- A new interview reveals that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was shaping up to be a different title in its initial script.
- Instead of its French-inspired dark fantasy setting, the RPG was set in steampunk Victorian England.
- It would have featured traditional aliens and zombies as enemies instead of the unique ones we got now.
From being hailed as the GOTY 2025 winner by Stellar Blade director to becoming the highest-rated title of the year, Clair Obscur holds accolades that no other game boasts. However, new details reveal the RPG was entirely different in its early stages of development.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was initially set in steampunk Victorian England instead of its dark-fantasy French-inspired setting. However, Sandfall Interactive’s CEO convinced Svedberg-Yen, the writer, to reboot the current script and go all-in on her wildest fantasies.
Why it matters: Without the support of the investors and Sandfall Interactive CEO, Clair Obscur would have featured a more explored steampunk England setting with a more traditional group of enemies.
In an interview with The Gamer, Svedberg-Yen says she started writing Clair Obscur’s script from scratch almost a year into the old one. The game would have featured your run-of-the-mill zombies and aliens as enemies instead of the fantastical variety we got now.
The gameplay would have been similar, but the story was completely different. It was set in a steampunk Victorian England with zombies, aliens, and various things.
-Svedberg-Yen, Clair Obscur Writer.
Svedberg confirms that investors played a big role in convincing her and the CEO to think big with the project and stop worrying about the funding. It led to a change of course and the Belle Époque dark-fantasy setting instead.
A five-year-old pre-alpha trailer for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 also hints at a more steampunk and sci-fi setting than the dreamy city of Lumière.
Because of Clair Obscur’s satisfying gameplay mechanics and well-crafted script, the former PlayStation boss has also dubbed the RPG the perfect balance between the ambition of an AAA game and an AA budget.
Do you think Clair Obscur: Expedition would have been a completely different game if it took place in Victorian London? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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