By now, the community should be used to a game getting a questionable status. However, this usually applies to the games that were Verified, but turned out to be, well, almost impossible to play without some mods (looking at you, Oblivion Remastered!). Well, we have quite a special treat for you today. Even though Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is technically only Playable on the Steam Deck, it actually runs well. Players even deemed their experience quite enjoyable.
What Is Clair Obscur Expedition 33?
If you haven’t heard about Clair Obscur yet, we’re extremely happy to tell you all about it! This game was released on April 24, and it’s already the best-rated game of 2025 on Metacritic. That’s quite an achievement! At the time of writing this article, some haters are even trying to review-bomb it, but with so many stellar reviews, we doubt they’ll make as much as a dent.
This game was developed by Sandfall Interactive and published by Kepler Interactive. It’s a turn-based dark fantasy RPG, set in the Belle Époque. You lead the team of volunteers, Expedition 33. Your goal is to end Paintress, a goddess who causes all the people of the Lumière island above a certain age to perish in a yearly event known as “Gommage”.
How Well Does This Game Run on the Steam Deck?
Much like the rest of the gaming community, Steam Deck users truly like Clair Obscur Expedition 33. One of our favorite Steam Deck content creators, Deck Wizard, showed off how the game looked.
As you can see, it runs quite smoothly. Even when you’re outdoors, and even during fights, it looks well (again, looking at you, Oblivion Remastered). Reportedly, you can get at least a steady 40-45 FPS, which is remarkable.
As for the players’ first impressions, they are mostly positive. The Steam Deck community was quite surprised that the devs put so much work into optimizing the game for their favorite device.
One player, ChosenOne197, noted: “I am enjoying it immensely. Does it need more optimization? Yes. Does the current way it runs detract from the awesomeness of the game? Only very slightly, and this is highly subjective and dependent upon settings tweaking. Again, though, am I glad I bought it? 100%, absolutely, yes”.
We are sure the devs will further improve the experience on the Steam Deck, and we’ve also heard some rumors about a DLC. So, if you are looking for something new to play, this might be a solid choice! If this isn’t your cup of tea, you might find something appealing in the April Humble Choice. Whichever game you choose, we hope you’ll enjoy it.
