Sandfall Interactive’s debut release Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been a massive success. The stellar turn-based RPG has sold millions of copies, garnered a massive fanbase and has collected more Game Awards nominations than any other game in history.
While the team behind the project is proud of the game’s success, endearingly watching as fans and even the game’s voice actors debate the RPG’s two endings, the game’s creators are still quite shocked at just how big the game has become.
Talking to Radio Times Gaming at The Golden Joysticks, Sandfall CEO Guillaume Broche and art director Nicholas Maxson-Francome discussed the game’s continued success and popularity. Usually, a single-player game will release and trickle away, but Clair Obscur’s popularity has simply continued burning within its passionate community.
“Well, I mean, for sure, we did see all the nominations, but now that its kind of come to reality, it’s all a bit weird for all of us,” Maxson-Francome said when discussing the continued hype towards Sandfall’s debut release.
“I think, like, people don’t really realise that now, it’s become big, but before launch it wasn’t really supposed to be big,” Broche added. “And I think we all felt the same things, ‘yeah, it’s going to be cool. It’s not going to be big, but it’s going to be cool.’”
“It’s so touching and incredible; it’s very hard to explain, but we are shellshocked.”
Sandfall CEO Guillaume Broche
The Sandfall CEO explained that “nobody understands what’s happening” when it comes to the unprecedented level of critical acclaim that’s been pushed towards Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with the team continually shocked at the continued hype towards the game.
“As we say, nobody understands what’s really happening, but it’s a weird feeling, you know, when you put your heart out into the world and the world embraces it and gives you so much love back,” he continued. “We get so much love from the players, all the messages and the fan art and the covers. It’s so touching and incredible; it’s very hard to explain, but we are shellshocked. Yeah, I can, we can say that, for sure.”
Broche’s comments were echoed by actor Ben Starr, who plays Verso in the turn-based RPG, with the actor explaining that it was always pitched as a “small game” instead of the critical collosus it has since become.
“It was never intended to be as big as it is,” the actor said. “Its turned into this kind of cultural moment, phenomenon, but that’s just because the game is very honest, I think, and a lot of people have bought into that. And thank you to everyone.”
While work on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is seemingly done at Sandfall Interactive, the team already has ideas for future projects. However, first and foremost, the studio is up for a multitude of awards at this year’s annual Game Awards celebrations and, let’s be honest, they’re probably going to win a lot of them.
