire spells better, and the player can choose which one to invest in and improve.

Defense is an area where Clair Obscur really shines. It's something more akin to Mario RPG rather than Final Fantasy. Players can perform actions when being attacked to lessen the damage. You can press a dodge button that allows you to avoid attacks, or you can attempt a parry, which has a shorter window but replenishes AP when successful. As the game progresses, you unlock further options, such as the ability to jump over certain attacks or a special parry for special enemy moves. If you manage to successfully parry every attack an enemy does, then your character (or characters) will unleash a devastatingly powerful counter.

Enemy attacks also aren't just one and done. Enemies have different special moves that require different timing. They might attack quickly or slowly or swap between the two. They might do a combo attack where you have to parry multiple times in a row, or they may throw in something you have to jump over in the middle of a regular combo. They may even attack the whole party at once. Players need to be constantly on their toes because enemies hit hard, and a few missed attacks can drain HP bars. It pays to get better at evasion and parrying.

All of this creates an absolutely thrilling combat system. It feels great to consistently nail dodges and parries during tense boss battles. In those rare moments when your entire party parries an attack and you get a popup letting you know "Expedition 33 Counter Attacks" while they all pile on the enemy, it's absolutely one of the most satisfying sensations I can recall in an RPG.

I love the Clair Obscur combat system because it nails what it's trying to do. The only thing that may be a barrier is the game's heavy reliance on twitch-based defensive options. The game is a turn-based title, but it encourages parrying and dodging skills on par with most basic action games, It's probably more timing-reliant than Final Fantasy 16. If you're hoping for something more genuinely turn-based instead of an action-RPG hybrid, this might not work for you. An easier difficulty level is available if players just want to experience the compelling story, though.

Clair Obscur is a masterpiece of strong art design. The graphics look great, but a big part of that is the immense work put into the aesthetic of each area, with the entire game having a vaguely painting-like look that accentuates the surreal beauty of the lands and the grotesque monsters that inhabit them. The soundtrack is unbelievably good, easily marking itself as one of my favorites, with beautiful haunting melodies and pulse-pounding action themes doing their job to set every scene. That is bolstered by the phenomenal voice work, with Daredevil's Charlie Cox voicing Gustave, joined by other all-stars like Jennifer "Shadowheart" English and the always delightful Ben Starr, all of whom turn in excellent performances.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just one of the best RPGs I've played in ages. It's an easy contender for game of the year. It shines in every area, and any complaints I had were nagging at best. Whether it's the compelling story, exciting gameplay, or beautiful soundtrack, no area of the game felt lacking. If you're a fan of RPGs, you really owe it to yourself to give Clair Obscur a shot.

Score: 9.5/10