Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has emerged as one of the big hits of 2025, thanks to its combination of turn-based gameplay and souls-like elements, as well as strong storytelling and rich art direction. The game has a distinctly French vibe to it–thanks to it being visually influenced by France’s Belle Époque art movement–but early in its development, Expedition 33 was originally set in a steampunk world that was populated with supernatural enemies.
“This game was very different. 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,” narrative lead Jennifer Svedberg-Yen explained to The Gamer.
After Expedition 33’s investors encouraged developer Sandfall Interactive to think bigger, this led to the game being rebooted entirely. The studio had been working on Expedition 33 for six months at this point, and the new direction was inspired by a painting that game director Guillaume Broche liked and a short story with artistic themes that Svedberg-Yen had written.