Latest news with #ClairObscur
Japan Forward
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Forward
Is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a JRPG?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been lighting up the gaming world recently, winning big-time approval from critics and fans alike, despite being the very first game from independent developer Sandfall Interactive. People are calling it the best new JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) in years, a refinement of the template set out by games like Final Fantasy . The twist, of course, being that Clair Obscur is not a Japanese game. Made in France by a team of around 30 developers at Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur is helmed by Director Guillaume Broche and several of his fellow ex-Ubisoft colleagues. The game draws heavy inspiration from classic JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Persona , hidden gems such as Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon , and Japanese action titles like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice . Gustave and Lune begin their quest to slay the Paintress in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The result is a game that blends turn-based combat with action in a gorgeous fantasy world. Yet, while it is every bit as high-concept and fantastical as the games that inspired it, Clair Obscur manages to avoid much of the bloat that has crept into those series over the decades. It delivers an immersive world and a relatable story about a band of young adventurers on a quest for freedom over tyranny, told over a relatively compact 30 to 40 hours. Clair Obscur is set in a dark fantasy world where, for the past 67 years, the inhabitants of the island of Lumière have perished one age group at a time. Each year, they fall victim to a mystical sorceress known as the Paintress, who has been counting down from age 100, reaching 33 this year. Now aged 32 and facing their own demise next year, stoic expeditioner Gustave and his peers undertake a voyage dangereux to destroy the Paintress so that future generations may live. The game was released on April 24, receiving a critic score of 92% on Metacritic and a user score of 9.7, making it one of the most highly acclaimed games of all time. IGN gave it a 9/10 score, writing, "Wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 paints itself into the pantheon of great RPGs with a brilliant combat system and a gripping, harrowing story." Clair Obscur's deep and complex battle system is a hybrid of classic turn-based commands and skill-based action. Our writer at IGN Japan gave it a slightly lower score of 7/10, saying, "While I was hooked by its combat system, the story's sudden plot twist felt forced. Although this was hard to ignore, it is undeniable that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an appealing game that delivers a strong message." IGN France, meanwhile, gave it a perfect 10/10, labelling it "a sumptuous and captivating work of art that never forgets its status as a game, offering rich and exhilarating gameplay." Within 12 days, it had sold two million copies, plus an undisclosed number of additional players on Xbox Games Pass. Michael Douse, the publishing director at Larian Studios, whose own RPG Baldur's Gate 3 was a smash hit in 2023, estimated on his X (Twitter) account that the game will end up selling at least six million copies, and maybe up to ten million – huge numbers for a lower-budget independent game. I hope now word of mouth is in control it can reach its potential. and I say that in support of the developers and their incredible achievement. It has the potential to reach a conservative 6, at least. Could top 8-10. — Very AFK (@Cromwelp) May 6, 2025 For comparison, the most recent Final Fantasy game, 2024's Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth , also scored 92% with critics but 8.9 with users, while the latest mainline game in the series, 2023's Final Fantasy XVI , scored 87% and 8.4. Despite these being excellent and well-made games, sales in the series appear to be in decline. Publisher Square Enix reported that FFXVI sold three million units in its first week, but has been noticeably reticent to announce official numbers for Rebirth , suggesting they are low. This is less than previous games, with 2016's FFXV selling five million copies on its first day, the fastest-selling game in the series to date, eventually reaching at least ten million. Rebirth 's 2020 predecessor, a FFVII remake, sold 3.5 million in three days and finally hit around seven million. The budgets to make each of these games were likely much, much higher than for Clair Obscur . Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, the second in a trilogy of remakes of Square Enix's classic RPG, was met with critical praise but apparently disappointing sales. That's not to pick on Final Fantasy or Square Enix: JRPGs are a niche genre in gaming. An important, storied, and beloved niche – but a niche nonetheless. Which makes Clair Obscur 's crossover success all the more impressive. Sandfall Interactive's game has sparked fresh debate about what the term JRPG really means. After all, if the "J" stands for "Japanese", should it only apply to games made in Japan? Or any game with the characteristics of a JRPG? What even are the characteristics of a JRPG? In fact, the term JRPG has had its controversies over the years. In February 2023, Final Fantasy XVI producer and veteran developer Naoki Yoshida told YouTube channel Skill Up that he found the term offensive. Clair Obscur has won high praise for its painterly art style and moving story. Yoshida commented, "For us as developers, the first time we heard it, it was like a discriminatory term, as though we were being made fun of for creating these games. And so for some developers, the term JRPG can be something that will maybe trigger bad feelings because of what it was in the past. It wasn't a compliment to a lot of developers in Japan. We understand that recently, JRPG has better connotations and it's being used as a positive, but we still remember the time when it was used as a negative." The term was coined at some point in the late 1980s or early 90s, with the first confirmed online usage made on a web forum in 1992, and was used to differentiate between RPG games from Japan and the West. As Yoshida pointed out, it was mostly used by gamers and media outside of Japan. I've personally never considered it a derogatory term, but I can understand how someone in Yoshida's position may find it othering. These days, we tend to expect a JRPG to cast the player as a specific protagonist to experience a set story, whereas Western RPGs will usually have players create their own character and co-author the story as they play. We also tend to expect a turn-based combat system and anime-influenced visual design and characters. 2023's Sea of Stars was a homage to classic Japanese RPGs, despite being made in Canada But of course, early Japanese RPG developers were themselves heavily influenced by Western games such as the early-80s Wizardry series from America, just as some of today's Western developers grew up with JRPGs. The lines have blurred accordingly, with games like 2023's Sea of Stars being considered a JRPG despite being made in Canada. While Clair Obscur does pay homage to the best of the JRPG genre, it also does a great job of honoring its French roots. The game's dialogue is available in French or English, with a stellar voice cast in both, and even in English, it is unafraid to slip in plenty of French terms. When the game's characters face erasure at the hands of the Paintress, their bodies disintegrate into petals that flutter on the wind, a process named the Gommage – a French word meaning to exfoliate and erase. And as you play, Gustave's friends mutter expletives in French, with a well-timed "Merde!" reminding you of their origins. Gustave dressed in an outfit simply titled Baguette. The setting itself is a fantasy take on France's pre-WWI Belle Époque period, a distinctly French visual style that is striking. And you can even dress Gustave, Lune, Maelle, and their amis in a stereotypically French costume comprising a striped T-shirt, beret, and freshly baked baguette slung across their backs, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the development team's culture. French President Emmanuel Macron even praised Clair Obscur in an Instagram post, calling it "a shining example of French audacity and creativity." IGN recently published a video titled The 25 Best JRPGs of All Time, in which it gave the editorial team's favorites, including titles like Chrono Trigger , Persona 5 Royal , and Final Fantasy X . In some ways, I was actually a little surprised that all the games in IGN's best JRPGs list were indeed from Japan. Our team at IGN Japan gave our own thoughts on the list during an episode of our video podcast Shaberisugi Gamer a few days later, drawing a lively debate in the comments from our viewers. As for me, I'm steadily working my way through Clair Obscur and loving every minute of it. I often struggle to play modern RPGs as the time commitment is so extreme, as many games require around 60-80 hours to beat, so the fact that Clair Obscur offers a fascinating story and hugely engaging combat system within a relatively tight package appeals to me. Gustave and friends on their perilous journey. As a British pop-culture journalist based in Japan for 19 years, I've always enjoyed cross-pollination of culture, and for me, the erosion (or gommage ) of boundaries is always welcome. So the idea of a JRPG made outside of Japan didn't seem strange to me until the conversation blew up around Clair Obscur . I hope you'll try the game and see what you think! Author: Daniel Robson
Japan Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Uh-oh, is the rest of the world making JRPGs better than Japan?
