Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 News

Once a year, the Paintress awakens and paints her cursed number on the monolith.

And everyone of that age turns to smoke, fading into nothing.

With each passing year, the number falls. More are erased. Soon, she will wake and paint “33.” And we will embark on our final mission—to destroy the Paintress and end her cycle of death, forever.

We are Expedition 33.

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Gustave (voiced by Charlie Cox, Daredevil: Born Again) is a resourceful engineer. Growing up under the Paintress’ shadow in Lumière, he has devoted his life to safeguarding the city. With his final year ticking away, Gustave is ready to risk it all—fighting to defeat the Paintress and reclaim a future for Lumière's children.



Maelle (voiced by Jennifer English, Baldurs Gate 3) is a shy loner, eager to fly. Orphaned as a child, she has always felt like an outsider in Lumière. Her only connection is with Gustave, her foster brother. Now, at 16—the youngest of the Expedition—Maelle sees this as her chance to escape Lumière and explore the world beyond.

“She’s the epitome of a dream character for me - captivating, intricately layered, exquisitely written.” - Jennifer English on Maelle

Lune (voiced by Kirsty Rider, Sandman) is a brilliant scholar and mage. The daughter of renowned researchers, she has sacrificed everything to continue their work. Her one goal is to unravel the mystery of the Paintress. She cannot, and will not, allow the Expedition to fail.

“Lune has a real drive to her, and she’s clear about her purpose, which was instilled by her parents from a young age. She’s got this power that radiates from her, but she has vulnerabilities too. I also like her witty put downs, and how she knows how to put the men in their place.” - Kirsty Rider on Lune

Sciel (voiced by Shala Nyx, The Old Guard) is a calm, cheerful warrior. Once a farmer and now a teacher, Sciel embraces every day with joy, masking the pain of a tragic past. She accepts the cruelty of their world, yet her smile hides unspoken scars. While failure doesn't faze her, she remains fiercely committed to the Expedition's success.

“I was particularly drawn to Sciel’s wisdom, sense of play, wonder and gratitude, her ability to have this light and playful side despite her deeply melancholic past. I really appreciated her resourceful and philosophical nature, how she remains open to new ways of thinking and how she can use that tool of creativity to help herself and others around her.” - Shala Nyx on Sciel

Renoir (voiced by Andy Serkis, The Lord of the Rings, Black Panther) is a man driven by ruthless determination. His sole focus is saving his family, but beneath that fierce exterior lies deep, agonizing loss. Renoir knows that victory demands sacrifice—and he’s ready to pay any price.



Verso (voiced by Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI) is a mysterious, dangerous stranger. His motives are unclear, but he’s tracking the Expedition’s every move.

“The moral ambiguity of Verso was so immediately enticing. He’s such a darkly mysterious character. As an actor, it was so appealing to be able to explore his subtle yet simmering dramatic inner life with the amount of freedom that the Sandfall team gave me.” - Ben Starr on Verso

We aren’t done unveiling characters to you yet - Rich Keeble voices a (in his own words) “Loyal, eloquent, terrifying” character that you will meet in good time… 😊. Devora Wilde and Tracy Wiles (also Baldur's Gate 3 alumni) also voice some fantastic characters – so stay tuned!


We’re a small team from Montpellier, and to be able to work with such talent has been an indescribable honor. We’ve lived and breathed these characters for the past few years, so it was surreal to witness them be brought to life by our incredible voice cast.

To have the response that we’ve had on this game so far feels like a dream to us.

Join Gustave, Maelle, Sciel, Lune, and the rest of the Expedition as they embark on a desperate quest to end the Paintress’ reign of death. Follow the trail of past Expeditions and discover their fates. Enter a fantasy world inspired by Belle Époque France, where surreal enemies and breathtaking landscapes await you.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 comes to Steam in Spring 2025.


~ The Expedition 33 Team

Discover more and wishlist: http://www.expedition33.com/

Follow us on X: https://x.com/expedition33

Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@expedition33game

Learn from the ones who came before, and lay the trail for the ones who come after.

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See you then.

~ Expedition 33

Once a year, the Paintress awakens and marks her cursed number upon a monolith. Everyone of that age turns to smoke and fades away, erased for eternity. With each passing year, the number ticks down, and a brave group sets out to stop her.

Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics, centered around the eponymous Expedition as they strive to prevent The Paintress from ever painting again. This preview offers a glimpse into an early area of the game, shortly after the Expedition sets out, focusing on a region known as Flying Waters. Here, Gustave and Lune are searching for Maelle, another member of the Expedition, and must navigate the area to uncover clues to her whereabouts.

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We've infused Expedition 33 with rich environmental storytelling. Throughout the game, you’ll encounter numerous destroyed structures, worn paths, and remnants of the Expeditions that came before. For example in Flying Waters, Expedition 68 met their end, and by exploring the setting you can see how they met their demise.

You can switch the party leader at any time when you traverse the world of Expedition 33, letting them lead the Expedition as you explore the world and overcome the challenges ahead. Whether you prefer to lead with your favorite character or the one best suited for the upcoming battle, the choice is yours. You can also customize their appearance, with unique outfits and hairstyles discoverable across the world. These customized looks have no effect on your character’s skills or abilities, so you are free to use whatever fits your style the best.



You can interact with the environment using climbing hooks, ledges left by previous Expeditions, or the Grapple in your kit to ascend great heights. Exploration is heavily rewarded throughout the game, and you’ll come across environmental puzzles called Paint Cages that can aid your journey, along with items called Pictos that teach you new abilities. Pictos work similarly to accessories or gear in traditional RPGs, and bestow stat bonuses to the character who has them equipped. They also have unique passive skills associated with them, called Lumina. Having a Picto equipped allows the character to learn the associated Lumina permanently, and you can equip a wide range of them to diversify your builds, and customize your party to suit a preferred playstyle.

[h3]Combat[/h3]

Our battle system is what we call Reactive Turn Based, where you’ll need to input commands when you attack, but also remain reactive whilst enemies attack to effectively defend your party from damage. Players take turns attacking or defending, with the turn order displayed on the left side of the screen. While basic attacks deal low damage, skills often involve a timed reactive command to maximize their effectiveness and add additional bonuses. Skills cost Action Points (AP) to use, and the cost varies between skills. Though you gain one AP per turn, you can customize your build to get AP from other sources - such as successful parries. Some multi-hit skills may allow you to chain an attack combo, unless you fail your inputs. Some may even backfire and cause damage to you if you fail your input, so careful timing and practice will be key to maximizing your effectiveness in battle.



Similarly, when an enemy attacks, you'll need to time your inputs to minimize damage. The timing windows for these inputs vary—dodging has a larger window, allowing you to evade the attack entirely, while parrying has a tighter window that negates damage and can trigger a powerful counter attack if you successfully parry the entire enemy combo.



[h3]Bosses[/h3]

Bosses may also have unique mechanics or additional challenges to overcome. For example, Goblu is surrounded by flowers in the encounter, which can bestow it with powerful buffs and advantages that can quickly overwhelm the party. In this case, you can make use of the free-aim system to fire at these flowers and close their buds, limiting their effectiveness and ensuring the Expedition has the upper-hand against these powerful adversaries. Finding and exploiting these unique mechanics can be integral to boss battles.



We hope you've enjoyed this early look at the game, and we're looking forward to sharing more with you soon. We're a young, ambitious team, eager to pay homage to our favorite games in the genre while crafting something unique and entirely our own.

See you soon, Expeditioners!

~ The Expedition 33 Team

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launches in 2025.

Follow us on X for more updates.