It would be inaccurate to say Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 snuck up on all of us. We were enamored with its setup, art direction, and gameplay from its reveal trailer, but we’ve all been on this hype train before. For a game to live up to its initial excitement is rare, but Clair Obscur managed to do it with confidence. It’s the kind of game that, despite having multiple epilogues, leaves you wanting more. And if that is the case, here are some games you should check out if you just couldn’t get enough of Gustave and friends’ adventures.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
If You Liked The Story
Clair Obscur begins with a compelling premise where everyone in the world knows the exact age at which they will die, and that number is getting smaller and smaller. Perhaps a product of a generation of modern game designers growing up with the medium and now hitting a point in their lives where they are thinking about mortality, Expedition 33 is not the first game to grapple with this idea. Like every game on this list, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is very different from Clair Obscur, but it does share a similarity in that its characters are fully aware of their mortality. The cast is made up of genetically engineered soldiers who are born as young adults and only live ten years. The narratives branch in very different directions, but those compelling ideas about what it means to grow old are explored in both games.
Final Fantasy X
To go into why there are similarities between Clair Obscur and Final Fantasy X would potentially spoil late game details of both, but just know that developer Sandfall has cited the tenth Final Fantasy specifically as inspiration for its game. They explore different ideas, but are tonally similar, with both having a melancholy edge.
Super Mario RPG
If You Liked The Gameplay
I personally love an RPG with timed button pressing mechanics. It keeps the combat engaging, and also lets you take on enemies and bosses that are out of your league, as long as you are willing to persevere. Nintendo’s Mario RPGs popularized this style of gameplay, and they hold up surprisingly well. The 2023 remake of Super Mario RPG is an excellent look at where those mechanics arguably began, and 2024’s Switch release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is also excellent.
Sea of Stars
For a nostalgic, but contemporary option, Sea of Stars is another mechanically excellent RPG that keeps you on your toes by rewarding dodging and doing bonus damage with smart, timed button presses.
Persona 5 Royal
Like the Final Fantasy X recommendation above, Persona 5 Royal does not feature timed-button pressing, but it is an excellent turn-based RPG, and is one that developer Sandfall cites as an inspiration. Persona lacks the compelling death countdown and focuses more on merging RPG gameplay with slice-of-teenage-life, but moving through Clair’s combat menus and its overall user-interface design are incredibly reminiscent of Atlas’ beloved RPGs. Both feature mechanics based on evolving relationships with party members that reward you with new moves, too.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
If You Liked The Setting/Art Direction
Clair Obscur is French as hell, and there is arguably no better representation of France in video game form than in Assassin’s Creed Unity. Unity will always bear the reputation of its troubled launch where the game was riddled with issues, but all these years later, the game is reportedly stabilized and lives up to its initial promise. If you loved hanging out in an abstract version of France in Clair, wait until you see the “real” thing in Unity.
Lies of P
And speaking of abstract versions of France, the fictional city of Krat in Lies of P is, similar to Clair, inspired by the Belle Époque period. The two games look similar (in a complimentary way to both), and for bonus points, Clair features some Souls-like mechanics and Lies of P is a Soulslike.
Final Fantasy XVI
If You Liked Ben Starr
In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, actor Ben Starr plays a character named Verso. In Final Fantasy XVI, Starr plays a character named Clive Rosfield. Verso and Clive look kind of similar, share somewhat dour but inviting personalities, and – shockingly – sound kind of similar. I couldn’t help but feel a little bit like I was hanging out with Clive from another universe when I met Verso. You could also check out Khazan: The First Berserker, which is a Soulslike released earlier this year that stars Starr as the main protagonist.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated
If You Liked The Flying Waters Location
Speaking with creativebloq.com prior to the game’s release, Sandfall art director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe cited an unexpected reference when talking about the Flying Waters location. “SpongeBob has the same kind of idea where they’re just walking normally underwater. So I was like, why not try to make a realistic version of that?” The idea was apparently born from the team wanting an underwater level, but wanting to avoid creating a whole new set of underwater and swimming mechanics. So, if you enjoyed being underwater, but not playing an underwater level, we suggest arguably the best SpongeBob video game, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated.
For more on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you can read our review here, get some gameplay tips, learn why it’s a bad game to play with a newborn, and why we liked the beginning so much.
