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Clair Obscur: The Roots and Innovation of Epic Adventures

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 draws inspiration from real-world art and literature, blending historical influences with innovative gameplay. The title references the French artistic movement, shaping the game's aesthetics and narrative. Expedition 33 centers around a group led by Gustave, tasked with destroying the Paintress, who erases past eras. The game introduces a reactive turn-based battle system, combining strategy and real-time action. Inspired by Souls and Nier, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 aims to reinvent the classic RPG experience.

By Zephyr: Jul 30,2024

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Historical Roots and Innovations

Sandfall Interactive’s founder and creative lead shared important details about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Read on to learn more details about its historical underpinnings and gameplay innovations.

Real-world Precursors and Gameplay InnovationInspiration Behind the Name and Plot

Sandfall Interactive’s founder and creative executive director, Guillaume Broche, gave some insight into the real-world influences on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s title and narrative on July 29.

The first part of the game’s title is quite fascinating. Broche mentioned that "Clair Obscur refers to the real-world artistic and cultural movement in France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He also shared, “it influenced the game’s artistic direction, and also refers to the vast world of the game."

The meaning behind Expedition 33 is pretty straightforward. "Expedition 33 reflects the Expedition group led by the protagonist Gustave to destroy the Paintress," wherein a new expedition was sent out each year to accomplish this goal. The Paintress in this game paints a particular number on her monolith to erase everyone from that age, which Broche refers to "as the Gommage." The reveal trailer showed the main protagonist's partner dying after the Paintress painted the number 33, referring to her current age.

Broche also shared that La Horde du Contrevent inspired the game’s narrative. He described it as "a fantasy novel about a group of explorers traveling the wide world." "In general, stories about venturing into the unknown despite incredible risks, like the anime/manga Attack on Titan, have always been very appealing to me."

Updating Classic Turn-based RPG

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Historical Roots and Innovations

Moving forward, Broche discussed the paramount significance of graphics in this game. "There hasn’t really been any attempt at making a turn-based RPG with cutting-edge graphics for a good while,” he said. “That left a profound hole in my gamer heart. We took it upon ourselves to make something to fill that void."

Though there were real-time turn-based RPGs in the past, like Valkyria Chronicles and Project X Zone, the game took it a step further by introducing the innovative reactive turn-based battle system. Broche stated, "You can take time during battles to establish your strategies, but during the enemy’s turn, you will have to react in real-time to dodge, jump, or parry enemies to trigger a devastating counterattack."
Broche also revealed the inspiration behind reinventing classic turn-based RPGs. "We were inspired by action games like the Souls series, Devil May Cry, NieR, and their engaging gameplay was something we wanted to bring into a turn-based setting."

Looking Forward

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Historical Roots and Innovations

Broche provided significant details about the game, providing tidbits about its lore and narrative through real-world influences. Meanwhile, the use of high-fidelity graphics and the introduction of the responsive battle system will provide players with a unique twist when battling enemies. Aside from strategically planning your actions between turns, you must also react to enemy attacks in real-time.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is set to release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC by 2025. Though the release date is far from the horizon, Broche left a message to future players. "We’re delighted to see so many fans are excited for the world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33! As our initial title, we’re overjoyed with the reception we’ve seen so far, and we can’t wait to show more in the lead-up to launch next year."