Hailed as 2025's first bonafide game-of-the-year candidate, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 released on April 24 from out of absolutely nowhere. More surprisingly, its gameplay and narrative, heavily influenced by Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs), were crafted by a team with little to do with Japan at all. Developed by French studio Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sets the player in a Belle Epoque-inspired world devastated by an enigmatic apocalypse that annually culls survivors of progressively younger ages. As the game begins, the lone bastion city of Lumiere gathers to bid farewell to all 33-year-old residents as well as Expedition 33, the latest in a long line of doomed task forces charged with traveling to a distant continent where, it's believed, lies a solution to the deepening crisis. You'd be right for thinking none of that sounds particularly Japanese, but make no mistake: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only a JRPG, a genre that has outstripped the geographical limitations its name might suggest, but it's quite possibly the best JRPG of the decade to date. So what even is a JRPG? In the 1980s and '90s, a cut-and-dry definition of 'role-playing games made in Japan' sufficed, but the gameplay mechanics established in this era — turn-based combat, an overworld punctuated by smaller dungeons and recruitable party members often differentiated by specializations like physical damage, magic-wielding or healing powers, etc. — came to define the genre as a whole. Aesthetics and narrative style also developed their own JRPG niches. The former increasingly took on anime-influenced character designs and voice acting idiosyncrasies, and the latter came to embrace predefined stories (as opposed to ones that change based on player choice) of ragtag groups of ostensibly ordinary adventurers drawn into world-altering struggles with kings, demons, gods and more. The tricky thing is that none of these elements are unique to JRPGs as a genre, and if one or more of them are missing, that doesn't necessarily disqualify a game from the label. More often than not, what separates a Western-style RPG like Baldur's Gate 3 from a JRPG like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — both developed by non-Japanese studios — is an 'I know it when I see it' litmus test, as ambiguous in some cases as it is foolproof in others. In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's case, I see a JRPG when I look at this game, which raises a more pressing question than a debate over what is or isn't a JRPG: Why aren't Japanese developers cranking out the type of games that once made the genre the source of some of gaming's best efforts? While developers outside of Japan are making games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, some of the pillars of the country's domestic JRPG scene are focused on remakes and remasters. | SANDFALL INTERACTIVE By critical metrics, the last truly great Japanese-developed JRPG was 2016's Persona 5 (with honorable mention to 2019's Kingdom Hearts III). Last year's Metaphor: ReFantazio was an admirable stab at a new story and setting from former Persona devs, but otherwise, the domestic JRPG scene has since become dominated by remasters and remakes. Industry giant Square Enix is preoccupied not only with sticking the landing on the third and final installment of its multipart remake of 1997's Final Fantasy VII, but it's also working on a remake of the original Dragon Quest (1986) and Dragon Quest II (1988) — following up a similar reworking of Dragon Quest III (1988) released earlier this year. This is hardly a problem specific to Square Enix. Over at Nintendo, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition released in March, remaking the 2015 game of the same name (setting aside the discussion of whether a 10-year-old game needs a remake at all). It's not that these remasters and re-releases make for objectively bad games, but they do little to move JRPGs as a genre forward. The plucky studios of Japan's past have since become or been subsumed into giant corporations, whose inexorable profit motive rewards commoditization of nostalgia over creative and financial risks aimed at the future. Meanwhile, developers outside Japan continue to experiment with the genre. In 2022, German developer Matthias Linda released Chained Echoes to critical acclaim, and in 2023, Sea of Stars, developed by Montreal-based Sabotage Studio, drew similarly high praise. These games were small in graphical scale, but they were original efforts that drew inspiration from JRPGs' earlier eras instead of repurposing and repacking them. Now, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has set a new high-water mark in modern JRPGs. The next mainline Dragon Quest game is still at least a year or two away from launch, and the Final Fantasy franchise has no releases planned for 2025. So if Japan is to answer the call set down by France's triumph, it just might have to be a daring unknown, a tried-and-true genre trope, that puts Japan-made JRPGs back on the map.
CNET
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
One of 2024's Best Games Is Coming to Xbox Game Pass Soon
