Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 creative director Guillaume Broche found inspiration in FromSoftware gems like Dark Souls and Elden Ring while developing his own RPG.
And, if you're wondering why, it all boils down to challenge – something FromSoftware just so happens to excel at – but in this case, maybe not in the way you'd first expect. He explains as much in a new episode of Video Game Club via Konbini on YouTube (below), first outlining what makes Elden Ring (and Souls games in general) so special.
"For me, what I love about Elden Ring is the exploration, not understanding everything, and trying to piece the puzzle together," he says. "I've played every single Souls game to death, but it's an obsession." Not a bad one, eh?
"In the Souls games, it's clearly something else entirely from what we're doing in [Clair Obscur: Expedition 33], but there's still that aspect where there's a story," he then notes, describing how most Souls players "finish the game the first time and haven't understood a thing." Yep, that checks out – and he had that same experience himself.
"Even though I loved the game, I didn't understand a thing," as Broche admits.
"Then, when you look into it, the lore is really cool – but you still get the sense that everything is written out, everything is well-crafted, and everything is incredibly coherent. Even if you don't understand it, you can feel it. That's what I love about it, whether it's in movies or games. It's that aspect where you can really put your brain to work to understand everything that's going on."
In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the lead states there's a similar dynamic. Even though it's easier to follow story-wise, folks don't totally get it all unless they truly give it some thought.
"There's still a story, there are cutscenes," Broche describes. "Overall, everyone more or less understands what's going on – but to fully understand it, I really wanted people to rack their brains too and be prompted to think for themselves."
He concludes, "I didn't want to spoon-feed the player all the answers" – which makes sense. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 might not be as "difficult" as the Souls games, per se, but it's not a surface-level ordeal by any means… and that's why I love it.
