Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will launch on April 24

In a fresh look at Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the team at Sandfall Interactive discussed the game’s origins, inspirations for its world and story, and, most importantly, a release date. The game is scheduled to launch on April 24.

Guillaume Broche, CEO and Creative Director at Sandfall Interactive discussed the game’s tiny beginnings. He wanted to work on something in the classic JRPG genre he loved so much, with some modern takes. He then brought on some key people who loved the idea and expanded from before they had Sandfall Interactive.

The story sounds very intriguing with its fantasy setting of 19th Century late France, where the world has been facing a crisis and slowly, people are killed yearly. A new number is painted each year, one digit lower, and all the people of that age die. Many expeditions have been set out to stop this, but all have failed. You’ll be playing the group of ‘Expedition 33.’

Working on the key gameplay elements first, the team knew they wanted the turn-based combat of JRPGs but with interactive elements. That’s why you can dodge and parry and complete on-screen QTEs for spells—all things to keep the turn-based combat feeling as engaging as possible. However, there will be plenty of ways to play the game, as the characters will all have their own skill trees and passive skills you can set and experiment with to suit your playstyle.

Returning to the roots of the JRPG genre and something we don’t often see anymore, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will contain a 3D world map where the players will be able to move between areas of the world, find secrets and, as they progress, eventually move quickly across its large world with a character named Broche, who looks like a giant air balloon.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launches on April 24 for Xbox Series X|S, PC and PlayStation 5. It’ll be available to play on day one on Game Pass.