Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won’t include a minimap for its exploration, though a compass will be added to the explorable world map for release.
The game’s producer, and developer Sandfall Interactive COO Francois Meurisse confirmed this to me at an Xbox event during this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), following some criticism during previews that environments were hard to navigate.
“There won’t be mini maps in the levels,” said Meurisse. “When there’s a mini map, you can end up relying on it. And we want players to discover the world as the expedition does it. They don’t have a map because every previous expedition failed. So yes, sometimes it can be difficult to find their way.”
He continued: “What we added on the world map that wasn’t in the preview demo is just a compass, so you can find north easily and get your direction more easily.” There will also be an overview map of the entire game world.
Since the game’s first reveal, much has been made of its JRPG influences from the likes of Final Fantasy and Persona, with its turn-based battle system and stylish menus. But what particularly struck me from the preview was the influence of FromSoftware, both from Dark Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. There are obvious parallels: the sense of satisfaction from a successful parry as the camera zooms for a big slow-motion hit, as well as the weapon attribute scaling based on character stats. But it’s also there in the aforementioned level design – it may be more linear, but it offers a similar sense of getting lost in an overwhelming, dangerous environment.
Meurisse explained the game is balanced between fairly linear, or semi-open levels with side path opportunities, which are accessed through the JRPG-style explorable world map. This is intended to tell a focused story. “The design approach has some links with FromSoftware games,” he said, “where it’s very linear levels but really intense ones. We don’t have the mastery of ideas that they have, but it was part of the inspiration.”
The Souls influence was definitely intentional, said Meurisse. What’s more, the game’s director, Guillaume Broche, is not just a big fan of FromSoftware but was also a Sekiro speedrunner. “I hope we’ll have some good feedback and players from that community playing the game,” said Meurisse. “I can’t wait to have some players doing no damage runs, because technically it’s achievable.”
The game’s turn-based battles are heavily-inspired by RPGs, but with action elements to allow players to parry and dodge enemy attacks. And rather than mana or skill points for character abilities, the system gives characters a certain number of action points to spend each turn. This was inspired by deck-building games, as Broche is also a huge Magic the Gathering player.
Beyond all these influences, though, the game has a distinctly and authentic French tone, from its costume design to the inclusion of French swear words in the script – after all, the Montpellier-based team is predominantly French. While the gameplay is clearly Japanese-inspired, the team didn’t want to mimic manga or anime graphics, but instead find its own unique style. “When you tell a story or imagine a world, it’s usually good to start with something you’re familiar with,” said Meurisse, which led to the Belle Epoque and Art Deco references.
“The will for searching for something more unique made it natural to link with the art references we knew the best, for being French,” he added,” but it wasn’t a specific studio guideline to say ‘we are French, we want to do something French'”. Still, he’s “happy and proud” of the French inspiration.
Unlike its 60-80 hour JRPG peers, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is smaller in scope, despite its epic feel. After all, it’s being made by just 30 people. Broche had a strong vision for the game from the start, with decisions like no online mode and no open world ensuring that vision remained achievable. What’s more, advancements in technology can allow indie studios to achieve outstanding results.
“New technology allows smaller teams to do big AA 3D hits, whereas five or 10 years ago, it wasn’t really achievable,” said Meurisse. He cites Hellblade, A Plague Tale and Mortal Shell as examples of smaller teams creating AAA-looking realistic games, but outside of these most indie studios previously had to use stylised or 2D graphics. “Now, thanks to new studios and new tools and great people, it makes a game like this very possible,” he said.
And while the game is coming to Xbox Game Pass and was first revealed during an Xbox Partner Showcase, which Meurisse described as “the right opportunity to reach new players”, he stated it’s not considered an “exclusive partnership”. “The most important thing for us is most people that would like to play the game, or would like to know about it, have the opportunity to play it,” he said.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will release across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on 24th April.