I wondered why everyone seems so secret Clearly dark: expedition 33. It is the debut game by Sandfall Interactive, an independent French studio with fewer than 30 employees, and it has attracted massive partnerships in video games and film in the past five years. Expedition 33 Has a top -class FactorIncluding Andy Serkis, Charlie Cox, Shala Nyx and Jennifer English. It received one Epic megagrant in 2022It was picked up by Pacific Drive Editor Kepler Interactive in 2023, and that was it A tent pole From Xbox’s first showcase from 2025. Although the game was only published in April, the story Kitchen has already registered to make it in one Live action film.
At least it seemed to be an easy game to fall in love.
Played after a little more than three hours Expedition 33I understand everything – the hype, the quick love and the quiet excitement caused by writing, acting, the world and the mechanics of the game. Expedition 33 is innovative and absolutely breathtaking.
Expedition 33 Feels like a prestige drama that plays in a surreal, slightly Gothic 3D landscape. Tonal it is soaked in melodrama and visually reminds you game of ThronesBut with Belle Époque Stylings and mountains of diabolical magic. The realm of Lumière was consumed by a powerful being as a painter – she paints a new number every year on the tower and all people of this age die immediately. She has been counting for more than half a century and first killed the oldest citizens and has just painted number 33. The people in Lumière send out annual expeditions to stop pain, but so far they have all been encountered. Expedition 33’s heroes have to live for a year.
If we meet Gustave in the preview, things for expedition 33 are not going well. His party was attacked by a mysterious, white-haired man-who is so old that he shouldn’t exist in this world-and Gustave is alone. Gustave has a magical robot arm and a very French mustache, and he sets off through lush forests and dark, moist caves to track down other survivors. He finds some, but only after he has almost killed himself. Lune, a strong -willed and scientific magician, appears just in time to save Gustave in front of himself, and together with Maelle, Gustaves introverted but powerful nurse sister.
Sandfall interactive
Your party supports six playable characters in full game, but the preview focuses on these three. The prestige-drama mood results from its interactions and in particular on your personality. In a cutscene, Lune and Gustave sit around the campfire in a starry night and scream each other about the ethics of utilitarianism. Gustave screams between Tiraden: “Fuck the mission!”
Finally, their intensity decreases and the conversation returns to a temporary mutual space. At the end of the scene, the shot swings to Lune, who grins and says: “Fuck the mission? Really?”
Gustave replies embarrassed: “Sorry.” And suddenly I am deeply invested in the relationship between Lune and Gustave, but also in Maelle and all the friends you saved. It does not hurt that these cutscenes are really beautiful, with realistic skin textures and dirt in close -ups and beautiful appearances of all actors.
From cutscenes to the fight, Expedition 33 is radiant.
Sandfall interactive
Environments in the preview will travel to the pain teaching that hid over the deep sea and expansive land masses as Gustave, Lune and Maelle. They travel through raw areas that have broken by magic, boulders float in the air and decorated buildings randomly embedded in strange places, broken and inhospitable. Anthropomorphized rock goods roam through the country and there is essentially a chroma currency, and some upgrades that are hidden from the linear path. We don’t talk Confessible Shinies levels, but a minimal feeling of curiosity is definitely rewarded.
When exploring, you can swap under party members without breaking break, and Lune became my clear favorite. Instead of running, Lune Speed
The fantastic feeling of the game only crystallizes in flying waters, a region that looks like and behaves as if it is on the bottom of the ocean – blisters, shipwrecks, whales and everything – but without finding water. They breathe, go, run and jump here like normal, but there are fish schools that swim through the air, and the waterline is visible high above them. It is wonderfully tripy.
I could spend the rest of this preview, just to rave about it Expedition 33‘S fabulous environments, characters and enemies or his first-class writing, music and graphic, but let’s talk about fighting.
Sandfall interactive
Expedition 33 If a round-based game with clear JRPG influences is, however, the traditional combat system adds a turn: quick-term demands. Your party members can use an object, use a certain ability or a simple old attack and have a free target movement in front of a complete strike that can sniff enemy weaknesses. There are elementary weapons to equip and upgrade, and every character runs on a certain combat mechanic. Gustave has a covered system that increases its robot arm for a special step, Lune uses elementary stains to stack specific damage, and Maelle changes between three fence stations. The balancing of healing, buffs, defense movements and attacks is a delicate dance in Expedition 33And the preview really started to sing when I had all three members well equipped, equipped, equipped and lubricated different types of elementary damage.
In contrast to conventional round-based game, real-time entry requests are embedded in your skill attacks and this provides bonus damage and effects. The final fantasy series played with this idea for mixed success, but in Expedition 33 It is a critical, finely coordinated system, and I love the tension it creates. Fast-time elements give the familiar round-based loop with exciting clarity and give the classic press-and-wait rhythm a few additional dopamine hits. Every QTE entry prompt is difficult without punishing, and it is not just offensive movements that receive real-time treatment. Dodging, parabetry and jumping are essential skills in Expedition 33And these mechanics request their attention to every enemy.
In short, no, you cannot define the controller during the fight Expedition 33. And yes, I’m totally here for it.
Sandfall interactive
Perhaps it is because every character makes a dramatic pose when it is your turn, but the fight has a pronounced persona flair (and that’s a great thing in my book). In the meantime, the soundtrack of the game has repeated Nier: automatic And Tetris: effectAnd overall, even boss fights can be an emotional experience.
In order to maintain this preview of 3,000 words, I will not go into the special features of trees and resources, but I will say that I found these systems as targeted and reaction fast. I was satisfied with how often my party was called, there were sufficient properties for every character, and the effects of my statistical manipulation were immediately recognizable in the fight. Be insured Expedition 33 Is an RPG.
However, this is only based on a preview, Expedition 33 Seems incredibly polished. It not only plays seamlessly at the macro level, but also the smallest details, including language -related memories, haptic feedback, which uses when there is a handle within reach, an opaque text box that is both legible and seamlessly integrated into every scene, and the ability to put a rose into Gustad’s hair even in cuts. The entire preview is impressive.
Sandfall interactive
Still, I wonder if Expedition 33 Is to Technically impressive. I played the preview with a stable 1080p/60 on a gaming PC with an RTX 4070 super, and I didn’t hit any problems, but it was beyond my setup on 60 fps at 1440p. This feels like a game that will break many hearts and PC parts. And it’s not just PC – I’m curious to see how Expedition 33 Runs on a console that is not a Playstation 5 Pro.
But that is a consideration for the review time. The last preview for Expedition 33 illuminates why sandfall has received interactive So much attention before the start and support. Expedition 33 consists of beautiful contradictions: it is a JRPG, but it comes from a western studio. It is a fantasy rpg that was built outside the restrictions Dungeons & Dragons Regulate. It is an indie game that looks AAA, sounds and feels. Above all, Expedition 33 is refreshing.
Expedition 33 can be released on April 24 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox series X/S.
This article was originally released on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/clair-obscur-expedition-33-piew-stunning-visualsinovative-combat-prime-melodrama-140052194.html?src=RSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Source link
