# Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

58 Hacker News commenters recommended Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and 10 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its music, art, world-building and addictive parry combat. Main caveat: critics say it shipped AI-generated and placeholder assets.

## Why people recommend it

- Beautiful art and visuals (4 comments): "Clair Obscur has great art (including music) but isn't a greater game underneath it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49587888)) "Clair Obscur is one of the best and most beautiful games I've ever played." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48822188)) "the most beautiful works of art I have ever enjoyed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49322851))
- Outstanding music and soundtrack (3 comments): "Expedition 33 nailed music, aesthetics, and narrative, and I am glad that they took a diffusion model for what it is" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48215893)) "Clair Obscur has great art (including music) but isn't a greater game underneath it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49587888)) "Expedition 33 has my favorite sound track (Or album in general?) of all time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47388864))
- Excellent world-building and story (3 comments): "incredible world building and story, not generated, but created by people with a vision and passion" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46394403)) "a well crafted world like you'd find in From Software titles or Expedition 33" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47260996)) "in terms of story and world building it's exceptional" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46831601))
- Major awards and critical acclaim (3 comments): "won an unprecedented number of awards, including GOTY" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46365210)) "E33 is one of the best reviewed games of the decade" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50184368)) "Which scored as one of the greatest games of 2025" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50170258))

## What people warn about

- AI-generated and placeholder assets (5 comments): "It was a terrible mistake letting placeholder assets get out in the final release" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46343649)) "it was a terrible mistake to release the game in that state" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46343887)) "Whoops! We forgot to disclose that we ripped off thousands of other artists when we made our game." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46348363))
- Standard or uneven story (4 comments): "its story structure is extremely standard, also borrows a lot of worldbuilding from Dark Souls" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46828121)) "structurally extremely standard if you’ve played Dark Souls and more than a couple of 90s JRPGs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46822621)) "Combat is too gimmicky and annoying. The story is tonally all over the place." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49587605))
- Dodge-heavy, gimmicky combat (2 comments): "The necessity of being able to dodge to survive encounters really killed the fun of the gameplay for me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49588062)) "Combat is too gimmicky and annoying. The story is tonally all over the place." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49587605))
- Launch problems and poor performance (3 comments): "Clair Obscur doesn't start. I get into the main menu, and then I can't start it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45796686)) "It's atrocious and my PC isn't even a potato one." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50184445)) "It runs like dogshit on a Steam Deck, though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48823246))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Baldur's Gate 3](https://hackerapproved.com/p/baldur-s-gate-3.md): 71 recommend
- [Ultima VII Revisited](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ultima-vii.md): 24 recommend
- [Disco Elysium](https://hackerapproved.com/p/disco-elysium.md): 23 recommend
- [Chrono Trigger](https://hackerapproved.com/p/chrono-trigger.md): 23 recommend
- [Undertale](https://hackerapproved.com/p/undertale.md): 16 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33", https://hackerapproved.com/p/clair-obscur-expedition-33/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).