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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story mode is down to Maelle actor and Baldur's Gate 3 favorite Jennifer English: "I really want to play this game and I don't think I can without it being on easy mode"

News
By Issy van der Velde published 23 May 2025

Shadowheart to the rescue

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A screenshot from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 showing Maelle fighting an enemy.
(Image credit: Sandfall Interactive)
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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."

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Jennifer English is why Story Mode exists in Expedition 33 - YouTube Jennifer English is why Story Mode exists in Expedition 33 - YouTube
Watch On

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.

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Issy van der Velde
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I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.

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A screenshot of Gustave in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
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