Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Producer Talks Inspirations: Fromsoftware, French Novels

Western role-playing game fans have already made several major releases this year, including Avowed and Anthurned The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster. However, gamers looking for a new RPG trying to break the mold have another option when Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 comes out on April 24th.

At GDC 2025, I was able to play some early times of Expedition 33, created by French studio Sandfall Interactive. With its drastic story of interactive turn-based battles and death combined with gorgeous worlds and beautiful music, Expedition 33 appears to be poised to capture gamers looking for something a little different in their drastic story-based game.

In the preview, François Meurisse, co-founder of Sandfall Interactive and producer of Expedition 33, chatted about influence, combat and art.

David Lumb (CNET): This was the first time I’ve ever gotten a game, but it’s very moving for an RPG. This is a dynamic menu when switching between Windows in combat or dodging enemy attacks. What was your team’s inspiration?

François Meurisse (Sandfall Interactive): This game has some fantastic (Japanese RPG) inspiration like the old Final Fantasy. For example, Final Fantasy 10. There is also great inspiration from more modern JRPGs like Persona 5, for example.

I was inspired by Persona that every click is essential to the action, but redundant gameplay controls don’t make you understand what you want to do. Trigger camera movement with every click. When you see some people playing it, it’s pretty much action-based. We mixed this reactive turn-based feeling and made the most out of the turn-based game, but it had a real-time feel.

DL: I really enjoyed how interactive the battle system was. How did you balance parasitism and evasion, especially for players who may not be good at either of them?

FM: So, although the defense system is very strict, there are several defense options. For example, when you encounter a new enemy, it’s easier to learn the patterns and start with a dodge that is more forgiving in terms of timing. And once you get the right timing for the perfect Dodge, you can try the Parry.

We are very balanced right now, but there are many different playstyles and types of players. There are also a variety of devices, different skills, and different characters. So, whether you don’t like Parry or not the best Dodger on the planet, you can equip certain passive effects or equipment along with your playstyle.

For example, I like Parry’s cuteness. It has a passive effect that uses dodges rather than parry to give extra action points. Alternatively, you can focus on a particular build, trigger some status effects on monsters, deal heavy, heavy damage, and rely less on your defensive system. And if that’s not what I’m interested in – On Attack (Quick Time Event) – you can enable Auto QTE in the settings.

DL: Another thing that is pretty impressive about the game is the art style. In the demonstration, I run to this little man with a white, almost clown look, holding his head covered in a stone ring. What inspired this art design?

FM: The entire game was more inspiration for Belle Epoque, Art Deco, as early 20th century France was mixed with high fantasy. That’s what we wanted for the city, expedition costumes and mansions at the start of the expedition.

Now it’s kind of like an expedition into the wild, something to an unexplored continent, and it’s pretty silly av. Our art directors have chosen a variety of inspirations for different enemies and environments. For example, that reference, the enemy you mentioned, resembles a clay sculpture or organic shape.

DL: It’s a good segue – what does a French studio bring to JRPGs? What is French in the game?

FM: So, there’s no doubt Lumiere (the city where the game began and the expedition departed), Eiffel Tower (in it). And yes, there is a lot of feedback like French oath, some names, art inspiration, some garment patterns.

DL: You feel that pain is ultimately a big villain, or at least someone you are looking for.

FM: Yes, maybe not. Sedatives reveal some secrets throughout the game anyway.

DL: What else does Expedition 33 bring to JRPGs we’ve never seen before?

FM: Of course, it’s a core RPG, but the game is also a lot from software inspiration, such as defense systems and several statistical systems of action points and deck building inspiration. We’ve got some inspiration for some of the things that worked so hard in the games we love, but we try to make it a unique way with unique artistic directions, unique stories and unique characters.

DL: Can you tell me more about music? Battle music is especially great. I love jumping into battle and listening to the choral elements. However, there are also some small French parts in the background with organs.

FM: That’s why our composer, Lorien (Testard), composed the full game (the original soundtrack). The OST was huge, and it was a few hours and worked with us from the beginning of 2020 development. He really did create the game and lined up the music. And Alice Duport Percier, she is a composer and singer – she has a great voice and she is a classic singer. There is also an orchestra recording for approximately 45 minutes using a French orchestra.

DL: We are nearing the end of chat time. I just wanted to focus on the recurring theme of death in the game, as the age limit for surviving humans drops every year. What was the inspiration for that Dour theme?

FM: Regarding the countdown, Guillaume (Broche, Sandfall Interactive CEO, Creative Director) woke up one morning, and the idea might be cool. However, the concept of expedition, and the special inspiration behind it, is a French novel called La Horde du Corevent (English: The Horde of Counter -Wind). Although it was not translated in other languages, the Cult Classic released in 2004 is a French cult classic.

It’s a great novel about a group of warriors, like the expedition of 20 or 30 people trying to find the origins of the world’s winds. All expeditions fail, and they send out new ones. We loved this idea of ​​trying to overcome what the best group did before you.

DL: So, the final question: When you first pick up a game, are you most excited about the experience that players will experience?

FM: OOOH-I mean everything, gameplay, world maps. But personally, the story is fantastic. You can’t wait for people to reach the end of the story, share theories about it, and discover the character’s fate. The story, its twist, the progression to painkillers – it gives me chills. Some of the voice cast (performances) made me cry. So I can’t wait to hear the reaction to them.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be available for PC, Xbox and PS5 on April 24th.