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Japan Forward
4 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
The Verge
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Expedition 33's big twist was designed to ‘inflict the pain on the player'
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is my favorite game of the year so far, with an exhilarating battle system, excellent exploration, and a haunting soundtrack. But I'm not the only one who loves it: the game has become a huge hit, with more than 2 million copies sold just 12 days after its late April release. 'It feels very surreal,' says Guillaume Broche, Sandfall Interactive's CEO and creative director. According to Broche, the game is performing 'far beyond expectations' and that the team was not expecting it to 'blow up' as fast as it did. 'We are still in denial, basically' he says. Lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen adds, 'I'm going to wake up tomorrow and this is all a joke, right?' A major part of Expedition 33 's success is its gripping story. It kept me coming back to the game every moment I could just to see what happened next. The opening hits you with a gutpunch. Playing as Gustave, voiced by Daredevil 's Charlie Cox, you learn about the tragic circumstances of the world, its characters, and the annual 'Gommage' that makes everyone of a certain age disappear in a flurry of petals when a giant being called the Paintress paints a new, lower number on a giant monolith. Gustave is one of the next Expeditioners that will strike out and attempt to take down the Paintress, and that team also includes Maelle, a teenager who he is responsible for. But he also loses an ex, Sophie, to the Gommage after the Paintress paints a 33. It's a powerful, emotional opening, and it got me interested in Expedition 33 right away. But there was a key scene later on that shifted the game's story from good to great for me — and I got to talk to Brocke and Svedberg-Yen all about it. Spoilers ahead. Don't scroll past this picture unless you want to read about a major plot development. If you chose to keep scrolling, the moment I'm talking about is at the end of Act 1. The mysterious white-haired man who massacred much of Expedition 33 earlier in the story appears after an intense boss fight. Without warning, the man stabs Gustave with a gigantic sword, and after a brief battle, stabs him again, killing him — and all right in front of Maelle, who is trapped in a dome of magical energy that renders her helpless. When it happened in my playthrough, my jaw was on the floor. Expedition 33 had so far portrayed Gustave as the protagonist, and I figured he had the plot armor to make it all the way to the end so that he could get closure on losing Sophie. (Heck, they cast Charlie Cox, who also plays a Marvel superhero, to voice him!) But within hours of the game's opening, Gustave was gone. 'It's where the story needed to go,' Svedberg-Yen says. For the narrative and themes that the team was going for, 'it's what was most organic.' 'One of the main themes of the story is very obviously grief,' Broche says. In order to make a game about grief feel true, the team wanted players to 'go through the horror that the characters are going through,' he adds. 'It just made sense to inflict the pain on the player as strongly as the characters receive.' Broche says that actually playing as the character creates a deep link and attachment. 'Losing that is the hole that the characters in the game experience basically every year with the Gommage, and it's something here that just felt true to the game and the narrative.' The scene is brilliantly crafted to make the death feel impactful. After the boss fight and before the white-haired man's appearance, I had relaxed — I figured I would get a nice, post-fight cutscene of celebration before moving on to the next thing. But the surprise of what happened next and the powerful performances from the motion capture actors and the voice actors made the scene memorable and powerful. I was particularly struck by the killing blow: after the white-haired man stabs Gustave, the game goes into slow motion to pause on that moment, on Maelle's horror, and on Gustave's armband emblazoned with '33,' which Sophie put on him shortly before she Gommaged. To me, it felt reminiscent of Aerith's death in Final Fantasy VII, but Broche and Svedberg-Yen say that wasn't intentional. 'If people find some similarities, it's not actually conscious from us,' Broche says. (Svedberg-Yen said she hasn't actually played FF7, so I apologized for spoiling Aerith's death.) Gustave's final words are powerful, too: 'For those who come after, right?' It's a motto used by the Expeditioners to acknowledge the purpose and futility of their mission, and throughout act one, it becomes something of a catchphrase for Gustave. But in the moments before the killing blow, he seems to know what's coming, and he says it as he gives a heartbreaking look to Maelle — who will have to grapple on her own with whatever comes after — before making his final attack. 'That's his whole character,' Broche says of the line. The motto itself has broader meaning, too. 'We really wanted to hone in on the idea that they are part of a larger tradition, that they are one expedition in a chain,' Svedberg-Yen says. 'So we really wanted to figure out a way to encapsulate that.' Like the rest of Expedition 33 's most impactful moments, what makes the scene work is a combination of elements — writing, performance, music, and more — that merge together to create moments I can't stop thinking about, even when they don't feature a dramatic and unexpected death. 'When we think about the storytelling, it's all the teams together — that whole package — that really made it come alive,' Svedberg-Yen says.
