Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 vs Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Facing a single doomed quest versus reshaping a world—your patience for reactive combat and story rigidity will pick for you.
Updated 24d ago
Reactive dodges and parries turn every random encounter into a fight worth paying attention to — still the best-written RPG of its year, stutter and all.
Better than its 40 player score, weaker than its 80 from critics — the combat nails it, but no companion ever disagrees with you.
By the numbers
Prices checked Sep 11; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Sep 11.
| Measure | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Dragon Age: The Veilguard |
|---|---|---|
| Value Dragon Age: The Veilguard wins on value | ||
| Price now | $34.99 −30% · Fanatical | $20.99 −65% · EA Store |
| All-time low | $30.79 | $17.99 |
| Cost / hour | $1.20/hr $34.99 · 29 h main story | $0.74/hr $20.99 · 28 h main story |
| Off its low | +14% low was Nov 2025 | +17% low was Jun 2026 |
| Main story | 29 h | 28 h |
| Health Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wins on player health | ||
| Steam reviews | 95% 278k reviews | 68% 45k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 92% 2k votes · vs 95% lifetime | 60% 222 votes · vs 68% lifetime · souring |
| Peak players | 9,375 Aug 2026 · ↓ 18% MoM | 1,017 Aug 2026 · ↓ 18% MoM |
| Launch peak | 8% of Apr 2025 launch peak · as of Aug 2026 | — |
| All-time peak | 144,901 May 2025 | 60,656 Nov 2024 · now at 2% |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 3 months ago | 20 months ago |
| Patch cadence | 1 in last 90 days | 0 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Platinum | Gold |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The turn-based combat with reactive dodges and parries keeps 100-hour fans engaged, every encounter feeling fresh.
Performance stutters in certain areas are the common complaint, though rare enough not to break the experience.
from our August 2026 verdict
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Players who stuck with it credit the prime-and-detonate combat and the romances, and several say they enjoyed it far more than they expected to.
Series veterans say the writing lost its moral weight and that Thedas here feels generic next to Origins.
from our July 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 if
- You loved Paper Mario or Undertale’s timing-based combat
- You want a focused story that earns its 29-hour length
- You can accept minor stutters for deeper writing
Pick Dragon Age: The Veilguard if
- You prefer fast action combat over turn-based tactics
- You are new to Dragon Age and skip old save import
- You are content with a polished 40-hour campaign at a discount
Bottom line
Play Clair Obscur if you want a tight, well-written RPG where every battle is a timing test; pick Veilguard if action combat and a lighter narrative commitment matter more.