Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Will Have Steam Deck Support After Launch - GDC 2025

If you haven't yet, follow us on X (Twitter), Mastodon, or Bluesky to know when we post new articles, and join our Reddit or Subscribe to us on YouTube to check out our content and interact with our awesome community. Thank you for supporting us!

For all of the games releasing next month, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is at the top of my list. I am a sucker for large-scale RPGs, and I felt Clair Obscur is doing something special that I haven't seen much. While I was at GDC, I had a chance to try the game out and talk to the team at the Xbox event there. Of course, I had to ask about Steam Deck compatibility, and I feel quite optimistic about the release.

In my short time with the game, I was completely captivated. Almost every aspect of the game hooked me somehow, and I just wanted to keep playing. The story was already quite intriguing to me, but seeing it played out hooked me in more. Every year, this figure called The Paintress paints a new number in the sky, counting downwards, and everyone who is the same age as the number she paints is erased from existence. Now, an expedition is put together to stop The Paintress so she can never paint death again.

The story starts off with a bang after the expedition is seemingly wiped out, and it goes right into the tutorial. It did a great job of hooking me on and getting my expectations set for what's to come. And from there, it brought me in thanks to its excellent gameplay mechanics and amazing soundtrack.

Clair Obscur is turn-based, but it takes a more interactive approach during combat. This comes in multiple different forms, including pressing a button at the right time to do more damage, dodging or parrying when the enemy attacks, and free-form aiming with your ranged weapon. I do enjoy traditional turn-based combat, but the interactivity adds a new layer of excitement to each fight. I can't say I am good at dodging or parrying enemy attacks, but I love that added engagement to keep me invested in the fights.

It all works wonderfully with the pumping soundtrack and gorgeous visuals, which kept me hooked in. I love how cinematic the game is, and the jumping camera angles that pushed into slow motion territory just made it feel even more dramatic. This is one of my most anticipated games this year, and for a good reason.

While I was at the event, I had a chance to talk to Sandfall Interactive's producer Francois Meurisse and of course, I had to ask about Steam Deck compatibility. While we did see some gameplay of an early demo running on the Steam Deck decently, the game may not have compatibility at launch. Francois mentioned that while it was something they care about and want to get working, it may not be fully there when the game launches. However, the team does want to make sure the game is running on the Deck at some point, so if it isn't in at launch, it will be happening afterwards.

After talking about it with Francois, I left the conversation more confident about it being playable on the Deck at some point. Clair Obscur looks like the perfect RPG to take on the go, so I can't wait to try it out for myself once it releases.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can be pre-purchased on Steam for $44.99 ahead of its release on April 24th.

If you enjoyed this article, check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that will help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got you covered!