I'm Waiting for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Scratching the itch that Square Enix doesn't do anymore while offering something different
Y’all remember when Final Fantasy games were turn-based before they went full-on action like they did for 15 onwards?
I recalled after the 10th mainline title and its sequel being the last of traditional turn-based in the mainstream after FF10 was where Final Fantasy kept trying to reinvent itself, leading to an identity crisis as well as Square Enix being mismanaged even at the time of this writing, despite their latest outing being Final Fantasy 16 and the second part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. Despite their positive reception to player feedback. It didn’t meet the company’s “expectations.”
Many reasons for this are evident from the outsider’s perspective, as Square Enix's business strategies thus far have been poor at best. The many projects they’ve canceled and the resources accumulated from them led to their mainstay titles picking up the slack, which hasn’t worked out for them thus far.
I’m not going over Square’s missteps right now, for they made a gap in the market for someone else to make a high-budget traditional turn-based video game. This is not to say games like old-school Final Fantasy are dying. Persona 5 took the world by storm with its stylish presentation and music. Who could forget the massive success of Baldur Gate 3? The slew of indie titles of all sizes releasing every day on Steam? Or older Final Fantasy titles that have people still buying and playing today? Turn-based gameplay in the RPG space is alive and well, but what do these two games have in common? Their gameplay isn’t as much of a focal point as the presentation they brought to the players.
Persona 5, in particular, oozes style from the art direction to its UI design.
The gameplay is standard turn-based fare, but the developers’ presentation of P5 as a whole to players made it successful. This continues to this day and influences many games across genres. Hence, a new studio in France, Sandfall Interactive, comes in with its offering to the genre and hopefully makes some waves.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Upon looking them up, Sandfall Interactive was formed in October 2020 and comprised ex-Ubisoft employees. If the information provided is accurate, they made a good decision, considering Ubisoft is a dumpster fire concurrently. Now, what exactly is Clair Obscure: Expedition 33?
Well, it is a turn-based RPG inspired by JRPGs with French influences. Considering the developer’s background, this is unsurprising, and it shows in their trailers on YouTube. Some things stood out for me upon watching Sandfall’s trailers.
Their UI? They’re taking notes from Altus, at least in combat encounters.
Expedition 33’s combat, while turn-based, made strides in changing the formula to have real-time elements (Reaction enemy attacks, quick time events, etc.) akin to both Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi RPG series.
Personally? This is an excellent first step in improving/innovating the turn-based formula, which is sorely needed in this space. Granted, what Sandfall brought to the table isn’t new per se, as much as Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 is a love letter to old JRPGs with a French touch and modern accessibility. The plot and world of the game had me interested as nicely, mainly because it reminded me of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
But it has a mostly adult cast (I recalled only one being a young adult, aka teenagers), which I appreciated Sandfall for. Ironically enough, I have concerns with its combat, for the camera angles doing specific actions would be nauseating after a while, and hopefully, they’ll add options to mitigate it. Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 is a game I have been yearning for despite the potential flaws.
It is a game that Square Enix and detractors of turn-based RPGs say won’t sell in the current year. Yet here comes a relatively high-budget turn-based JRPG-inspired game releasing sometime next year. I will be keeping an eye out for when it does come.
Sources
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Steam Page
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Website
Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth didn't meet expectations for Square Enix.