Expedition 33’s Surprising Inspiration You Won’t See Coming Until It’s Too Late

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the upcoming turn-based RPG from developer Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive was showcased at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024. The first look of the game excited gamers and they are waiting to learn more about the game.

The game will release sometime in 2025 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. The game will bring a new take on turn-based RPG with exciting features and will have an amazing story, but the majority of the fans could’ve never guessed the inspiration behind the story.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Devs Share the Inspiration Behind the Story

In a conversion with PlayStation on PS Blog, Guillaume Broche, the founder and creative director at Sandfall Interactive shared some information on the game’s unique approach to classic, turn-based RPG gameplay, the inspiration behind the game’s story, and more.

Guillaume Broche revealed that several classic games served inspiration for the game. He said that there is a lot of “love for JRPGs” at the studio including games like Final Fantasy, Lost Odyssey, the Tales series, and Persona. He praised the the games for their UI, camera angles, and rhythm.

He further added,

We all have a lot of nostalgia and love for these kinds of games, but also want to see something fresh done with the genre.

But the inspiration behind the game’s narrative is what is quite exciting and shocking as well.

He revealed that the Attack on Titan manga was one of the inspirations for the story of the game. This could make many more gamers to check out the game. He stated,

In general, stories about venturing into the unknown despite incredible risks, like the anime/manga Attack on Titan, have always been very appealing to me.

Broche said a French fantasy novel about a group of explorers traveling the world called La Horde du Contrevent was also an inspiration for the narrative.

The Unique Turn-Based Combat Is Inspired by Many Action Titles

The combat in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is unique and a fresh take on turn-based combat. Broche also shed some on combat aspect of the game and said that the game implements real-time elements in turn-based combat.

He also revealed the several action games that the game took inspiration from. Broche said,

We were inspired by action games like the Souls series, Devil May Cry, and NieR, and their rewarding gameplay was something we wanted to bring into a turn-based setting.

He added that players need to “learn the attacks, timings, and weaknesses for each enemy encounter” and the developers have tried to bring that challenge into a new genre with the game. The battle system in the game is called reactive turn-based and players can take time to get used to it.

However, dodging and parrying will be key and players need to get accustomed to it quickly. There will be several boss fights and they will be hard but very rewarding as well. The developer will share more as the game comes closer to its release.

Are you looking forward to playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Let us know in the comments!