Washington Post
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The odd path ‘Expedition 33' took to becoming one of the best games of the year
'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' is being hailed as a masterpiece in storytelling, which makes lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen's path in video games all the more unusual. The California native is a first-time writer, having spent most of her career as a private equity investor. She retired in 2015 to chase other interests. Five years later, during the pandemic lockdown, she saw a Reddit post from video game developer Guillaume Broche, an alumnus of France's games mega-publisher Ubisoft, looking for voice actresses. Bored and curious, she submitted audition tapes.
Daily Mirror
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 composer Lorien Testard on scoring 2025's highest-rated RPG
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's score is just as beautiful and haunting as the game's world itself, already achieving 1.5 million streams. Following five years of hard composition work, we speak to the person responsible for creating the beautiful and emotional soundtrack for 2025's must-play RPG. In our official review for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, we called it 'a brilliantly modern turn-based Final Fantasy in all but name'. But for as much as this classification references a fun combat system, an interesting party of heroes, and an intriguing world, that feeling of classic Square Enix RPGs is also bolstered by an unbelievably ambitious score that is equal parts beautiful and dramatic. From the emotional swellings heard when exploring one of the game's many attractive hubs to the moreish themes heard during the throes of a dramatic boss battle, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's soundtrack stands toe-to-toe with the greats – and may well end up being one of 2025's most memorable. Such a feat is made even more impressive when you consider that the composer, Lorien Testard, hadn't ever worked on a game before, and was discovered by game director Guillaume Broche through his work on SoundCloud. Fast forward five years later, and the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 soundtrack has since enjoyed a staggering 1.5 million streams, mimicking the worldwide success of the game itself. People can't get enough of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in all its aspects. To learn more about how Lorien Testard approached scoring one of the year's most ambitious (and unexpectedly successful) turn-based RPGs, we sat down with the composer to talk about the projects early beginnings and its most difficult challenges. This being the first video game you've composed the soundtrack for, how did you come to be involved with Sandfall Interactive? I joined Guillaume Broche right at the beginning of the project. He came across my SoundCloud page, where I was uploading original compositions every week, exploring the styles of different video games. He loved what he heard and got in touch with me by email to offer me the role of composer for the game he was developing at the time, which was called We Lost. We immediately shared a very close and similar sensitivity about what we imagined for our dream game, that's how I started working on the soundtrack for what would later become Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Clair Obscur is a big game with a lot of different environments and themes. How would you describe the overall soundscape and was it a challenge to try and capture? It's difficult for me to describe the overall music of Expedition 33, it's made up of different ideas and musical styles, depending on what I felt for each environment or characters. I wanted to create a soundtrack that would immerse the player and make them feel like they were part of a moving world that's live around them. That intention with the size of the world was the most challenging part for me. I spent a lot of time thinking about the place and role of each song within the game. Did you know early on that, more so than most other games, the musical score would be with the player 95% of the game, and did this impact your approach? I was lucky to have access to the concept art and the game's script very early on, which gave me a good sense of the project's scope. I put together a list of all the pieces of music I imagined to tell the story and follow the adventure of Expedition 33. There were a few changes along the way, with some levels being cut or parts of the script evolving, but overall, I kept following the needs and the vision I had imagined for the world of Clair Obscur. How did the game's Belle Époque art style and presentation influence the score, if at all? The Belle Époque aesthetic is very strongly present in the art and concepts of the game. Combined with the story and the characters, it gave me an overall feeling of the atmosphere that I tried to capture through the music. I've also listened to French music throughout my life, so it's naturally become part of my musical sensitivity and the way I hear and compose music today. And I had a lot of fun adding a few little nods here and there to instruments that people often associate with France — like the accordion in the theme for the Mimes and the Pétank. What was the process of recording the score like? Was it ever a possibility that you wouldn't get to record it live using real musicians? Yes, it was only later in the production that we had the incredible chance to work with musicians and record the music of Expedition 33 with live instruments. At the beginning of the project, I started creating the soundtrack on my own, and then I was blessed to work with Alice Duport-Percier. I had always dreamed of recording the songs with live musicians, and as the production moved forward, I finally had the chance to make that happen. I am deeply grateful to all the musicians who recorded with us for the soundtrack. They gave so much— they put a part of their soul and their heart into the soundtrack. It would never have been the same without them. Can you tell us about how the specific collaborations with Ben Starr and Victor Barba came to be? In both cases, the connection happened through the song I had imagined their voices for. For Victor Borba, I composed Une Vie à Peindre with a confrontation between two characters in mind. Alice embodied one of them, and the song was calling for a powerful male voice to bring contrast and intensity. When Victor screams, I can feel all the love and anger needed to carry the energy of the lyrics, and the contrast between his voice and Alice's was exactly what I was looking for to bring that confrontation to life. For