After watching a latest hands-off demo of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which for my part appears like some of the fascinating new RPGs incoming in 2025, I used to be significantly taken by what I perceived to be the sport’s indebtedness to the good turn-based RPG sequence, Persona, and particularly its newest and best launch, Persona 5 Royal.
From the strike first or be struck initialisation of fight within the real-time world, by means of the workforce and turn-based fight in addition to monstrously distinctive enemy designs, and even onto the same digicam angles and slick menu animations, after I checked out Expedition 33 I noticed a darkish fantasy western tackle a Persona sport. So, being within the room with the sport’s Creative Director, Guillaume Broche, I naturally requested him about it.
“Yeah. We are positively not hiding that there are influences from the massive Japanese style,” Broche famous. “Actually, [though], I wouldn’t say that Persona is the most important affect on what we do. I don’t disguise my love of motion for the Final Fantasy 8, 9, and 10 period. I believe a variety of the core of the sport positively takes inspiration from that. Not immediately. It’s not like we take it from the video games. The sport is extra like [what] I grew up with, and type of constructed my inventive tastes on. So I’d say we take a variety of affect from them however in a roundabout way attempting to select issues from them.
“And on the Persona facet, yeah, we positively took a have a look at what they have been doing by way of the digicam actions, and the menus, and the way every thing has been created dynamically, and attempting to do one thing that basically feels dynamic, however can be extra like our personal factor, in a approach. Because, additionally, we’ve a really completely different artwork type. We simply wished to do it our personal approach.”
It was not solely refreshing to listen to from Broche that my intestine feeling was right, but in addition that Expedition 33 is trying to make use of such acclaimed video games as a base for what its doing, which very a lot appears like a singular western darkish fantasy tackle the normal turn-based JRPG. To get a flavour for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 then you’ll be able to try the not too long ago launched reveal trailer under.
Watch On
I do not learn about you, however I’m actually digging the look and tone of Expedition 33. There’s a palpable ‘finish of days’ vibe, which may be very Final Fantasy, and the fight, whereas turn-based, truly has motion parts to it, with assaults being optimised with well-timed button presses, in addition to dodges and parries of enemy assaults executed with button presses, too. It’s like a extra partaking turn-based RPG, the place you’ll be able to combat as quick or as sluggish as you need. Definitely a sport to keep watch over as we progress into subsequent 12 months.
