Clair Obscur, Expedition 33's creative director, talks about the dark fantasy RPG’s stunning Unreal Engine 5 graphic design: 'It is a key foundation for studios to really look at the latest technology.'

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is a new dark fantasy RPG that Sandfall Interactive has created. It's not just that it has a gameplay similar to a classic Final Fantasy game or, in combat terms, a Persona, which I love, nor because the game has a very distinctive twisted Belle Epoque-style aesthetic. It's also using Unreal Engine 5 and its graphics are stunning, with subtle lighting effects and incredibly realistic textures. You can get a glimpse of the game by watching the trailer below.

After sitting down with Guillaume Broche, the creative director of the new RPG, for a hands off demonstration of the game I decided to ask about the studio's usage of Unreal Engine 5 as well as what it brought to table for the development team.

"The production started six years ago with Unreal Engine 4. We've upgraded to every new version, and now we're on Unreal Engine 5." We are big fans Unreal Engine 5 because, as we've told you, our team is very small compared to what we're making. We are a small team of 30 people. We are relying heavily on new technology in order to achieve this, and I believe that a team our size could not have achieved it five or six years back.

"But with the ecosystem of technology that exists, such as Unreal Engine 5, it saves us a great deal of time, including animation, rendering and everything else. MetaHumans, Unreal Engine 5's framework tool for creating high-fidelity digital humans, is what we use for the character's facial features. It's 100 percent customised but we start with the rig and do all the work. It's definitely a big help in helping us achieve that. It's important for us to look at the latest technology the other studios use."

Broche's comments are interesting because they show that Unreal Engine, and Unreal Engine 5 in particular, is most useful to devs for the backend automations, streamlining, and streamlined testing that make putting together and testing a game easier for small teams. If you showed me the gameplay or trailer of Expedition 33, and told me that it was the work of a large studio, I wouldn't bat my eyelids, because its visuals and animated are so impressive. The fact that this visually stunning RPG was developed by only 30 people shows the power of Unreal Engine 5

The Belle Epoque aesthetic of the game is a great way to elevate the cinematic experience. I'm looking forward to seeing more, especially with Expedition 33 launching in 2025. Here's hoping that my RTX system 3090 Ti is capable of running the game at its best.