The curtains have closed. The empty space in your heart begins to grow. It yearns. “Mon ami,” it whispers. “Weeeee.” Look down in your hand. It’s a cafe au lait in a tiny cup. You jerk awake in the middle of the night to find yourself baking a quiche florentine. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, you’ve likely finished Sandfall Interactive’s masterpiece Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
The French-developed JRPG knocked the gaming industry off its feet and right onto its butt this year, earning the highest review scores of the year and a coveted perfect 10/10 score from us here at GameLuster. It’s hard to deny that although it is a perfect meeting of its creator’s favorite games (Persona 5, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Final Fantasy X), there is nothing out there that is exactly like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. As such, I’ve split out these indie recommendations into categories based on what it was that you loved about this game. A hidden gem may await below!
If You Liked the Combat in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur boasts a mix of turn-based and real-time combat, encouraging players to balance the strategy of classic RPGs with the mechanical reflex tests of Action RPGs through rhythm-based parrying. While Nintendo’s Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door comes the closest to this system, the following indie games should scratch the itch with deference.
Sea of Stars
For those in the know, the excellent pixel art JRPG Sea of Stars may be old news. However, it bears repeating that this homage to the classics like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI is a must-play for RPG fans. Similar to Clair Obscur, Sea of Stars features time-based attacks and button presses to increase or block damage during traditional turn-based combat. In our 8/10 Review, Shaz writes “Though its narrative and characters leave a little to be desired, Sea of Stars is an audiovisual masterpiece with endlessly fun gameplay, and an overall sense of adventure that is equally nostalgic as it is timeless.”
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
Discounting the amazing Thousand-Year Door remake from 2023, it’s safe to say that Bug Fables is the best Paper Mario game we’ve had in a decade. This humorous and whimsical JRPG will lead players through an unconventional quest through a vast insect kingdom. Meet friends along the way, grow your party, get new abilities, level up, help the local townspeople… you know the drill. Like Expedition 33, Bug Fables features turn-based combat with timed button presses to power up or block attacks, plus layers of complex builds and items to turn you into a bug-stomping machine. In our glowing review, John writes, “Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is not only a well constructed spiritual successor to a beloved series, but also a fantastically built RPG that is able to stand proudly on its own merits with little to hold it back.”
If You Liked the Classic JRPG Vibes of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Adventures to a dangerous land, strange creatures we know nothing about, moving town to town and meeting friends along the way, magic and power around every corner… and perhaps the game opens up with the protagonist realizing they’re late for a festival?
Chained Echoes
Chained Echoes is about as close as you can possibly get to getting a new “classic JRPG”. While of course built with modern technology in 2022, Chained Echoes springs from an older gaming sensibility, hearkening back to the classics like Chrono Trigger from its design to its structure. Clair Obscur manages to feel simultaneously that it is a modern game and a product of a bygone era, and Chained Echoes does just the same. Enemies are also visible on the world map instead of random encounters, giving you a fuller feeling of immersion when transitioning into and out of battles. While the combat is strictly turn-based, you’ll be treated to an engaging story, three-dimensional characters, and a huge magical world to explore.
Rise of the Third Power
Next, here’s something I’m betting you’ve never heard of! Rise of the Third Power has really flown under the radar, even in the indie RPG space, but has garnered a lot of love from players for its writing, story, and emphasis on strategy. Echoing the political throes of Europe in the 1930s, this adventure explores some darker themes as the world of Rin gears up for its equivalent of World War II. Perhaps a dashing young rogue and his ever-growing band of compatriots are enough to stop this authoritarian empire? Like Clair Obscur, Rise of the Third Power showcases impossibly steep odds, high stakes on a worldwide scale, personal relationships that develop along the road, and turn-based battles that require making a plan and executing it perfectly.
If You Liked the Themes and Narrative of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Grief is perhaps the most universally shared experience, and stories like Clair Obscur that focus on how we deal with the death of a loved one can become powerful motivators for moving on and honoring those who left us too soon in our real lives. For those who come after.
GRIS
Not exactly a hidden gem, indie adventure game GRIS from Spanish developer Nomada Studio won multiple awards, pulled critical acclaim, and attracted the adoration of fans across the world. Through gorgeous platforming and hand-drawn art, discover the source of a young woman’s trauma and guide her through her journey to accept what she cannot change. Fans of Expedition 33‘s hard-hitting story should find exactly what they’re looking for here. In our review, Charlotte writes “GRIS succeeds at creating a mesmerizing, enchanting experience that is sure to pull on your heartstrings. The length of the game is incredibly short and shouldn’t take more than a few hours to complete, but the other great elements of the game more than make up for this.”
