Clair Obscur Expedition 33 update makes the stylish JRPG play even more smoothly

A new Clair Obscur Expedition 33 update is yet another reason to play more of Sandfall's Game of the Year frontrunner. The stylish, story-driven French JRPG has won hearts and minds this year, blending a sincere, heart-wrenching story with the perfect level of silliness, all the flash and style of Persona, and some of the most satisfying combat since Fromsoftware's Sekiro. Now, Clair Obscur Expedition 33 patch 1.4.0 introduces one of the most-requested additions, along with more quality-of life upgrades and fixes.

There are countless reasons to love Clair Obscur Expedition 33, but its majestic battles might be the best part. Using its slick parry system and an intricate web of character skills that can weave together for devastating combos, it allows you to survive against the odds in long, drawn-out fights, or to obliterate even the mightiest bosses in a couple of hits. The game's high-lethality nature does mean that you'll often find yourself getting absolutely flattened, so it's good to see that the new patch introduces a quick-retry option that would be welcome in any of our best JRPGs.

Now, if you die, there's a new pop-up that lets you immediately retry the current battle, rather than being bounced back out to the overworld. New audio options also allow you to set the exploration and combat volume independently, although I've personally got no intention of bringing down any of Lorien Testard's bangers.

Sandfall has improved the Pictos menu, which now more clearly displays the Lumina cost of each ability so you can plan out your Clair Obscur Expedition 33 builds more easily. It's also introduced new icons to Lune's Stains to make them easier to tell apart - while this is ostensibly an accessibility tool for colorblind players, I've certainly had to double-check them on many occasions, so I'm pleased about this.

A few unintended, yet very powerful, tricks that have also been nerfed. Lune's Thermal Transfer skill no longer grants an extra turn when you don't meet the Stain consumption requirements, and characters will no longer become immortal when using Second Chance Pictos in combination with Healing Boon and Protecting Death. There are a few other smaller fixes for issues such as gameplay modifiers being mistakenly applied to New Game saves, and instances of Esquie landing without the party spawning correctly.

Finally, there are a few more general improvements, which might be harder to pick out specifically but should just make your overall experience better. Compatible GPUs will now support frame generation and low latency mode for both Nvidia DLSS and Intel XeSS, giving you the option if you're on one of the best graphics cards. Sandfall has also implemented "environmental bugfixes, tweaks, and visual polish across multiple levels for a more immersive experience."

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 patch 1.4.0 is out now. You can read through the full patch notes courtesy of Sandfall Interactive, where you'll find a few other notes about fixed achievement pops, and the removal of troublesome, view-blocking fog on Steam Deck.

Still trying to overcome Simon? Take a look through our guide to the best Clair Obscur Expedition 33 attributes for all characters. If you've already wrapped up your time in Lumière and are looking for something new, here are the best single-player games in 2025.

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