Since the original game’s release in 2017 and then later in 2020,Persona 5 Royalplayed a massive part in my adolescence and was the one game thatimmersed mein turn-based JRPGs, from modern ones to even appreciating the classics that helped set the foundation.
Similarly, with the boom effect thatClair Obscur: Expedition 33has had on the gaming industry as of late, and after personally rolling credits on its Act 3, it really deserves every bit of adoration from the gaming populace and fellow JRPG or turn-based connoisseurs.
10 Best Games Like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Just as story-rich and with hyperactive combat. Well, to some extent.
But today, I’ve taken the liberty of presenting and discussing something here,comparing my countless hours of experience fromPersona 5 Royalagainst my immense fondness forClair Obscurto see which game excels the most across various categories.
And don’t worry, as much as I rave aboutClair Obscurto my friends and everywhere online, there won’t be any recency bias here, especially when I’ve got a worryingly high playtime for P5 andits spin-offs/base games. So join me to see which of these twobeloved turn-based RPGstakes home the spoils of this conflict.
Story spoilers for Persona 5 Royal and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are discussed below—read at your discretion.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
As much asPersona 5and its setting inhabit a relatable vibe for newer-gen audiences, if we’re talking about a better-written story with impeccable world-building, the clear winner isClair Obscur, mainly due to its mature and melancholic layers in the writing and a narrative that focuses on progressive grief and escapism.
While I’d argue thatPersona 5 Royalspecifically includes that brand-new semester with new characters, since this category is mainly targeted towards the overall story bits, you can’t deny howClair Obscurinstantly pulls you in with its initial hard-hitting moments in the prologue, brilliantly setting the stage for the quest to destroy the Paintress.
Moreover,although both games reach a particular stage where they have such a strong moral ambiguity with the climax,I just couldn’t pass up that final bit of choosing the game’s penultimate ending in Act 3 because the stakes were much higher due to the emotional sentiment I felt towards Renoir’s family, Verso and the whole world in the Canvas.
This is where I’d say it might get down to personal preference and technical terms,but be that as it may, let’s try to briefly and constructively break it down a bit.Persona 5 Royal’sart style is one of the most unique visual identities for a JRPG—snazzy, rebellious,and almost straight out of a comic bookwith its UI and creative HUD design.
Most importantly, its visual design helps make it stand out among a saturated genre ofanime-style video games. But hey, if you don’t like that, it’s totally understandable. This is precisely why you can opt forClair Obscur Expedition 33—a more profound and realistic visual style, which excellently hammers down the feeling of inhabiting a painting.
Although I’d personally award this category to the latter,mainly because of how awe-inspiring each level was, reminding me of my child-like fascination for fantasy-inspired worlds seen in games like Gravity Rush, you can’t underminePersona 5 Royal’sslick and graphic-novel art style. So, both games stand on equal footing in the visual department here.
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The combat system of a turn-based RPG is one of the most essential things for me in the game, one that I consider to be the primary ingredient to hook me into the game, and I can confidently say thatClair Obscur: Expedition 33managed to do so in an unexpected manner.
It’s a combat system that further introduces new layers on top of the existing parry/dodge mechanics. It provides unique playstyles for each party member with the Picto system to enhance gameplay properties and possibly break the entire game with a nuke attack from a teenage girl.
This isn’t a case of me trying to downplayPersona 5’s One More combat or the creative possibilities that it possesses; both games have a distinctive strategy and complexity, with both of them allowing you to throw that out the window once you reach their respective endgames.
I’ll give props to P5’s fluid combat pacing, the weakness targeting and baton pass mechanics, and the hours of Persona building and min-maxing, but the victor here is Expedition 33 since I’m an absolute try-hard sucker for a turn-basedcombat that’s fueled by Sekiro’s parryingand offers a complex fighting style.
6Characters
Persona 5 Royal
I had to debate about this for a good while with my friends over on Discord, but let’s be real here for a moment; I unapologetically loved almost every character inClair Obscur, whether it was Sciel sharing her emotionally shocking backstory revelations or Verso and Esquie bonding over feeling Whee or Whoo.
But as much as I did love the entire Expedition 33 crew,it sort of rubbed me the wrong way how the game chose to focus more on the Dessendre family’s grief and turmoil post Act 2,almost shifting gears completely and abandoning the people of Lumiere and characters like Lune or Sciel not having a say for the final confrontation.
I understand that characters like Renoir, Maelle, and even Verso’s inscrutable nature offer an interesting depth to the story, but ultimately, in the grand scheme of things, P5R handles its characters better,especially when you factor in the Social Link systemthat develops party members and other NPCs in Joker’s journey.
Both RPGs have equally great moments where the main characters bond together, and neither feels short-handed.But dare I say, the characters inPersona 5get more of a chance to be expressive and have better-written dynamics together that can hook audiences,so forgive me for handing this one to Atlus.
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Charge, Johanna!
5Level Design
Not to be confused with its visual details, the level design category is meant to signify just how much of an intriguing layer the core level design philosophy brings to the table—and c’mon, we both know thatPersona 5 Royalis a landslide win with its main story dungeons, or Palaces to be exact.
