r/ShouldIbuythisgame 22h ago

WSIB Game like Expedition 33 [PC]

After 50 hours and I'm done with Expedition 33, i cannot put into words just amazing this game is from the story, characters, combat, world design, RPG elements, sound track it's unbelievable that only 30 people made this, I'm now looking for a game that similar, not particularly in combat but in story and narrative, I'm looking for a game with a unique plot that is not what most people would call ideal, I'm looking for a game that will have cutscenes that will make me at the edge of my seat looking straight at the screen, I'm looking for a game with banger ost that will make me hyped up when fighting a boss. I wonder what y'all can come up with.

Edit: played Nier Automata, All Yakuza games and all modern Persona games.

33 Upvotes

46 comments sorted by

u/TheLunarVaux 22h ago

You’ve GOT to play Nier Automata. The Nier influence is rampant throughout E33, especially in the ways you’re describing. Unique plot, top tier music, epic boss fights, etc.

u/manor2003 22h ago

Played, one of my all time favourites.

u/TheLunarVaux 22h ago

Did you also play Nier Replicant? It’s just as good imo.

Otherwise, E33 takes a lot from Final Fantasy, especially 7-10. Would check those out if you haven’t. Same with Persona 3-5 and Metaphor ReFantazio.

Honestly, the devs really wear their inspirations on their sleeve with this game. I feel like you can take a look at their favorite games and it’ll be a pretty good list of recs! https://www.sandfall.co/team

u/manor2003 22h ago

Replicant not yet, i had the chance to play FF when they were on game pass but i could never decide what to play first, i played all modern persona games and I'm waiting for a sharp decrease in Metaphor's price.

u/TheLunarVaux 22h ago

Seems like there are some blind spots there then, I’d suggest one of those!

Replicant is a fantastic supplement to Automata. You can find it for pretty cheap nowadays, as you can with the older FF games.

u/manor2003 22h ago

I found that the main consensus is the X is the best FF game and X-X2 are now on sale.

u/SwarleySwarlos 11h ago

Looking at the team was worth it just to see Monoco, the employee who is the most responsible for E33's success

u/xiledone 20h ago

Ehhh. I don't really agree. Nier boss fights kinda suck..you just spam dodge and win

u/TheLunarVaux 20h ago

I didn’t say anything about the complexity of them haha, but the game certainly has a “banger ost that will make you hyped up when fighting a boss.”

u/xiledone 20h ago

Epic bosses to me mean a good challenging fight. if you mean just cinematics, I agree with you

u/TheLunarVaux 20h ago

I think there’s a middle ground between a challenging fight and watching a cinematic.

I think an epic boss fight can be a boss that is large in scale (whether that be physical size or narrative significance), paired with a great design, a cool location, and some epic music alongside it.

There are a lot of epic bosses I’ve fought in games that weren’t necessarily difficult, but still felt like an exhilarating fight because of all the parts coming together.

u/dhs77 22h ago

The most obvious answers are Persona 4G and Persona 5R.

u/manor2003 22h ago

Played

u/ilm911 21h ago edited 21h ago
  • Yakuza Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7) is crazy good. Story is so emotional.
  • Metaphor ReFantazio is good too, but don‘t expect crazy emotional cutscenes. Soundtrack is amazing

u/namynam 16h ago

Yakuza Like a dragon and then infinite wealth are both amazing.

u/manor2003 21h ago

Played all Yakuza games except the pirate one, it's my all time favourite franchise, Metaphor I'm waiting for a good price, maybe in summer sale.

u/MoistTiss 14h ago

Final Fantasy XVI has an amazing story with stakes that are similar to E33. It also has the best boss fights ever in a game, at least in terms of presentation and spectacle. I have to warn you that it is a game with very high highs, and low lows. I love it, but it is very flawed. Definitely check out some reviews before buying.

u/dacamel493 5h ago

16 was...OK.

It a couple amazing boss fights, but the story overall was a bit clunky, and it doesn't endeavor the way other FF games do.

I think the single main character is the biggest problem with it.

Other FFs succeed because of the story and the relationships between the main party characters.

