Lighting the way forward for RPGs
One of the games I’m most looking forward to right now in 2025 is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a unique-looking new dark fantasy RPG being created by Sandfall Interactive. This is not just because it offers a gameplay experience close to that of a classic Final Fantasy or, in combat, a Persona game, of which I am a big fan, nor that the game sports a very distinctive twisted Belle Époque aesthetic. But also because it’s using Unreal Engine 5, and that means its graphics look fantastic, with notably subtle lighting effects and incredibly detailed textures. Check out the trailer below to get a taste.
So, having recently sat down with the new RPG’s creative director, Guillaume Broche, for a hands-off demonstration of the game, I decided to ask him about the studio’s use of Unreal Engine 5 and what it brought to the table for the dev team.
“The production actually started six years ago on Unreal Engine 4, and we‘ve upgraded with every version that came out, and right now we are on Unreal Engine 5. We are big fans of Unreal Engine 5, because, right now, as we have told you, we are a very small team compared to the game we are making. We are a team of about 30 people. We are betting a lot on new technology to be able to achieve that, and I truly believe that five or six years ago it would have been impossible for a team of our size to make this.
“But now with the ecosystem of tech that exists, like with Unreal Engine 5, which saves us a lot of time on everything, like animation, rendering, and everything. For example, the MetaHumans (Unreal Engine 5’s framework tools for creating high fidelity digital humans) that we are using for the character’s face – of course, it is 100 per cent customised, but we start from the rig to do all the facial work and everything. So it’s definitely a huge help to help us achieve that. For us, it’s a key foundation for the studio to really look for the latest technology that the other studios have.”
Character models and lighting look fantastic in Expedition 33. (Image credit: Sandfall Interactive)
What’s interesting to me about Broche’s comments here is that Unreal Engine in general, but obviously Unreal Engine 5 specifically, seems to be most useful for devs in terms of the backend automations and streamlining that makes putting a game together and testing it easier for small teams. I mean, if you showed me the trailer or gameplay footage of Expedition 33 and told me it was the product of a big studio I wouldn’t bat an eyelid, so impressive and slick are its visuals and animations. So the fact that this expansive and visually impressive RPG is being developed by just 30 people does seem to show the power of Unreal Engine 5.
Yes, sure, from what I’ve seen of the game so far, it’s not an expansive open world, but the character models, environments and how they are both lit truly is impressive, adding to the cinematic experience and flair of the game, which is already elevated thanks to its unique Belle Époque aesthetic. So, yeah, I’m excited to see more for sure, with Expedition 33 launching sometime in 2025, and here’s hoping my RTX 3090 Ti system is up the job of running this game as it deserves to be ran.
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