Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has already exceeded expectations as a debut RPG from Sandfall Interactive. It’s got lovable characters, memorable enemies, and a dynamic combat system. The story is also incredibly propulsive. In this dark fantasy, an evil godlike being called the Paintress disappears the citizens of Lumiére once they reach a certain age. You play as the members of Expedition 33, a group who hopes to kill the Paintress before she can cull more people. But there is one quality that puts Clair Obscur among the greats: it’s these strange little dudes named Gestrals. I love them.
You meet your first Gestral, Noco, near the beginning of the expedition that the main characters are on. It looks like one of those poseable sculptures that models the human body for sketching, but with a paintbrush tip on its head. It speaks in a Minion-esque mix of languages with some recognizable English words peppered in, most of which are related to wanting to fight you. Noco is delightfully tiny, too, magnifying the ridiculousness of its attempts to challenge you.
I would have loved this critter no matter what, but it’s especially absurd in a story that’s otherwise so dark. At the outset of the game, the main character, Gustave, watches his lover die; then, most of his expedition team gets decimated on a beach. He briefly considers committing suicide before another squadmate, Lune, discovers him. Upon realizing his entire squad isn’t dead after all, Gustave is reluctantly convinced to continue. You meet Noco not long after and the tone shift towards goofiness is immediate and jarring. Within the next few hours, you’re heading to the Gestral village — with Noco’s blessing — to find a way to cross the sea and advance your cause.
On the way to the village you fight Gestrals in enormous, mech-like Sakepatate suits. And why do they keep fighting you, even though Noco sent you there? Well, that’s because Gestrals want to fight everyone all the time, including each other, before forgetting everything two seconds later like goldfish. Some of them do it because they want to mug you, others just do it just because they can. Gestral merchants will give you secret inventory if you beat them in a battle. There’s also an arena where older Gestrals can still fight people. No idea how these dudes survive out here, other than some obscure dialogue which suggests they get “reborn” periodically.
The ones who aren’t trying to fight you are doing extremely random, impulsive shit. There’s a group of child Gestrals watching an adult play guitar pensively while another says, “Let’s dance,” begins break dancing, and then keeps dancing while you stand there. I found this section of the game is best enjoyed while dressing your character in either the “Sakepatate” outfit or the “Baguette” outfit. Just a pro tip. It really takes the edge off the whole “losing everyone you love who’s age 34 and older” situation.
Do I have to eventually leave the Gestrals’ town? I don’t want to. Little dudes are essential to a good open-world game. It’s even better when they live in a town where they can partake in their bizarre rituals together. What would Zelda games be without Koroks, or the foggy forest they live in together? There’s Nier: Automata’s friendly robots who live in a community, led by Pascal, defying the idea that all robots are evil. And Elden Ring’s poor Albinaurics who live to be rune-farmed around Mohgywn’s Palace. Gestrals are one for the books — and I hope to see them again even after I leave their village. I must.
