Sandfall Interactive has deep-dived their debut title, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, during the Xbox Developer Direct and revealed more about the story and gameplay of the upcoming RPG.
Watch the trailer:
The game is set in a Belle Epoque-inspired fantasy world where, once a year, a Paintress awakes and paints a number on a Monolith. Everyone who is above the age of the number becomes erased. The game follows Expeditioners Gustave, Lune, Sciel, Maelle and other friends as they traverse the land to stop the Paintress before she erases the last survivors of humanity.
The game features turn-based RPG-style combat, a 3D navigatable world map, and custom skill trees for each playable character aimed at allowing players to adjust to their play style.
Xbox Wire travelled to France to speak to the Sandfall Interactive team and said this:
“Since the day I started working on this project in Unreal engine, I wanted a world map.”
“I feel like it’s such a cool thing that has almost completely disappeared from the face of the gaming industry. Like, nobody does that anymore, and for me it was such a crucial and important part of what made the old-school JRPGs unique. It’s this sense of travelling and [indicating that] we are an expedition… and we wanted the player to feel like they’re going on a grand journey.”
“In the beginning, it seems extremely, extremely big. And it is very big. There are a lot of levels to find… hidden bosses to find also on this world map; there are tons of secrets. And that’s also what makes a world map super cool, because it’s just like it feels like a completely different exploration game… and really makes you understand how much you’re travelling.”
Read more here.
CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 RELEASE DATE
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass on April 24, 2025.
