Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the joint-highest rated game of the year, alongside roguelite puzzler Blue Prince, and one feature that makes it a lot more accessible is its easier story mode difficulty option. Turns out, that's only there because of Maelle voice actor Jennifer English.
"The reason that easy mode exists for Expedition 33 is because… Jennifer English," excitedly says Aliona Baranova, one of the performance directors on Baldur's Gate 3, where English played Shadowheart. "Because I asked for it," adds English on the pair's joint Twitch account, JenandAliona.
"I said, 'I really want to play this game and I don't think I can without it being on easy mode. Please make an easy mode,'" explains English. "And wonderful Florian has made it. Ben Starr calls it the Jennifer English Memorial Mode."
Florian is one of the developers at Sandfall, and Ben Starr plays Verso in Clair Obscur, as well as Clive in Final Fantasy 16 and the live-action Jimbo in all the unhinged Balatro adverts.
Clair Obscur's easy mode gives you a more forgiving window for dodging and parrying, but still provides enough of a challenge that it doesn't feel like you can simply turn your brain off and breeze through the entire game. A difficult tightrope to walk.
So, "That is the reason there's an easy mode, thanks to Jen not being professional," concludes Baranova. If you've played it, now you know who to thank.
If you're done with Clair Obscur, check out some of the other best RPGs you can dive into today.