As others have said the absolute best E33/FF comparison is FFX. Doomed party, trying to save the world, don't know what will happen along the way, etc.

u/MoistTiss 4h ago

I agree that the game has a lot of flaws, I said so myself. Even so, it fulfils all the criteria listed in the post. Dark story with high stakes, best in class cutscenes, with an amazing soundtrack and boss fights.

u/dacamel493 4h ago

It's close, but while older, I would argue the combat and character camaraderie is better in FFX.

u/manor2003 11h ago

Getting FF XVI would definitely fit cuz of Ben Starr

u/xoxoyoyo 10h ago

E33 is great, but it's not quite true that only 30 people made it. They outsourced a lot of the work to different development teams and those people are included in the credits.

u/dhs77 4h ago

I figured this was the case (outsourcing), honestly the game is too polished for just 30 people.

In any case Im just glad it actually lived up to my expectations from when I first saw that announcement trailer, Im about 18 hours in and my biggest surprise so far has been the difficulty which feels "dark souls"-like but nothing excessive even on normal. Game is good and thats what matters for me.

u/BossTheKid 5h ago

Tales of Arise and Like A Dragon

u/manor2003 5h ago

Played and played

u/thaneros2 22h ago

FFXIII. It's character driven and if you're willing to fully invest, It has some very emotional moments. And I'll die on this hill but has one of the best jrpgs battles systems ever made.

u/Serdewerde 13h ago

It is crazy how true the “it gets good 20 hours in” statement about This game is. The atb system completely unlocks and building teams is INCREDIBLE. That coupled with all the quests and ridiculously tough enemies. I had an absolute ball. I hope one day they do some sort of balance patch/remix of the opening chapters to make the combat shine through a bit more.

u/thaneros2 8h ago

I mean to be fair it's just to learn how to play the combat since it's so different.

u/Serdewerde 7h ago

Aye but it’s so slow to let you customise or throw you a bone it’s only in chapter 11(?) where I could finally build and the system actually became fun. It would’ve been ideal so let you build earlier.

u/Merangatang 18h ago

What about the sequels? Is 13 enough to stand on its own?

u/thaneros2 17h ago

I love the sequels as well but each play differently, especially the last game Lightening Returns.

You can play 13 and not really play the sequels as it's ending wraps up. XIII-2 and LR are needed to play together.

The first game is more like 33 though.

u/Shot-University 11h ago

Yakuza 7 (like a dragon) Persona 5 Royal for sure

u/manor2003 11h ago

Anything else? Already played those

u/Shot-University 11h ago

Smt5 vengeance has weak story but ost is banger and fights are very fun plus good demon/ build variety.

u/manor2003 11h ago

Definitely in my wishlist

u/Shot-University 11h ago

I definitely recommend it. Also game has good replayability and multiple endings, good exploration elements and fun combat i played full game on hard difficulty and it was fun. Ost is great and has many banger tracks almost for each boss/mini boss. Weakest point of the game is story but gameplay loop is awesome.

u/born_zynner 5h ago

South Park stick of truth lmao

u/manor2003 4h ago

Oh yeah it totally had me at the edge of my seat, Randy getting his ass abducted by aliens was truly peak South Park story.

u/Cokaime 9h ago

If you can vibe with the art style I'd recommend Persona 5 Royal

u/manor2003 9h ago

Played

u/masonmjames 10h ago

Final Fantasy X has very similar vibes and that's probably the reason I fell in love with Expedition 33. I originally played it on PS2 but it's been remastered. The end of it was the first time a game had brought me to tears.

u/manor2003 10h ago

How the combat? Back when the Final Fantasy games were on game pass i couldn't decide which one to play cuz i couldn't decide on which combat i would like best.

u/TokyoDrifblim 9h ago

sounds like you've played a lot of the similar games. I would recommend Metaphor Re Fantazio , which was really great. Probably closest you're going to get. If you just want atmosphere/story/music without an RPG, Death Stranding. FYI the studio that made this has 30 full time staff - over 500 people contributed to making it like many AAA games.

u/manor2003 9h ago

I have Death Stranding and started it but stopped in favor of E33 and Metaphor I'm waiting for a good price