"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Blends Sekiro, Belle Époque, and JRPG Elements"

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a highly anticipated turn-based RPG that blends unique real-time mechanics to offer players an immersive and interactive experience. This game draws inspiration from various sources, particularly JRPGs, and recently unveiled its first character trailer. Let's delve into the inspirations behind the game and what the trailer reveals about its characters.

Building the Heritage of JRPGs

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 aims to pay homage to classic JRPGs, particularly the Final Fantasy series. During the 2025 Game Developers Conference, Expedition 33 Producer François Meurisse shared with GamesRadar+ the game's inspirations. He highlighted Final Fantasy 10, as well as earlier titles on PlayStation like Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 9, as major influences. "Those are big childhood games for Guillaume [Broche], our game director," Meurisse noted. "He wanted to capture the feeling that he imagined would remain in modern Final Fantasy-like games if they had continued with turn-based mechanics. But he also mixed in a lot of different inspirations. Final Fantasy and JRPGs are the preeminent gameplay heritage we have."

While the gameplay is heavily inspired by JRPGs, Meurisse emphasized the team's desire to create a distinct game with its own artistic identity. "On the art style in particular, we didn't want to mimic Japanese games with stylized manga-like or anime-like graphics," he explained. "We wanted to develop an art direction based on our own influences. That's how we arrived at the early 20th century Belle Époque inspiration with art deco elements mixed with high fantasy. We iterated several times to find our unique art style, which helped us build our own distinctive difference."

Other Inspirations

In addition to JRPGs, Expedition 33 also draws inspiration from souls-like games, particularly Sekiro, for its defense mechanics. Meurisse mentioned, "The defense system is more inspired by Sekiro and From Software games. It has a rhythmic element and a more real-time component, making it more skill-based."

Furthermore, the game incorporates mechanics from deckbuilding games into its battle sequences. "For example, the idea of having action points for skills in battles is more inspired by deckbuilding games than the usual magic points or mana in RPGs," Meurisse elaborated.

First Character Trailer

As Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gears up for its release, the game will introduce new characters weekly. On March 13, Expedition 33's official Twitter (X) account released a trailer featuring Gustave, a resourceful and dedicated engineer from Lumière. Gustave is poised to lead Expedition 33 in their mission to stop the Paintress from painting death once more.

The trailer showcases Gustave wielding a sword and pistol as his primary combat weapons. In the overworld, he navigates and leaps from one point to another, demonstrating agility. Combat scenes reveal Gustave's ability to deal massive damage and utilize a variety of skills. However, the developers have yet to confirm details regarding character roles and related mechanics within the game.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is set to launch on April 24, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. To stay updated with the latest information about the game, be sure to follow our ongoing coverage.