Closer the Distance
In Closer the Distance, tragedy strikes a small coastal town in Northeast Canada when, in a freak accident, a young woman named Angela dies. No one is at fault. No one has killed her. She is very simply gone. Closer the Distance is a very narrative-heavy management game where you, as Angela’s ghost, guide your sister, your boyfriend, your best friend, and a stranger who’s rolled into town towards the acceptance of your own death. When playing Clair Obscur, the themes of Closer the Distance were in my mind all the time; sometimes, you lose someone, and even when you finally heal, you are not the same. In our 8/10 review, Nirav writes “If you have recently lost someone close to you, you will either love Closer the Distance dearly, or it may send you to a level of depression I cannot be held responsible for. My eyes are itchy, my chest is heavy, and I don’t feel any better or wiser than I did before I started. So with that warning, and please, please heed it, I recommend Closer the Distance to all who are in need of grieving.”
Closer the Distance is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
If You Liked the Environments and World of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
If you, like me, were enraptured by post-apocalyptic fantasy France, you’re probably itching for more of these solemn yet enchanting vibes. The following games aren’t quite the same, but should provide a dark new world for you to marvel at filled with gorgeous art and strange creatures.
The Last Campfire
You’re likely familiar with Hello Games from their all-timer comeback story as the developers of No Man’s Sky. After the disastrous launch and miraculous road to redemption over the past 6 years, the studio’s sophomore offering was probably what should have been their first game – a small, solemn adventure about little guys in the forest. In this puzzle game, players will traverse a mystical woods to help guide lost souls towards finding their purpose, meeting creatures and characters that only increase the world’s dark whimsy and wonderment. Clair Obscur‘s world features dark, beautiful art, haunting music, and a story about finding purpose; The Last Campfire is a short adventure for those looking for something similar.
The Last Campfire is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, MacOs, and iOS.
Death’s Door
When I sat down to pick out the games to put on this list, Acid Nerve‘s hit Zelda-like adventure Death’s Door was the number one game I wanted to talk about. Gameplay-wise, the only thing it has in common with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is its brutally difficult side content. However, under the surface, the vibes are immaculate in just the same way. A fantasy-land filled with mysterious creatures no one knows much about; dark, somber worlds that encompass a variety of biomes; little forest people that just want to help; haunting music over abandoned places that used to know life. In a write-up of Death’s Door as one of 2021’s best games, Nirav writes “Just an hour into this game… I was absolutely vibing. Coupled with the amazing music, the gorgeous art, the whimsical characters, the Ghibli-inspired monsters – everything came together for me. Those hours I spent crouched over my PC, sweat filtering through the rubberized grip on my controller, eyes wide, thumbs aching – those were some of the best hours of gaming I had this year.”
If You Liked the France in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
I know, hon hon hon. These indie games were made by French developers and take place in a fantastical version of France! Bon appetite.
Along the Edge
Along the Edge is a choice-driven visual novel developed by a three-person French team at Nova-Box Studio, set in a heightened reality-version of rural Eastern France. A young woman named Daphné inherits her grandmother’s old house deep in the countryside and decides to leave her city life behind for a fresh start. She becomes trapped in a web of mystery, folklore, secrets, and lies, and it’s all extremely French, I assure you. Along the Edge has been praised for its writing, character building, and how much your choices as a player shape the narrative. A visual novel is about as far from Expedition 33 as possible, but players looking to get more immersed in French culture straight from the source should look no further.
Along the Edge is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, MacOS, iOS, and Linux.
Dordogne
You’ve seen the darkness of apocalyptic France – how about a game that celebrates the best of the country’s beauty? Developed as a collaboration between French indie game studio Un Je Ne Sais Quoi and French animation studio Umanimation, Dordogne is a cozy adventure game set in the French region of the same name. A young woman returns from her home in the city to her late grandmother’s home in the countryside (wait, did we do this one already?) and through exploration and puzzles across a watercolor world relives her past and rediscovers treasured memories. It’s very slice-of-life, and there’s lots of wonderful little interactions and celebrations of French culture. So much death in all these other games! Maybe a cafe au lait by the stream is in order?
Well, mes amis, I’m all Franced out. As I said before, there’s not really much out there that is exactly like Clair Obscur, especially in the indie space, but I think some of the appetite you’ve built up for the things that make the game so great will be sated with this tasty spread of indie games. Did we miss anything you think should make the list? Let us know in the comments below!
