The praise for JRPG throwback Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues to roll in as Naughty Dog studio head Neil Druckmann has hit credits and has been left "in awe."
Druckmann took to his personal social media over the weekend to post his raw reactions to finishing the J'RPG. "I'm in awe," he says. "One of the most moving, creative stories I played in a long time."
First off, no one tell Charlie Cox that, as he's already had quite enough praise for now, thank you. Secondly, and perhaps more relevant, is that the praise follows numerous other endorsements from various notable industry figures we've seen over the months.
One of Dragon Age's co-creators says it's "kind of to JRPGs what Baldur's Gate 3 was to CRPGs," a Baldur's Gate 3 publishing lead says it could deservedly "top 8-10 million" sales, and The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2077's global community director previously said that "we need more games like this." Not long before the release of Death Stranding 2, Hideo Kojima also offered praise for the team's nimble size.
So why the praise? We could leave it at 'game good,' but there are a few facets to unpack. On the one hand, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hits all the right nostalgia notes by taking what many loved about turn-based JRPGs from years past and bringing them forward with a modern coat of paint. The story is also well-written and well-executed.
On the other hand, and what's interesting from an industry standpoint, is that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an AA title with a smaller team size to match. While it's worth noting that we don't know how much was spent on it, and that outsourcing does mean the work wasn't just handled by Sandfall Interactive's 32-person team (33 if you include their dog), we've seen increasing calls from within the industry that AA games could be the answer to the bloating headcounts and budgets relating to AAA game development.
Either way, as award season slowly nears, it appears Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be right in the mix, and with plenty of endorsement from within and outside the industry.
As per our Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review, we also liked it. In case you were wondering.