Ben Starr, I wrote the lyrics to Until Next Life while thinking about Verso. I imagined the character singing that song. So when I met Ben last Christmas, I asked him if he would like to sing on it, he accepted and took on the challenge brilliantly. I was really impressed by his instinct with the song. I love this version of the song, and I'm grateful that he brings Verso's voice through the song. 154 is a lot of tracks for a single game. When did it become apparent that the soundtrack for Clair Obscur would be this gargantuan, and why did it require this approach? I wasn't really keeping track of how many songs I was writing; it was by composing songs daily that the number gradually grew. In the end, I actually composed far more than the 154 tracks, but we made selections along the way to make sure each song found its natural place. It was the world of Clair Obscur and the desire to paint every musical colour that guided the creation of the soundtrack. Finally, what's one aspect of the Clair Obscur score you hope surprises people when they hear it? What's something you hope they take away? I love so much that each player experiences the soundtrack in their own way. It's an incredible feeling to know that players can love and be moved by any of the songs in the game depending on their own life. I feel like we're creating a playful bond with the players through the soundtrack in the game.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Why this turn-based RPG is worth your time?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based role-playing game (RPG) developed by Sandfall Interactive, a team of around 30 developers. This was just released in April 2025 itself & quickly gained popularity for its unique mix of traditional turn-based combat and real-time action elements like parrying and counterattacking. This has been built using Unreal Engine 5, features a visually stunning world with a hand-painted art style. With over 1 million copies sold and strong critical acclaim, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has become one of the most talked-about RPGs of the year. Who made Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was developed by Sandfall Interactive, a French video game studio, and published by Kepler Interactive. The core team had around 30 members, including several former Ubisoft developers. Key figures in the game's creation include Guillaume Broche as the director, François Meurisse as the producer, Tom Guillermin as the lead programmer, Nicholas Maxson-Francombe as the artist, and Lorien Testard as the composer. The game was released on April 24, 2025 & developed using Unreal Engine 5. Why should you play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is definitely a must-play game. It added real-time combat with traditional turn-based mechanics. This eventually creates an exciting and dynamic experience. The parry system adds depth to the combat. It gives players many chances to improve and master their skills. With over 1 million copies sold and a growing fanbase, it's clear the game has resonated with RPG fans. Turn-based RPG 2025 with innovative active combat system Expedition 33 redefines turn-based RPG combat by adding active mechanics like dodging, parrying, and quick-time events (QTEs). This system requires players to master timing and strategy. As it makes fights more thrilling than traditional turn-based games. The parry mechanic, inspired by games like Elden Ring, adds satisfying counterattacks and depth to encounters. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gameplay Players guide a team of different heroes, each with their own skills and powers. This pushes players to build smart team combos. Each character fights in a special way. One uses a scythe and switches between light and dark modes. Others follow styles like a job system. Skill slots and status effects make battles deeper, so smart planning is key in the game. Clair Obscur: Best turn-based RPG story set in Belle Époque France The game is set in a dark fantasy version of Belle Époque France. It follows the journey of Expedition 33 volunteers. Their goal is to stop the Paintress, who paints cursed numbers and makes people vanish every year. The story has strong emotions and a fresh setting. It also has rich world-building and unforgettable characters. Expedition 33 difficulty options and accessibility features The game has three smooth difficulty modes—Story, Expeditioner, and Expert. Players can change them anytime outside of fights. These modes change how much damage enemies do and how easy it is to dodge or block. This helps both new players and expert RPG fans. There are also easy play options, like auto-finishing attack moves. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 PC and console performance optimization For PC players, its better to use DLSS Quality mode, medium shadows, and epic textures. These settings balance good looks and smooth play. They help cut down lag and raise FPS, even on mid-range PCs. On consoles, the game still looks great with real-time effects tuned for top performance. FAQs 1. What is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 about? Answer: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a dark fantasy turn-based RPG set in a world inspired by Belle Époque. Every year, an event called the "Gommage" makes people of a certain age disappear. Players follow the 33rd group of volunteers who set out to stop the Paintress, a goddess behind this curse. Their goal is to break the deadly cycle and save their world. 2. Who are the main characters in the Clair Obscur game? Answer: Key members of Expedition 33 include Gustave, a smart engineer who has just one year left to live. Maelle, his foster sister, is the youngest in the group. Lune is a wise scholar and magic user. Sciel is a quiet and strong fighter. Along the way, they meet others like Renoir, Verso, and even face mythical creatures on their journey. 3. On which platforms is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 available? Answer: The Clair Obscur game is available on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, providing broad access to players across major gaming platforms. 4. How has Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 been received by critics? Answer: Critics have praised the game for its engaging story, stunning art, and unique combat design. The voice acting and character growth bring emotional depth to the experience. However, some small issues, like tricky platforming and the absence of a photo mode, have been mentioned. 5. What gameplay mechanics does Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feature? For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events.
