One More Go

34, soon to be 33. Painted in the sky, across the sea from the beautiful port town of Lumière is the number 34. A warning to all who near that age, that it’s their turn to face the Gommage, an annual annihilation event that casts a shadow over the town and our characters.

There is tension in Lumière between those who accept their lot, no matter how short their lives will be, and the expeditioners, those who want to stop the Paintress and the Gommage for good. Should they fail, then the goal is to uncover as much as possible for “Those that come after”, for the next expedition.

We follow a small group who make up a part of Expedition 33, with focus falling mainly on Gustave and his adoptive sister Maelle. Expedition 33 brilliantly showcases the emotion and strife amongst its human cast, characters are voiced and animated beautifully. Animations which carry over into spectacular battles and boss encounters.

Combat is dynamic, adding extreme risk/reward quick time events to a turn based structure. It’s possible to complete each encounter without taking a hit, and if you’re able to time it just right you can reflect enormous damage back at enemies. It leads to a tense lethality that is in check with the games tone and atmosphere.

Juxtaposed are the Gestrals, characters seemingly created to add some levity to an otherwise dour affair. I understand trying to prevent everything from feeling one note, but all of the non-human characters feel much more one-dimensional than the core cast, and are a real weakness in the storytelling. Pacing and enthusiasm killed by their presence.

Much has been made of what Sandfall were able to create with such a limited budget, but I wonder if this is just one example of that budget being stretched too thinly. Other examples include the stages which are as disparate as Mario biomes, a poorly utilized camp system, superfluous relationship tracking between characters, and a world map that, while beautiful, doesn’t have too much contained within it.

For a game so decorated in plaudits and critical acclaim, and despite being such a shiny and expensive looking game, I was surprised by how unpolished it is. I wonder if what we’re really celebrating is how unique Expedition 33 feels when you stack it against the other shiny and expensive games that all feel exactly the same.

That is has been created by a group of former Ubisoft developers only highlights the lack of ambition among those AAA publishers. Its success will hopefully inspire investment in similar games that wear the imprint of its creators proudly.

Expedition 33 is beautiful, it’s sharp, its characters are dripping in style, its intriguing story is told with cinematic flair, and it has an all timer of a soundtrack. But what is most winning about Expedition 33 is that it feels unique, and true to Sandfalls vision. Distinct in a way that only they could make it.