(Image credit: Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 presents a contemporary twist on the time-honored JRPG framework. While it draws from early Final Fantasy titles, its developer, Sandfall Interactive, is unreserved in borrowing elements from the Souls series to craft its unexpectedly challenging combat. Adding another layer, classic Studio Ghibli animations now join the burgeoning list of inspirations.
In a conversation with Giant Bomb, creative director Guillaume Broche mentioned that many team members at Sandfall are “super big fans” of Studio Ghibli’s creations, humorously estimating they’ve watched all the movies “25 times.” No offense, Sandfall, but those are indeed rookie numbers!
Broche elaborated that Clair Obscur composer Lorien Testard drew significant inspiration from eminent Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi, renowned for his scores in Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service among numerous others.
Meanwhile, the art and world-building of Clair Obscur are transparently influenced by masterpieces like Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. Broche expressed Sandfall’s ambition to encapsulate the same “sense of wonder” viewers experience when immersed in these iconic anime films.
Though we root Clair Obscur to its JRPG roots as this seems to shape its foundational structure, the game successfully amalgamates diverse genre elements. Studio co-founder François Meurisse recently shared with GamesRadar+ that inspirations range from deck-building mechanics to the unique 20th-century Belle Époque aesthetic, which vividly characterizes its visual narrative.
While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not the classic turn-based RPG I yearned for, its combat surpasses even my most optimistic expectations. With weekly digests, stories from beloved communities, and more, this game continues to engage and surprise.