There are a lot of games “inspired” by Final Fantasy — it’s one of the most prolific franchises in video game history, after all. But few games manage to take that inspiration further than aping mechanics or styles, but few games really understand the essence of what makes Final Fantasy so uniquely intriguing — its intoxicating mixture of character work, existential themes, and nitty gritty mechanics. In a way, even a lot of modern Final Fantasy games have lost that formula that made older games really shine. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the only RPGs in the last two decades to really tap into that well of classic Final Fantasy, and in particular, the strong design ethos established by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. It might even have more in common with Sakaguchi’s later works, like the cult classic Lost Odyssey.
What’s especially incredible about Expedition 33 is that it’s the very first game developed by Sandfall Interactive, a studio made up of largely former Ubisoft developers. After the game was announced, the team very publicly said they were inspired by the likes of NieR and Final Fantasy 8, but having played Expedition 33, it’s clearly more than inspiration — it’s an understanding of what makes those games tick.