Metaphor: ReFantazio was one of CNET's games of the year in 2024, and Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to experience it for themselves soon. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors' Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription gives you access to a large library of games, with new titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 added monthly, plus other benefits, such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles. Read more: Play Classic Games From the '80s and '90s on Xbox Game Pass Now Here are the games Microsoft is adding to Game Pass soon. You can also check out what games the company added to the service earlier in May, including Doom: The Dark Ages. Monster Train 2 PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can play now. In the original Monster Train, you were fighting angelic forces to take back your home in hell. In this go-round, former angels and demons have made an unholy alliance to stop powerful creatures known as Titans from destroying the world. The deck-building gameplay that made the original Monster Train is back in this sequel, with new abilities, challenges and more for you to tackle. Creatures of Ava Coming to Game Pass Standard on May 22. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers could play this game full of cute creatures in August, and Game Pass Standard subscribers can try it out soon, too. This action-adventure creature-saver game is all about understanding and taming different creatures from various climates. Though your mission is to stop a life-consuming infection that threatens the world, I won't tell if you just want to cuddle and pet all the cute critters in the game. Stalker 2 Coming to Game Pass Standard on May 22. Microsoft The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was established in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. It's one of the most radioactively contaminated areas on Earth, and you get to explore it in this highly anticipated sequel. But you're not alone. Mutated animals, humans and other dangerous creatures roam the zone. So choose your path wisely, and maybe you'll survive. You might even shape the future of humanity. Game Pass Standard subscribers can play this survival horror game a few months after Game Pass Ultimate subscribers could. Tales of Kenzera: Zau Coming to PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate on May 22. This side-scrolling Metroidvania-style game was inspired by Bantu myths. In this game, your father has died, and you make a bargain with the God of Death to bring him back. You'll wield cosmic powers, travel through mystical realms and confront three mighty beings who seem pretty familiar to you. Tom Clancy's The Division 2 Coming to Game Pass Standard, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate on May 27. Ubsioft This RPG shooter begins a few months after the events of the original game when chaos has engulfed Washington, DC. Enemy factions have overrun the city's streets, and settlements of citizens are threatened by new enemies. It's up to you to help liberate the city. This game lands on Game Pass just in time for Year 7 Season 1, which brings new gear, weapons and more to the game. To a T Coming to PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate on May 28. Being 13 years old is hard, and being 13 years old while standing in a T pose all the time can be even more difficult. This narrative-adventure game comes from Keita Takahashi, the creator of Katamari Damacy, and you'll experience a colorful story, explore your seaside town and hang out with a precious and helpful dog. Takahashi talks about the game with CNET's Sean Booker here. Metaphor: ReFantazio Coming to Game Pass Standard, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate on May 29. Traverse vast lands, explore dungeons and take part in a royal tournament to decide who the next ruler of the kingdom will be in one of the best games of 2024. This turn-based fantasy RPG comes from the creators of Persona 3, 4 and 5, so expect some similar stylistic choices. But CNET's Imad Khan said what really stands out about this game is "its addictive RPG gameplay loop." Spray Paint Simulator Coming to PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate on May 29. Bring some color to the world in this simulator, which lands on Game Pass right when it comes out. You'll restore worn-out surfaces, apply fresh coats of paint and make the world a little brighter in this relaxing, precision game. Crypt Custodian Coming to Game Pass Standard, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate on June 3. Cleaning up the afterlife can be hard, but someone's got to do it. And that someone is you! In this top-down Metroidvania-style game, you play as a mischievous cat named Pluto. You die and agree to be janitor of the afterlife forever, but it's not all doom and gloom. You can hang out with other spirits, battle creatures and explore the ghostly landscape. Symphonia Coming to Game Pass Standard, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate on June 3. Music acts as a source of life and energy in this nonviolent platformer. But when the founders of an orchestra vanish and life goes quiet, it's up to mysterious musician Philemon to find answers. Use your violin and bow to explore the musical world, reactivate the musical machinery scattered throughout the land and bring the orchestra back together. More games coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) Game Pass Ultimate members can access loads of games, as well as Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta). This lets subscribers access games on consoles, PCs, smartphones and more devices without downloading the game to their device. On May 23, Microsoft is adding these games to its cloud gaming service, so subscribers can play them anywhere. Brütal Legend Costume Quest 2 Day of the Tentacle Remastered Full Throttle Remastered Grim Fandango Remastered Max: The Curse of Brotherhood Neon Abyss Quantum Break Rare Replay ScreamRide State of Decay: Year-One SteamWorld Dig 2 Sunset Overdrive Super Lucky's Tale Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection Games leaving Game Pass on May 31 Microsoft is adding those games to Game Pass soon, but it's also removing five games from the service on May 31. That means you still have some time to finish your campaign and any side quests before you'll have to buy these games separately. Cassette Beasts Firework Humanity Remnant 2 Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengeance of the Slayer For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass Ultimate now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. You can also check out what to know about upcoming Xbox game price hikes.
