For context, I don't have a great variety of JRPGs to go off of for this outside of Final Fantasy, Persona, and Pokemon. However this game truly reminds me of the best days of Final Fantasy, where it would grip onto me and never let go. It is clear as day what this game's many inspirations are and it blows the ceiling away with any expectations you could have of it.

Story:
Starting with the story is fitting as this is quite simply what truly makes this game. I am someone who has seen a lot of movies, read a lot of books, and enjoy writing stories. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had me gripped 5 minutes in, would not let me go, and never let me guess what was going to happen next. I was completely blindsided by it's many twists and turns the story took.
The acting of every character was truly incredible, but none stood out more than Ben Starr, Andy Sirkis, and Jennifer English. I wish I could talk more about the story, but I honestly can't do so without spoiling it, so just take me on my word, this story is honestly the best I have seen in a game in a very long time.

Gameplay/Combat:
To put it simply, the combat of this game is crunchy. It is satisfying in so many ways, the ability to dodge and parry along with your normal JRPG build strats is incredibly exhilarating. The way you can explore each area that you find without it being too overwhelming is a welcome sight in today's sensory overload world. The only thing I wish we had would be some kind of map for each of the areas you can explore so that way you aren't getting lost, but that's more of a nitpick than anything.

Music:
154 tracks, 8 hours, 9 minutes long. Every track, every minute is an absolute dessert for your eardrums, all from a guy they found and SoundCloud and a forum. Lorien Testard didn't just make a name for himself with this OST, he set a new standard in going above and beyond. This OST is the best OST I have heard probably since 2013.

Art/Graphical Fidelity:
The art in this game was made with true passion and it's goal in what it captures (cannot expand on without spoiling the story, sorry) isn't just met it is surpassed. I hope the art team for Clair Obscur continues to do what they did here because the amount of creativity and whimsy here is enough to inspire hundreds of games.

Verdict:
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has done things that I never would have expected on the surface level. I bought this game after simply looking at the fact that it was overwhelmingly positive on Steam. I would have never expected it to be one of my favorite games of the 2020s. If you are looking at this game thinking "turn-based aren't my thing," "it looks boring," "I don't like story games," or "not my thing." I honestly don't care, get out of your comfort zone, and play this game, it is an incredible game that you will not regret, I promise you.

10/10