The acclaim ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33and the backstory behind its development seem to parallelHollow Knight, demonstrating the raw potential smaller-scale independent games continue to have within the industry. While the stories and worlds ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33andHollow Knightmight be far removed from one another, these debut games from their respective indie developers represent two sides of a coin that AAA studios seem to miss the mark on. With most RPGs focusing on action as of late, the likes ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33’s turn-based combat andHollow Knight’s blend of Soulsborne and Metroidvania genres offer like-minded, refreshing alternatives.
Despite prior and ongoingcomparisons to modern RPGs likeAvowed,The Outer Wilds, andFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth, the inspiration behindClair Obscur: Expedition 33was prompted by the classic games in theFinal Fantasyseries. Just asHollow Knighttook influences from older platformers, such asMetroid,Faxanadu,andZelda 2: The Adventure of Link, both games succeeded in exploring areas of game design that AAA developers had seemingly written off. With a film adaptation already confirmed forClair Obscur: Expedition 33and anticipation building forHollow Knight: Silksong’s release, the gaming industry could arguably learn the same lesson from either game’s success.
Like Hollow Knight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Breaks the Mold
Guillaume Broche, founder of Sandfall Interactive andClair Obscur: Expedition 33’s director, spoke to the BBCabout how unorthodox the game’s development had been, such as recruiting its team via Reddit and embracing remote work during COVID-19. However, likely informed by his experience working for Ubisoft before founding Sandfall Interactive, Broche recognized that the initial conception ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33went against the grain of the gaming industry, ranging from its small-scale team to its seemingly outdated turn-based mechanics. Ultimately, Broche attributes part ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33’s success to the adaptability and skill of this team and its dedication to the game’s vision:
“We have, I think, an amazing team mostly of junior people, but they are so incredibly invested in the project and talented.”
“Somehow it worked, which still makes no sense to me after all these years.”
The story ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33’s development and successisn’t new, however, as it shares various similarities with the journeyHollow Knighttook from Ludum Dare’s 2013 game jam to a nominee at The Game Awards in 2017. Much likeClair Obscur: Expedition 33, the developer behindHollow Knight, Team Cherry, began as a small team that broke from conventional game development, such as releasing itsHungry Knightgame jam entry to Newgrounds and crowdfunding its game development via Kickstarter. Moreover, just as Broche spearheadedClair Obscur: Expedition 33’s development, so too did Team Cherry’s founders, Ari Gibson and William Pellen.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Hollow Knight Represent Growing Trends in Gaming
The success ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33afterHollow Knightand other indie hits likeStardew Valley,Hades, andCuphead, regardless of bigger budgets or teams, points to a growing disparity between indie and AAA game development. More specifically, it suggests that the gaming community is increasingly interested in newer, more innovative approaches to classic game design, such as turn-based combat or Metroidvania platformers, instead of hyperrealistic graphics and live services.
For instance, even when accounting for the nostalgia of older games,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33overtookThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredwith more concurrent players and global sales on platforms like Steam.
In addition to their mold-breaking approaches to game development and design, bothHollow KnightandClair Obscur: Expedition 33set themselves apart from most games with distinctive styles, characters, and stories. Similar to howHollow Knightembraced its darker tone in contrast to its cartoon-like design,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33blends its influencesfrom other series likeFinal FantasyandPersonawith its artistic premise and reworked Victorian-era concepts. As a result, despite how different they might appear on the surface,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33andHollow Knightboth represent a growing trend in indie games that shows no signs of slowing down.
