5 Best Video Games Like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

One in every of the best video games of 2025 was “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33,” developed by French studio Sandfall Interactive. Amongst the best RPGs outside of “Final Fantasy,” the sport depends on turn-based fight because it weaves an engrossing epic story with memorable characters. The story is ready in a fantasy imaginative and prescient of France’s Belle Époque as a bunch of adventurers got down to save their neighborhood from a mysterious villain often known as the artist. With a dazzlingly authentic world dropped at life by sharp writing and fascinating gameplay, “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” reminds players what’s attainable with turn-based RPGs.

In fact, “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” has worn its influences on its sleeve and there are many related turn-based RPGs price giving a attempt. From the video games that impressed the 2025 title to releases which have gameplay programs that resemble “Clair Obscur,” we have rounded up our favorites. Many of those video games are cornerstones within the business relating to stellar turn-based RPGs. These are the 5 finest video video games like “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” that followers ought to try subsequent.

Nintendo and Sq. fashioned a good partnership in the course of the Tremendous Nintendo period, with acclaimed titles like “Chrono Set off” and “Secret of Mana” coming to the console. One sport throughout this era that feels notably just like “Clair Obscur” is “Tremendous Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars,” initially launched in 1996. The sport has Mario be a part of a brand new group of mates, together with Geno and Mallow, as they battle the villainous Smithy Gang that is invading the Mushroom Kingdom. Fight unfolds from a turn-based system, however real-time components are included to make strategies more practical when enter correctly.

Whereas “Tremendous Mario RPG” is probably the most playful sport on this record in regard to its tonal qualities, its gameplay mechanics positively function a precursor for “Clair Obscur.” However the sport is a daring reinvention of what a “Tremendous Mario” title could be, additional proving that Nintendo’s flagship character was greater than a platforming protagonist. Nintendo launched a remake of “Super Mario RPG,” reimagining the classic for the Swap in 2023, properly staying devoted to the SNES supply materials. Whereas the Nintendo sport and “Clair Obscur” might not share that a lot at first look, that fight system and its surprisingly deep world connects the 2 titles.

Practically 30 years after its preliminary launch, “The Legend of Dragoon” is among the many forgotten PS1 exclusives. A medieval fantasy RPG for a console with a sport library stuffed with them, the 1999 title follows the protagonist Dart looking for the determine who murdered his dad and mom. Dart is joined by a number of playable allies within the marketing campaign who acquire the power to quickly rework into magical beings by what’s known as a Dragoon Spirit. The sport’s fight system is its most unusual facet, revolving round turn-based inputs however in a fast time occasion sequence to string collectively combos.

It is this fight system and the overall aesthetics round “The Legend of Dragoon” that reminds us of “Clair Obscur” after we play it. That is augmented by the sport’s transformation mechanic, permitting entry to totally different and extra highly effective strategies for every character. Via a outstanding use of its richly rendered in-game cinematics, the sport additionally locations a robust emphasis on its narrative, including to the stakes. Whereas overshadowed by titles like “Remaining Fantasy” and “Chrono Cross” on the PS1, “The Legend of Dragoon” positively deserves extra recognition.

Of all of the “Remaining Fantasy” video games that align with “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33,” the closest the fan-favorite franchise will get is “Remaining Fantasy X.” A title from 2001 that changed gaming forever, the story has an athlete named Tidus who’s transported to the world of Spira. Teaming up with a bunch of adventurers, together with the highly effective summoner Yuna, Tidus units out to cease the villainous Sin from destroying the world. The sport’s fight system returns to extra conventional turn-based gameplay slightly than the Energetic Time Battle mechanics in prior entries, which included real-time components.

Simply trying on the broader narrative, “Remaining Fantasy X” and “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” each have an identical setup and stakes, albeit executed in very alternative ways. However the in depth celebration system in “Remaining Fantasy X” additionally evokes “Clair Obscur,” permitting gamers to freely swap out members in fight. “Remaining Fantasy” has since largely moved away from turn-based fight, however “Remaining Fantasy X” nonetheless maintains its enjoyable issue 25 years later. One in every of the best “Final Fantasy” games of all time, “Remaining Fantasy X” redefined the franchise for the twenty first century.

The “Persona” RPG sequence has been a staple for 30 years and feels greater than ever, particularly in regard to worldwide audiences as a substitute of solely its native Japan. One of the best within the franchise up to now is “Persona 5,” initially launched in 2016 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Since then, the sport acquired an enhanced remaster, rebranded as “Persona 5 Royal” in 2019 whereas considerably increasing its availability on different platforms. The sport’s story has its protagonist, Joker, switch to a brand new highschool and faucet into his powers to tackle shadowy supernatural threats.

“Persona 5” is an bold mix of RPG fight, dungeon-crawling exploration, and social simulator components throughout the context of its highschool setting. Someway, all of those disparate components come collectively fantastically, with its dungeon-crawling planning complementing its fight system particularly nicely. Like “Clair Obscur,” the sport additionally has a hanging menu structure that retains gamers engaged with the motion, by no means overstaying its welcome. Completely accessible when you’ve by no means performed one other sport within the sequence, “Persona 5” is a contemporary RPG masterpiece.

Whereas the “Yakuza” sequence was initially constructed round real-time third-person beat’em-up gameplay, the franchise pivoted in a giant means with “Yakuza: Like a Dragon.” The 2020 sport introduces new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga but in addition pivots to turn-based fight as a substitute of the sequence’ typical real-time brawling. The sport additionally shifts its setting to Yokohama as Kasuga tries to make a reputation for himself on the earth of organized crime in Japan. Kasuga can recruit events of as much as 4 characters to take part in these battles, mixing hard-hitting motion with the sequence’ penchant for wacky humor.

The shift to turn-based gameplay that “Yakuza: Like a Dragon” took may’ve turned out disastrously in lesser palms, however the sport provides the entire sequence a recent vitality that elevates it because it solidifies its place within the present console technology. The sport additionally incorporates fast time mechanics that assist improve the fight, conserving gamers engaged each defensively and offensively, like “Clair Obscur” and its personal fight timing. “Yakuza: Like a Dragon” offers a boldly new course for the long-running sequence.