The musical composer of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has shared how he went about creating a dynamic soundtrack that responds to what the player is experiencing in-game and keeps exploration fresh. A turn-based fantasy RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the debut game from new French development studio Sandfall Interactive. The title has been at the top of many gamers' wish lists ever since its impressive and exciting reveal last Summer.
Quality music is essential in video games, especially for narrative-rich turn-based RPGs that carry heavy and intense emotions along the journey, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's score is certainly up to the task . The Best War Games spoke with Lorien Testard, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's musical composer, about how he developed a soundtrack that underscores the characters' emotions and reacts to the players' battles, all while having enough variety throughout the game's roughly 30-hour playtime.
The Unwritten Rules of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Explained
Before venturing into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, there are some unwritten rules about its combat and exploration players should take note of.
Clair Obscur's Battle Music Changes Based on the Fight's Pacing
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has turn-based combat at the core of its gameplay experience, though that's not all players will be able to get up to in this game. Traversing the world's different areas, exploring Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's many unique locations, and soaking in the game's expertly crafted cutscenes are also just as important as its combat. It's not too uncommon for games to feature music that changes based on what the player is doing in the world, but when asked about how Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's music ebbs and flows with the player's actions, Testard mentioned how important it was for the game's music to be dynamic:
"I imagined the world of Clair Obscur as a vast universe to be painted with music.
The soundtrack follows the player throughout the entire journey — during exploration, combat, and cutscenes — supporting the emotions, environments, and story they experience along the way.
I really enjoyed trying to give each moment of the adventure its own music - songs that could reflect the world around the player, the characters’ feelings, and what’s happening in the story.
The music also evolves dynamically during battles: it can soften if the fight goes on for a long time, giving the player space to breathe, and then gradually build up again to highlight the climax and the end of the encounter."
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's combat has been a big point of excitement for many gamers since the title's initial gameplay reveal last year. The title seems to be elevating its turn-based combat by giving players the ability to dodge and parry enemy attacks in real-time, leading to more engaging and impactful battles further highlighted by Trestard's dynamic music. Turn-based games typically don't actively alter the battle music based on how long the fight has been enduring, so Trestard's score quieting down to allow players to think through their moves until the bigger, harder-hitting moments is a nice touch.
Each of Expedition 33's Explorable Areas Has Multiple Themes
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 doesn't feature a contiguous open world. Instead, players explore numerous smaller open areas separated by an overworld along their journey to stop the Paintress. As such, part of the challenge Testard faced was making sure the themes for each of these open areas sounded unique. Testard mentioned how each area has several tracks associated with it, and, much like a FromSoftware Souls game, each of the game's major boss battles boasts its own unique battle track.
"...I approached the game’s cutscenes almost like a 4.5-hour film, trying to highlight the characters’ emotions in the most honest and natural way I could. I wrote a lot of underscore music to quietly support the heroes’ emotional journey, and to create contrast with the more intense moments they experience throughout the story.
I wanted the soundtrack to offer a lot of variety, so that the music could be a constant source of freshness and emotional color as players explore the world. Each area has several different environmental themes, along with one to three battle themes depending on the size of the zone, and a custom boss theme specifically written for each battle.
That way, even if a player doesn’t connect with one particular track, it won’t become repetitive — they’ll move on to a new environment and fight with a new musical atmosphere as their adventure continues. It’s like different canvases, each area will offer a new sound palette and a different way to experience the world."
Testard mentions variety as a key component of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's soundtrack. While the game isn't nearly as long as some turn-based RPGs like Sega Atlus' Persona franchise—which this game draws much of its inspiration from—it's good to know that players will have a variety of different pieces of music to chew on as they explore the game's world. Some turn-based RPGs of the past have been known to struggle with music that can get stale after 60 or more hours, but thanks to Testard's fluid and dynamic soundtrack, this likely won't be the case with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
