Clair Obscur, Expedition 33's creative director, speaks candidly on the new RPG's respect of Final Fantasy and Persona. 'We definitely are not hiding that there are influence'

After watching a hands-off demo for Clair Obscur Expedition 33, a game that I think is one of the most exciting new RPGs coming in 2025, what caught my attention was the game's apparent debt to the great turn based RPG series Persona and its latest and greatest release Persona 5 Royal.

Expedition 33 is a dark fantasy western version of Persona. It has a real-time combat system that forces players to strike first, or else be struck. There are also team-based and turn-based battles as well as monstrously different enemy designs. Guillaume Broche was in the same room as me, so I asked him what he thought.

"Yeah. Broche stated that "we are not hiding the fact that there are influences coming from the big Japanese genre." "I wouldn't say Persona is our biggest influence, but I would say that it is a big influence." I'm not ashamed of my love for action in the Final Fantasy 8, 9 and 10 era. I think the core of the gameplay is definitely inspired by that. Not directly. It's not as if we just take it from games. The game is similar to [what] I was raised with and what kind of shaped my creative tastes. I would say that we are influenced by them, but not trying to copy them directly.

"On the Persona side, yes, we did take a look at their camera movements and menus and how they have been created dynamically. We tried to create something that feels dynamic but is also our own thing in a sense. We have a different art style. We just wanted to do things our way."

Broche's confirmation that my gut instinct was correct was refreshing. He also said that Expedition 33 was looking to use these acclaimed games as the basis for its work, which feels like a western dark fantasy twist on the traditional JRPG. You can watch the recent reveal trailer to get a taste of Clair Obscur : Expedition 33.

I don't think I'm alone in saying that I love the look and feel of Expedition 33. The combat is turn-based but has an action element to it. Attacks are optimised by well-timed buttons presses. Dodges and parries against enemy attacks can also be executed using button presses. It's a more engaging RPG where you can fight at your own pace. This is a game that you should keep an eye out for as we move into the next year.