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Which ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' Ending Is Better?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sandfall I keep writing about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and people keep reading it, so I wanted to discuss what may be the most intense part of the game. Its ending. Rather, its endings, plural. Spoilers obviously follow and if you have not beaten the entire Epilogue and seen credits, don't read this. The final confrontation of the game's story (outside of endgame things) is the stunning choice that you suddenly have to make between Verso and Maelle, where Verso wants the fraction of the true Verso's soul to finally stop painting and rest, while Maelle doesn't want his final world to collapse. Who to choose? Well, I sat staring at the screen for ten minutes, but I won't tell you until we're done with this. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sandfall Verso Many will view Verso's as the 'happy' ending. With original Verso, the dead Verso's soul fraction, done painting, the 'true' Painter family is allowed to reunite and properly mourn what they've lost. But in the process, by doing this, Verso erases all the painted friends he's made for the entire game. A newly painted Maelle, a version of his sister, and Lune and Sciel, his battle partners, and Monoco and Esquie, his fictional childhood friends he brought to life. Maelle Maelle cannot let go. Of child Verso. Of adult, painted Verso, or all her painted friends, new and old, dead and alive. It's the 'dream' ending. Maelle, now fully realizing her painting powers, has brought people like Sciel's dead husband back to life, or more relevantly, Sophie and Gustave, the most brutal losses of the game. The unsettling bit is when she's now puppeteering Verso to play the piano, something he supposedly enjoys, but he's being kept alive (remember he's immortal) and forced to dance for her against his will. This ends with the most frightening shot of the game, painter Maelle: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sandfall I picked Maelle. No, I did not know at the time that her ending would be this unsettling, but my attachment to her character was greater than Verso's, who had lied to us about a dozen times since we met him, and works toward a resolution for a family we simply do not care about. I think you can make the argument that the lie is better. What is real, after all? Is it fair the Painters can bring infinite worlds to life, creating consciousness and erasing them at will? And use it as a way to cope with grief ahead of some larger war with 'The Writers' we have no information about? My friend who is adamantly pro-Verso ending told me that my view is like caring about the toys in Toy Story who are…toys. But you do care about the toys in Toy Story! That's the point! And from a more meta sense, we are caring about what happens to fictional characters in a fictional video game, and the 'right' answer is to pick one real family out of two not-real sets of characters. But getting out of that mindset, I think just dramatically, the Maelle ending is better, and it fits more with the story. It seems bizarre to me to draw this 'happy' ending and that just involves gommaging the entire cast you played with, it's sad and weird, outside of the 'real' family finally mourning. A darker ending after Maelle realizes her identity feels much more in-keeping with everything we've seen before. Why should she be forced to allow the erasure of this world and return to her cage of burns and masks, if she has the power to live like this? It's her family being selfish for…what? If she returns, it's not bringing Verso back, and there's not even a guarantee it will cure her mother's hysteria. I expect a wide range of takes on this, and the answer is probably 'there is no right ending,' which is sort of the point. Either one you pick, this remains one of my favorite video game stories of all time. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Forbes
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Best Place To Farm Mass Lumina Points In ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33'
Expedition 33 If you've played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, easy GOTY contender, you've probably been here at some point. You get a new Pictos, you want to use it, you are short 15-20 Lumina Points per character. Bummer. Well, there is a solution to that, or rather a pair of solutions in the same location, where you can farm Lumina Points in Expedition 33 essentially consequence free to your heart's content. This is a late-game farm so you can use it to refine your best builds for tough bosses you may have left, you can use it to prepare for the harder New Game+ before you start it, or you can just do it for fun as a relaxing, mindless farm. The location is Renoir's Drafts, where you will fight tougher monsters leading to the hardest boss in the game, eventually. Don't worry, you're not farming him (you can't). Either you can use the first flag to teleport to the second one, or you can hang left and go through a few monster packs until you get to the correct spot. You won't have to fight those again. The flag is on the right with the exit portal on the left From the flag, you're looking for two monster packs that have three 'Creation' monsters between them. You can use a full team of three so you can come up with the best strategy to nuke them one at a time, or take out the whole batch. The fights will get easier as you farm more. I eventually got a full clear Monoco build that takes both out in one hit, and there are certainly other builds that could do that. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Expedition 33 You kill the first duo with one Creation then head over to the other two Creations. Then you head back to the very close flag, rest to respawn, and do it again. This will get you 4x Lumina mats to spend at the flag guaranteed. I usually wait until I get 20 or 30 before dumping them and unlocking specific things I have made 'goals" per character. Expedition 33 There is an alternative to this. If you kill the single Creation pack you just go up a ramp and launch onto the roof. There is a vendor there you can fight in a 1v3 with a character of your choice, and he will drop 1-2 every fight. But mostly 1. The benefit of this fight is that you don't have to go to a flag, you can just sit there and do it again and again. Personally I found this less efficient, but it's an easier fight if you have all the solo boost Pictos on and a halfway decent build and a couple dodging skills. You can end it in a turn or three usually. Expedition 33 That's my advice! I'm still doing this and will start NG+ soon as I'm sort of running out of core Pictos passives I need. Have fun! Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
