If you spent your time with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feeling like some of its design choices were a little messy, you aren't alone. In fact, that was exactly the point.
Guillaume Broche, the creative director behind the award-winning RPG, recently sat down for an episode of Konbini’s Video Game Club to discuss the design philosophy behind his work. While the game has secured its place as a GOTY winner, Broche is refreshingly candid about the fact that it is far from perfect—and he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Games that try to be perfect, that try to fix all their flaws—they're usually just really boring," Broche explained. "My theory is that it's just like people. People who try to be perfect are boring because they have no personality. Whereas people who embrace their slightly weird side—in the end—are the interesting ones."
Finding Charm in the "Lame"
Broche cited the Devil May Cry series as a major influence, specifically noting how the first game is "a bit of a mess" in its execution. He pointed to the awkward writing and the bizarre relationship between Dante and Trish as examples of "lame" elements that don't actually hurt the experience. "You see their flaws, and you think to yourself, 'Yeah, it's lame, but I don't care,'" he said. "These games are really endearing because they're not perfect."
This perspective carries over directly to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. When pressed on the specific quirks of his own game, Broche didn't shy away from the criticism. He openly admitted that the RPG features "unbearable" minigames, allows players to get "absurdly strong" by Act 3, and is structured in a way where players might breeze through the entire experience without ever seeing all the content.
Rather than seeing these as issues to be patched out, the team at Sandfall Interactive viewed them as part of the game's identity. "Who cares? It's just funny. That's what we love about it," Broche said, reaffirming that the team believes these imperfections are a core part of the game's charm.
Prioritizing Personality Over Polish
For players who spent their time with the title, these design choices often became the most memorable parts of the journey. Whether it was struggling through the Only Up-esque climbing minigame by Gestral Games or breaking the power curve, these moments provided a distinct personality that a "perfectly" balanced game might have lacked.
Looking toward the future, Broche isn't concerned with maintaining the massive popularity or critical acclaim the studio achieved with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. He emphasized that the team isn't focused on whether their next project reaches the same heights, stating, "We're just going to do what we love again."
It’s a rare sentiment in an industry often obsessed with optimization and mass appeal, but for fans of the RPG, it suggests that whatever Sandfall develops next will likely retain that same quirky, unpolished heart.