Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Almost a century ago, the world was torn apart by the Fracture, the only known survivors eking out an existence on the small island of Lumière. Each year since, in the furthest reaches of the old continent, a mysterious being called The Paintress awakens to etch a number into a monolith, turning everyone of that age to dust – and she's counting down. With only a year until his number's up, inventor Gustave leads an expedition to those distant shores in hopes of stopping the godlike figure – even though none before have returned.
A dark fantasy draped in gorgeous Belle Époque livery, Clair Obscur dives straight in with complex lore, but effortlessly draws players into its haunting world. Death permeates everything, down to a beautiful but often mournful soundtrack, yet the game feels oddly warm, hopeful, welcoming even. That's largely down to its fantastic cast of characters, each finding their own reasons to fight on in the face of seemingly inevitable extinction.
Despite coming from French studio Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur is a love letter to classic Japanese RPGs.
For Gustave (Daredevil's Charlie Cox), it's about overcoming loss, his former lover Sophie having been taken by the Paintress, while for ally Lune (Kirsty Rider), the expedition is a research opportunity, seeking comfort in knowledge. Most interesting are Maelle (Jennifer English), Gustave's 16 year-old ward, joining up young rather than wasting her short life in Lumière, and Verso (Ben Starr) a seemingly immortal figure observing the expedition for his own reasons. For a game so rooted in esoteric strangeness – there's a tribe of angry paintbrush people to meet, and that's not even close to the weirdest part – it's humanistic to its core.
Despite coming from French studio Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur is a love letter to classic Japanese RPGs. The influence of genre titans Final Fantasy and Persona (and even a dash of Dark Souls) is clear but evolved, particularly in combat blending turn-based and real-time systems to magnificent effect. Gone is the rote "I hit, you hit" approach, instead demanding consideration of each character's unique skills to build damage over multiple turns, all while dodging and parrying enemy attacks as they happen. Timing those can be tricky, but it makes even the most rudimentary trading of blows feel spectacular, especially in set piece boss fights that see the entire party ricocheting around as reality itself warps and distends around them.
While elevated mechanics might satisfy alone, it's with powerfully emotional writing and genuinely shocking plot twists that Clair Obscur cements itself as an instant classic, and an immediate contender for one of the best in the genre. A movie adaptation is already in the works, but this is an expedition worth taking right now.