The developers behind gorgeous love letter and turn-based hit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 haven’t been shy about their inspirations. Everything from old-school Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger to Lost Odyssey and Atlus JRPGs helped shape the team’s debut game, but Expedition 33’s director recently had glowing praise for one in particular.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 creative director Guillaume Broche gushed about Persona 5, the coming of age epic about high schooling by day and fighting demons at night, in an interview with DenfaminicoGamer.
“I think Persona 5 is the best game in the world when it comes to battle depictions and UI design,” Broche said, in quotes translated by Genki. “I was greatly influenced by the dramatic camera changes every time the player operates, and how it unfolds like watching a movie.”
Persona’s stylish camera moves were obviously implemented into the newest J-inspired RPG, and you can even trace it back to Lost Odyssey, too. Though Broche also said he’d like to take the feature even further in the future. Either way, Broche isn’t alone in the praise. Persona 5 is one of the very best JRPGs ever made, according to us, at the very least.
Expedition 33’s proving to be a heavyweight in its own right, as well, though. The game sold a whopping one million copies in just a few days, not including everyone who tried it out via Game Pass on Xbox and PC. Plus, its concurrent player peak on Steam surpassed massive games in the genre, like Metaphor: ReFantazio, and continued to peak weeks after launch.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Collector’s Edition “sold out way faster” than expected, so all its cool merch is getting re-released without the base RPG for $119
