Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is inspired by Souls Like games

In a recent interview for GamesRadar during GDC 2025 (Game Developers Conference), the producer and co-founder of Sandfall Interactive studio, François Meurisse, commented on some of the inspirations in the creation of the highly anticipated Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

According to Meurisse, one of the biggest inspirations comes from the Final Fantasy franchise, especially from VII to X, in which director Guillaume Broche is a big fan. Not only that, but a big part of the JRPG gameplay is very much due to the fact that these games have that combat mechanic.

But what caught a lot of attention was when the producer also mentioned that the game's defense system is inspired by titles from FromSoftware, like the legendary Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, in addition to the dynamics of the Souls franchise.

It (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) has that kind of rhythm element and a more real-time component. More skill-based.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be released on April 24 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It is worth mentioning that the game will be available via Game Pass.