Clair Obscur: Expedition 33is a bona fide breakout hit of the year. Startup developer Sandfall Interactive’s impressive debut game came somewhat out of left field but made a big splash with fans and critics alike. With its old-school JRPG designs filtered through more modern philosophies and a striking style, notably borrowing a bit of Soulslike elements like parrying, dodging, and countering for its hybrid of turn-based and real-time combat,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33has become one of the most celebrated releases of 2025.
Since its release in April, the title has received a couple of updates and fixes, like the one that altered Maelle’s Stendhal skill to make it a little less overpowered.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s latest patch(which is thought to possibly be its final one) further smooths out a few items and bugs. But one major change it introduces in particular is a blessing for those who have been tackling it on the highest difficulty level or are considering doing so.
Sandfall also previously gave out a bonus version ofClair Obscur’s soundtrackfor free via Steam as a way to thank fans for their support and praise.
There’s Never Been a Better Time to Replay Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on Higher Difficulty Levels
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Patch 1.4.0 Adds an Array of Quality-of-Life Changes, Including Battle Replay
The 1.4.0 patch adds a layer of extra polish to the performance and environmental rendering, making what is already agorgeous-looking gameeven more beautiful and run smoother. A few other changes it includes are:
But perhaps the best and most improved feature that this patch adds is a battle retry prompt. Instead of needing to reload a save from the nearest expedition flag checkpoint, fans can now restart fights instantly upon defeat. This saves time and trouble by letting players immediately attempt combat encounters without disruption, and can be a godsend when facing off against some ofClair Obscur’s most imposing enemies.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Patch 1.4.0 Makes Taking on its Toughest Boss Battles on Higher Difficulties Much Easier
In the tradition of many RPGs,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33contains a couple of well-hiddensecret and optional boss encounters, often presenting a greater challenge than anything found throughout the main campaign. Chiefly among them are two that have garnered notoriety within the fanbase, these being the Clea and Simon fights. Both of these can be true tests of patience, proper planning, and reaction timing in order to weather their range of devastating attacks and ensure victory. The battle replay allows players a convenient way to continue on should they fall in battle, which is likely to happen to even the most experienced expeditioners at some point, especially against these two figures.
For anyone doing aNew Game Plus run inClair Obscuror playing on Expert difficulty, this new retry option is incredibly helpful, at least to eliminate some of the frustrating downtime and speed up attempts at taking down the above and other harder optional bosses, like Serpenphare, which can be a grueling duel of endurance. The battle replay prompt is a most welcome inclusion that lets fans get back into the action quicker, and shows that Sandfall is committed to supportingExpedition 33even as many look excitedly towards what the studio will do next.
