Readers, I have an inherent flaw in my personality where the more someone tells me to do something, the less likely I am to do it. This was the case for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Well, that and the fact that when I was ready to play it I was elbows deep in homework and didn’t have the time needed to devote to it. Now, I finally got a break and fellow columnist Vincent Mahoney wore me down, so I bought Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for the PlayStation 5.

When Vincent first described there was a sort of rhythm aspect to the combat, that made me concerned as I am not great at those types of games. He talked me off the ledge and convinced me to do my best. It took longer than I care to admit, but I got up to speed on the system. I found the characters interesting, especially Maelle and Gustave with the good chemistry between them. The lore of this world is also fascinating. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 made everyone’s death feel beautiful, dramatic, and most of all inevitable.

While this game was reviewed by our chief editor and written about in the Save State column by Vincent himself, I also wanted to take time to write about it. I often criticize titles as being soulless corporate monstrosities that lack character, or about how they are just another reboot or copy of another game. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feels like a game with soul and was made by artists. Even though I have never met these developers, I feel like they were right there telling me a story.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for the first time in a while has reignited my enjoyment for gaming as a whole. One of the rarest things I have noticed with titles these days, in this old writer’s opinion, is that AAA games lack artistic vision. They feel like they have been worked on by dozens of writers and scrubbed of anything unique. It’s why so many of these AAA games feel like the same experience with new wallpaper. Modern AAA titles just feel like everything is over sanitized and that creative decisions are being made by business types not known for bold creative choices.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feels like it was created by a group of writers who shared a vision, and we are better for it. (There’s potential spoilers ahead, so stop now if you have not played it yet).

The fact that it takes place on a magical canvas was a unique twist to the story. Finding out about how Maelle’s parents were the one’s fighting and also understanding the scale of the conflict was crucial to tying everything together.

The Act II ending helped everything make sense, and it was something that I feel a AAA game would not have done without a dump truck of poorly handled foreshadowing.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will likely be my pick for game of the year. There has been some good titles this year and I am picky about RPGs, but this one just made me want to keep being a game journalist. In all seriousness, this year made me consider retirement as my enjoyment of gaming had diminished, and it all felt the same. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has provided hope, and now we need the industry to do their part.