Clair Obscur's Composer Talks Going From Unknown To Scoring 2025's Most Celebrated RPG

<img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/15/b59619cf/photo-lorien-testard-alice-duport-percier-1.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /> Composer Lorien Testard did not have a history working on major video game soundtracks prior to his work on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Developer Sandfall found his work on SoundCloud and brought him on board. Over the course of five years, he composed 154 songs for the game, and if you played Clair Obscur, then you know how crucial music is to the game’s overall experience. We had a chance to speak with Testard over e-mail about his work on the game, how Sandfall found him, his approach to the music, and the potential of doing more Clair Obscur work in the future, to which he said, “The tomorrows are still unwritten!” You can find the full interview below. <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/15/c4fa0384/photo-lorien-testard-alice-duport-percier-28.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" alt class="image-style-body-default"> Game Informer: Is it true that this is your first major video game project, and the team at Sandfall just found your work on SoundCloud?  <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/15/e4aeb7fd/headshot.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" alt class="image-style-body-default"> Lorien Testard: Yes, that’s true. I was composing one track per week and posting it on SoundCloud. After about a year, I shared my work on an indie game forum, and that’s when Guillaume came across it and offered me the opportunity to compose music for his game project. I’m really grateful the stars aligned that day and brought us together! Lyrics are not typical in video game soundtracks. What influenced your decision to include them so prominently, and what was that songwriting process like? Lyrics and voice are important to me. They’re a personal and direct way to share emotion with the player. Through lyrics, I can share a vision of the story and express my emotional sensitivity to specific scenes in the game. It creates an intimate connection between the player and the world. Often, the lyrics aren’t immediately noticed during gameplay, they blend into the atmosphere. But for those who take the time to listen, or go back and read them afterwards, they’ll discover hidden layers and secrets in the words. I enjoy writing lyrics for the game a lot, and I love players’ reactions when they realize what the words are saying. It feels like we’ve created a bond together, through the music and the game. For the songwriting process, I chose to write in several languages – mostly French, English, and an invented language – depending on the feeling I wanted to convey and the emotion I wanted to share with the players. <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/15/835ffcca/photo-lorien-testard-alice-duport-percier-17.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" alt class="image-style-body-default"> Even without its vocals, Clair Obscur has a very distinct sound that ranges from classical to rock. Why did you decide to use these particular genres? How did you go about nailing down the game’s musical identity? I didn’t really think about musical style or the game’s overall musical identity. I let myself be guided by what I felt for each character or location. I have been thinking about the game like a giant blank canvas, filled with smaller paintings to illustrate musically. It was the characters and the world that inspired the musical ideas. That’s why the soundtrack shifts freely – from piano and strings for the Gommage, to saxophone for the mini-game on the Gestral Beach, or to vocals with electric guitars when the characters need it. Many large RPGs in recent years have shifted to a multi-composer approach, where teams of 3-4 people write massive soundtracks together. Was this largely a solo effort for you, or did you have additional composers on your team? For the tracks where you worked with multiple composers, how did this affect your process? I was lucky to be involved from the very first steps of the project, which gave me the opportunity to discover the world and story of Expedition 33 very early on. That allowed me to start composing the soundtrack long before the production phase began. It’s what made it possible for me to carry the production and musical vision all the way through to the end of this massive project. About a year and a half into the process, [Alice Duport-Percier] joined me to collaborate on the vocal songs. She has incredible talent and the voice of an angel. She wrote the majority of the vocal lines in the game. <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/15/df40ee5b/photo-lorien-testard-alice-duport-percier-33-antoinebillet.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" alt class="image-style-body-default"> Alice Duport-Percier (left) and Lorien Testard Most of the time, our process worked like this: I’d start by composing the instrumental version of the track, writing the lyrics, and sharing my feelings about the song and his emotional context to her. Then she’d create her vocal line guided by her sensitivity and what the song made her feel. She came to my studio once a month to record with me, and we kept that rhythm going for three years. This is not a complaint, but sometimes the sound mix in the game seems off in favor of the music. As in, dialogue will be a bit overpowered by music. Was this intentional? No, it’s not intentional. Mixing the game’s audio was a massive undertaking, and everything was done custom. For each cutscene, sound effect, songs, or line of dialogue, it’s always about finding the right balance between all the elements to convey what we feel is important to share with the players in that moment. The audio team worked with great care throughout the entire development to make sure the mix felt as balanced and appropriate as possible in every situation. You composed 154 songs for the game over the course of five years. Why was the process so long, and how did you end up writing so many songs? I quickly had a vision of the large-scale score the project would require, so I wrote out my ideal setlist for the OST. To make it immersive and truly reflective of the world, I decided that each level would need multiple environmental tracks, battle themes, unique boss themes, and custom music for the cinematics. That gave me a massive list of tracks to compose, and I had a lot of fun working through it, song by song, over the five years of development. Can you share some of your favorite video game soundtracks, RPG soundtracks, and specifically RPG battle themes? I love the soundtracks from the Zelda and Mario series, Majora’s Mask and Mario Sunshine for example, but I also listen to and enjoy a lot of music and artists that aren't from the world of video games. <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/15/2d870c5a/photo-lorien-testard-alice-duport-percier-25.