Each Palace has a varied gimmick, presentation, and puzzle design. From the stealth bank heist at Kaneshiro’s Palace to unraveling the twisted corners of Futaba’s Pyramid to deciphering those dreaded color combination doors in Maruki’s Palace, almost every single one makes the entire game valid for level design appreciation.
AlthoughClair Obscur: Expedition 33doesn’t particularly share the same design philosophy as what the madmen at Atlus' P-Studio have achieved,their game is one of the major inspirations for Guillaume Broche’s team at Sandfall Interactive to create Expedition 33,and they’ve designed a multi-layered approach to its worlds.
They’re nothing special or something to be too amazed about, but the team has implemented an exquisite artistic flair to each world and level. However, that’s still not much, sincePersona 5 Royalretakes the win fashionably, thanks to those awe-inspiring Palaces and the generally alluring presentation itself.
4Soundtrack
My ears feasting on the magnificence of Shoji Meguro’s jazzy soundtrack composition and Lyn Inaizumi’s intense vocals for the first time inPersona 5was a core memory that I’ll never forget. Not only did it make me headbop at every step of my first playthrough,but it also set the bar high for video game music for me.
Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing several games with soundtracks that rival P5’s, from Stellar Blade to Final Fantasy 16. However, it needs to be studied just how well-diverseClair Obscur Expedition 33’ssoundtrack is from start to finish. Sometimes, it is melodic; on other occasions, it is infused with electric guitars.
Throughout your journey to stop the Paintress, each level and almost every major boss fight has a unique OST.Thecherry on top is how dynamic the soundtracks are as they switch up accordingly during cutscene transitions and boss fight phase cutaways.
There are almost 150+ tracks, and although some are remixes, it is still a masterful soundtrack composition that stands on equal footing withPersona 5’sacid jazz.Even if you put me at gunpoint here, deciding one winner from this category is an indecisive task, honestly, so to give both games and their soundtracks their flowers, we’ll call this one a tie.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: 10 Hardest Bosses, Ranked
The Continent is full of painted baddies that will knock you back.
3Progression & Playtime
I’m not opposed to the idea that every RPG needs to be bloated to the brim with content and stuff to do, but in this case,the Progression and Playtime category is mainly focused on what game delivers a start and finish at a coherent pace with the most minimal playtime.
Persona 5 Royal(like other Persona games) isa JRPG that focuses on a linear approachthat feels welcoming to anyone from a casual perspective. Still, even then, P5R’s total playtime and progression can make you burn out in the grand scheme of things, especially when you reach points like Futaba’s Palace, where I’ve seen plenty of people quit/take a break.
Compared toClair Obscur, this game takes a semi-open-world approach, with different levels and dungeons on the main continent map.The key difference is how much freedom the game provides;the game’s three main acts are relatively short, especially when half the side content is accessible in Act 2 onwards.
As mentioned previously, the prologue is a fantastic way to hook you in with its mysterious and intriguing narrative, plus the entire first act with Gustave sets the stage for the events to follow in Acts 2 and 3. And the total playtime for the curtain call is almost half of what Persona 5 Royal requires for its true ending, so this is an easy win for Sandfall Interactive’s crown jewel.
2End/Post-Game Content
The post-game content in a JRPG, or any role-playing game for that matter, is truly where the meatiness of the game is buried. As someone who religiously adores that aspect, especially in games like Kingdom Hearts 2 or Dragon Quest XI, I just had to establish this category. Oh, and I apologize in advance if the winner was an obvious pick.
Persona 5 Royaldoesn’t have an extensive post-game content catalog at its helm, since the base game mainly featured a showdown against the Twins/Lavenza. With the inclusion of Royal, you get a brand-new boss fight against Jose and the newly introduced Challenge Battles, some of which even let you fight Persona 3 and 4’s protagonists via DLCs.
On the other hand, Clair Obscur has an entirededicated post-gamewith powerful chromatic versions of Nevrons, the Endless Tower and its various challenge battles and tons of other secret boss battles found in the Dark Shores and previously inaccessible locations, and yeah, in case you don’t know, they’re absolutely brutal.
you may leisurely do them whenever you’re done grinding your characters and outfitting them with the best possible gear, Pictos and builds,but yeah, this entire post-game section is fantastic and the most unexpected surprises from this game for me, so it’s a no-brainer thatClair Obscurtakes the dub here.
Let it be known that both these games are incredibly endearing to me in their own way. Whether I was bidding farewell to the Phantom Thieves after their bittersweet bout against Maruki or having to put down Maelle’s blissful wishes as Verso, there was never a moment that felt too dull in eitherPersona 5 RoyalorClair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Of course, it’s important to remember that both games are vastly different in retrospect, and you may prefer one over the other and vice versa, depending on your taste, and that’s fine. But the bottom line is that they’re both turn-based titles that are crafted with the utmost care and packed with richness at every layer.
Persona 5 Royalwill inevitably come up in the discussion of the best turn-based JRPGs forever, but simultaneously,Clair Obscurhas reached the summit as well to remind everyone that the turn-based formula is a mainstay aspect and that this kind of game celebrates the developers' creativity and passion, which most AAA games lack these days.
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