There are such a lot of methods to explain Sandfall Interactive’s 2025 RPG Clair Obscur Expedition 33. Shifting, lovely, exhilarating. Recreation of the Yr frontrunner. However, maybe most blatant, after a look at its mime enemies and characters clad in berets with baguettes at their again, is French. The sport is French AF, carrying its inspirations proudly, which is smart; Sandfall was shaped by French recreation builders. “It has been an incredible journey,” CTO and lead programmer Tom Guillermin informed me in a current video interview discussing what the previous few months have been like for Sandfall after the runaway success of Clair Obscur, which has offered 5 million copies and counting. Alongside COO and producer Francois Meurisse, we chatted in regards to the forthcoming replace that’ll add a brand new atmosphere, difficult boss fights, and extra. We additionally mentioned absolutely the most necessary elements of the sport. Working example: Was Francois the character named after Francois the developer?
Picture: Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive by way of Polygon
“Oh, that is a extremely good query,” Meurisse mentioned. “I believe at the moment we’re primarily searching for French names that had been […] typical French names.” He famous there was no direct connection between Francois, who’s buddies with fan-favorite Esquie within the recreation, and himself, “however I ended up actually a lot liking that particular character within the recreation. So I am a bit proud that Francois has such an necessary position within the story.” Francois doesn’t have a big position on the outset, and, till the post-game, is simply encountered when gamers meet Esquie. When Act 3 hits, and the secrets and techniques of Clair Obscur’s central Paintress-versus-expeditioners battle are revealed, gamers get to know Francois extra. Similar to Gustave, Maelle, Verso, and everybody else, he’s a tragic determine. Nevertheless, threaded between the tragedy and grief current in Clair Obscur are moments of lightheartedness and French particulars.
Picture: Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
“Truly we went actually excessive, however in an sudden means” with the sport’s Frenchness, Meurisse mentioned. He famous some folks “had been even pissed” that there wasn’t a French-language dub introduced alongside the English dub forged, and so in October 2024 the crew launched the Baguette Trailer asserting the French voice forged in a “type of self joking means.” (Seeing all of the characters, even Renoir, in baguette costumes is sort of humorous, particularly understanding what occurs within the emotional scenes the trailer showcases.) “And this wasn’t even deliberate to be within the recreation at first. It was simply actually a joke after we’re discussing particular advertising and marketing,” Meurisse mentioned, referring to the “mimes and purple berets with baguettes.” As Guillermin succinctly acknowledged, “It could be tougher to embrace our Frenchness much more.” “Might put snails and frogs all over the place within the subsequent recreation then,” Meurisse quipped.
Picture: Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive
The baguette costumes actually hit with gamers, as did the prologue’s trash-can man. The opening phase in Lumière has interactable trash cans scattered about, telling the participant there is likely to be greater than meets the attention to them. One in every of Lumière’s residents hides in a trash can, and explains that is his means of avoiding the Paintress, the mysterious deity answerable for turning Lumière’s residents into flower petals. “I flip 33 immediately. Are you able to imagine my luck?” the trash-can man says, moments earlier than the Gommage happens and ostensibly takes his life. “I believe it is such a staple in gaming to have hidden stuff once you work together X variety of instances,” Guillermin mentioned. “It is nice to see folks go loopy on the peerlessly regular trash can, nothing to see right here.” Clair Obscur’s Lumière is clearly impressed by France, and even contains its personal model of the Eiffel Tower, all damaged and malformed, bent at an unnatural angle. “We wished it to be in a French setting as a result of there have been some proximity with these references, clearly,” Meurisse mentioned. Sandfall’s artists had been “fairly free in regards to the references that they wished to make use of” in crafting Lumière. “We had been additionally below some technical constraints, so we could not do Lumière as massive as a metropolis as we might have accomplished or including an excessive amount of city density to the sport,” Meurisse added.
Picture: Sandfall interactive/Kepler Interactive
The Lumière-set prologue is immediately compelling and establishes the stakes at play within the story. You may management early protagonist Gustave or his former lover, Sophie. The sport doesn’t straight state Sophie is on her method to being Gommaged, however dialogue and environmental cues permit the gamers to piece this collectively on their very own. Clair Obscur’s prologue is without doubt one of the recreation’s strongest storytelling sections, however that wasn’t at all times the case, in keeping with Sandfall. “It is a part of the [development] story that sooner or later we had been a bit skeptical in regards to the intro, the prologue of the sport,” Meurisse mentioned. “Lumière was feeling a bit empty at the moment, and it needed to be narratively participating to create one thing from the very starting of the sport.” He famous how necessary it’s to get gamers invested immediately, and that CEO and inventive director Guillaume Broche took time to “rethink the narrative path and the prologue and the environmental storytelling and so as to add a lot of NPCs, small gameplay components” to make the opening really feel “alive.” “Additionally having the ability to management Sophie, which was not the case,” Guillermin added. He defined that making her playable “actually helps create a connection to her. And once you attain the harbor, then it is even harder.” Calling the opening “robust” is likely to be a little bit of an understatement — I might barely watch the scene by tear-filled eyes, and I doubt I’m alone there. “It is likely to be somewhat bit sadistic,” Guillermin mentioned, “nevertheless it’s necessary to construct a real connection to the characters.”
Picture: Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive by way of Polygon
After protecting a few of the extra emotional components of the sport, our dialogue ended on a extra light-hearted and gracious word. We talked about Expedition 60, the well-known bare expedition, and Meurisse commented on how “it is cool to have had this area to place many little tales like that. “I take this chance to present a shout out to the cosplayers that did Expedition 60 [at Dragon Con] in Atlanta. [We] weren’t even conscious there could be some Expedition 33 cosplayers.” The crew discovered social media posts of “200 folks dressed with purple berets and that particular group making expedition 60 cosplay,” with Meurisse saying, “this is without doubt one of the photograph[s] I shared essentially the most with different folks. That is actually an awesome achievement as regards to cosplay.” Gamers find out about Expedition 60 by Clair Obscur’s collectible journals. They offer a lot perception into what life was like for earlier expeditions, just like the one which bought sick from consuming Nevrons. I couldn’t assist however marvel if there have been any off-the-wall concepts for journal entries that didn’t make it into the sport. “I imply,” Guillermin mentioned, “as quickly as you’ve a unadorned expedition, I believe that is as loopy as you may get.”
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