Clair Obscur Adds Metaphor-Style Retry Button With Patch 1.4.0

The latest patch for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is live, and while it doesn’t add new content, it does something just as important: it listens. Sandfall Interactive has rolled out patch 1.4.0 with several quality-of-life changes, performance boosts, and accessibility fixes. The main event? A new Retry button for battles—one of the most requested features since launch.

It works like you'd expect. After a defeat, a small pop-up appears asking if you want to retry the fight. It’s a feature pulled straight from Metaphor: ReFantazio, a mechanic fans praised when that RPG dropped in 2024. The retry option means no more long reload screens or menu diving just to take another shot at a tough encounter.

This is a strong follow-up to our previous post, “ Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Might Be Too Perfect to Continue,” where we discussed how tightly polished the game already felt. The new patch doesn’t change that—it just makes the experience smoother.

Patch 1.4.0 also updates the Pictos menu. Now, when you're assigning or reviewing character abilities, the Lumina cost is shown right next to each one. That tiny change makes a difference. No more checking tooltips or wasting points mid-fight because you forgot a number.

There are a few sound-related updates, too. Players can now split the volume between exploration and combat. The volume slider setup isn’t revolutionary, but it’s useful when the game’s music swells too much during fights or dips during downtime. Sandfall also added an autoplay option for dialogue that activates between cutscenes, giving players the chance to experience story pacing more naturally without button-mashing.

Performance-wise, the patch includes support for DLSS and XeSS Frame Generation along with Low Latency Mode. That means smoother gameplay and reduced input lag—assuming you’ve got the hardware to support it. These changes will be welcome on midrange setups and especially for players using handhelds.

Clair Obscur Patch Notes 1.4.0 from the original devs’ post on Steam:

Performance & Visuals

• DLSS & XeSS Enhancements: Added Frame Generation and Low Latency Mode support for both DLSS and XeSS (compatible GPUs only). Enjoy smoother gameplay and lower input lag!

Quality of Life Improvements

• Battle Retry Prompt: A new pop-up window appears after defeat, giving you the option to quickly retry the battle.
• Lumina Cost Display: The Pictos menu now clearly displays the Lumina cost of each ability for better planning.
• Autoplay Dialogue: Added an optional autoplay feature for dialogues outside cutscenes. You can toggle it in the settings and during dialogues.
• Separate Volume Sliders: Audio settings now lets you independently adjust the volume for exploration and combat phases.

Accessibility

• Added icons to Lune’s Stains to improve readability and accessibility for colorblind players.

Combat

• Lune's "Thermal Transfer" skill will no longer grant an extra turn without meeting the Stain consumption requirements
• Characters will no longer gain immortality when using the Second Chance pictos combined with Healing Boon and Protecting Death

Misc:

• Fixed the Rocher holding a crystal occasionally despawning after reentering the Stone Wave Cliffs

• Fixed some players being teleported behind the Monolith upon loading a save
• Fixed Gameplay modifiers being applied to a New Game save when enabled on other saves
• Fixed landing as Esquie without the party spawning, leading to input loss
• Fixed the Fog on Flying Manor covering the screen and blocking the view on Steam Deck

Achievements:

• Fixed journals vanishing after loading a Save File that was created at the exact moment of picking up that journal

The following two trophies should now pop for you when you load your save if you were effected by these bugs:

• Fixed "Expeditioner" and "Trailbreaker" achievements not unlocking if the characters reach a level higher than 33 or 66 after a battle
• Fixed 'Connoisseur' and 'Follow The Trail' achievements not unlocking after collecting all required items on some savefiles

Environmental Polish

• Various environmental bugfixes, tweaks and visual polish across multiple levels for a more immersive experience.

Accessibility got some updates, too. Icons were added to Lune’s Stains, improving clarity for colorblind players. Combat also saw some balancing changes: no more exploiting “Second Chance” to become immortal with the right Pictos. And Lune’s “Thermal Transfer” now behaves as intended, no longer giving out bonus turns without meeting required conditions.

The previous patch, version 1.3.0, addressed core balancing and combat pacing, and it added a quick-cast filter to the Pictos screen. Patch 1.3.0 builds directly on that by making those same systems easier to use and more transparent to the player. These smaller improvements might not draw the same headlines, but they speak to a studio still actively tuning every piece of the game.

There are bug fixes scattered throughout the update. The Rocher enemy no longer disappears after leaving and re-entering Stone Wave Cliffs. Some players had issues with party members not spawning after fast-traveling as Esquie, or with fog blocking visibility on Steam Deck. These are now fixed. A few odd issues, like gameplay modifiers transferring between saves and journals vanishing when picked up during autosaves, were also resolved.

Achievements got some cleanup. If you were stuck missing “Expeditioner” or “Trailbreaker” despite hitting the level milestones, they should now unlock once you load in. Same for “Connoisseur” and “Follow The Trail,” which had bugged out on some save files even after collecting all required items.

Environmental tweaks and polish were applied across multiple levels. Nothing dramatic—just the kind of ambient adjustments that help make the world feel more finished.

This patch isn’t meant to overhaul the game or reset the meta. It’s maintenance work, and smart maintenance at that. By tightening the UI, adjusting sound control, and polishing how death is handled in battle, Sandfall is keeping the focus on pacing and accessibility.

What’s more interesting is what these patches suggest about what comes next. In May, Clair Obscur crossed the 3.3 million sales mark. It’s a hit. But rather than drop a new DLC or expansion, Sandfall has been refining the base game. There's no hint yet of a full sequel, but these updates prove that the team is staying hands-on and reactive to community feedback.

That’s worth noting. In an era of big games rushing to seasonal content and monetized expansion packs, Clair Obscur has been mostly quiet outside these steady patches. Patch 1.3.0 is focused, not flashy. It exists because players asked for it, and Sandfall listened.

There's no roadmap, no teaser, no announcement for more content yet—but if this level of post-launch support continues, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may continue to grow slowly into something even more complete. Until then, retry buttons and fixed fog will have to do.