Clair Obscur Expedition 33’s director heaps praise on Persona 5’s style

Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is no doubt a love letter to JRPGs. You’ll find the DNA of genre classics like Final Fantasy, Suikoden, and Lost Odyssey all throughout the French studio’s work, and that’s by design. E33 is begging you to make connections to the games it’s built on top of, and from my time with it, this only enhances the overall experience. When Expedition 33 first came out, there were a lot of comparisons to Atlus’s own landmark RPG series, and now Sandfall’s creative director Guillaume Broche acknowledges how much of an impact it had on development. In fact, Broche thinks Persona 5 might just be the best game ever made when it comes to style.

Broche is no stranger to shouting out other games. Shortly after Clair Obscur Expedition 33‘s launch, they recommended anyone enjoying their game also try The Hundred Line, after it launched on the exact same day. Now, though, Broche is acknowledging just how many truly brilliant JRPGs influenced their game, while admitting that Persona 5 might be at the top of this list.

“Persona 5 in particular is what I consider the best game in the world when it comes to UI and combat visuals. The way the camera shifts dramatically with each action from the player, making it feel like you’re watching a movie, left a huge impression on me,” Broche says in a Denfaminicogamer interview (translated by Automaton Media).

“There’s still so much more I want to incorporate from Persona 5, especially into the UI,” Broche adds. “So we’re actually still continuing to refine it even now.”

If you’ve played both Persona 5 and Expedition 33 like I have, the former’s stylistic influences on the latter become immediately apparent. Persona 5 uses sweeping and swift camera movements, a bold UI, and dynamic attacks to bring the turn-based combat to life, and E33 follows suit. That said, Sandfall’s game does do some new things with its action not seen in Persona 5. You can jump, parry, or dodge the enemy, and use these mechanics to absolutely blitz your opponent with ease.

We’ve also got all the best Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Pictos to help with your builds. Otherwise, check out our breakdown of all the Clair Obscur Expedition 33 weapons and how to upgrade them.

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