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" alt class="image-style-body-default"> Clair Obscur moves back and forth between devastating, comedic, and everywhere in between. How do you compose for so many tonal shifts while maintaining a cohesive sound? The use of melodies and leitmotifs helped with that – bringing back a character’s theme in a different arrangement or style created a link between different moments in the game, even when the emotions changed. There are many connections between the tracks. The battle music often sounds more contemporary and electronic than the orchestrated main themes. Was this an intentional choice? Yes, that was an intentional choice, but not because those tracks are for battles. It had more to do with the feeling I got from the specific enemy the player is facing. Whether you're fighting Sakapatate or Sirène, the music can’t paint the same picture around the boss. Each song reflects the atmosphere and personality of the enemy the player is facing. What tools do you use to compose and make music? Are there any instruments in the score that might surprise listeners? I use a software called Nuendo to compose the tracks, along with various VSTs. For real and organic instruments, I play guitar, a bit of bass, and some piano. We also recorded many incredibly talented solo musicians for the OST, and the soundtrack features a nice variety of instruments throughout, including some you might not hear every day, like saxophone, accordion, bawu, or cümbüş. <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/15/ecb3cc42/mime.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" alt class="image-style-body-default"> Clair Obscur is uniquely French in many, many ways. How did you apply the French aesthetic to the soundtrack? I didn’t intentionally try to bring a specifically French aesthetic into Clair Obscur, but the Belle Époque theme and all the French music I’ve listened to throughout my life are definitely a part of me. That said, I had a lot of fun making a more intentional nod with the mimes’ theme. I insisted, wholeheartedly, that the accordion had to be part of the OST and part of that song in particular. How did Sandfall describe the game to you at the start of development? The first time Guillaume told me about the project, he said something like: “You arrive at the beginning of the game after the heroes have already lost.” That set the tone. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAQZfeETFbg" target="_blank"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/15/f84ed55f/lmd294-packshot.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" alt class="image-style-body-default"> </a> Seeing the soundtrack on platforms like Spotify and YouTube lets you see what tracks are the most popular and have the most plays. Have there been any surprises there? Since the music follows the game experience closely, the tracks that stand out the most in the soundtrack are often tied to each player's journey through the game. But still, there have been a few surprises for me. I love feeling how personally the music connects with players. I get messages from players sharing which tracks stayed with them and touched them, and the variety in their choices is incredible, almost no track is left behind. Each one seems to find someone it speaks to. It’s so moving for me to feel that our music resonates with players like that. Would you be open to returning to compose for a sequel? Or composing a potential adaptation like a film? The tomorrows are still unwritten! For more on Clair Obscur, read<a style="text-decoration:none;" href="https://www.gameinformer.com/review/clair-obscur-expedition-33/melancholy-rpg-eminence"> Game Informer’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review</a>, check out our features, such as<a style="text-decoration:none;" href="https://www.gameinformer.com/2025/05/14/if-you-liked-clair-obscur-expedition-33-play-these-games-next"> other games to play if you liked Expedition 33</a>,<a style="text-decoration:none;" href="https://www.gameinformer.com/feature/2025/05/12/the-worst-games-to-play-with-a-newborn-at-home"> why it’s not a great game to play at home with a newborn</a>, and <a style="text-decoration:none;" href="https://www.gameinformer.com/opinion/2025/04/30/clair-obscur-trusts-its-audience-and-thats-why-its-a-hit">why we liked the beginning so much</a>.

Composer Lorien Testard did not have a history working on major video game soundtracks prior to his work on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Developer Sandfall found his work on SoundCloud and brought him on board. Over the course of five years, he composed 154 songs for the game, and if you played Clair Obscur, then you know how crucial music is to the game’s overall experience. We had a chance to speak with Testard over e-mail about his work on the game, how Sandfall found him, his approach to the music, and the potential of doing more Clair Obscur work in the future, to which he said, “The tomorrows are still unwritten!” You can find the full interview below.

Game Informer: Is it true that this is your first major video game project, and the team at Sandfall just found your work on SoundCloud?

Lorien Testard: Yes, that’s true. I was composing one track per week and posting it on SoundCloud. After about a year, I shared my work on an indie game forum, and that’s when Guillaume came across it and offered me the opportunity to compose music for his game project. I’m really grateful the stars aligned that day and brought us together! Lyrics are not typical in video game soundtracks. What influenced your decision to include them so prominently, and what was that songwriting process like? Lyrics and voice are important to me. They’re a personal and direct way to share emotion with the player. Through lyrics, I can share a vision of the story and express my emotional sensitivity to specific scenes in the game. It creates an intimate connection between the player and the world. Often, the lyrics aren’t immediately noticed during gameplay, they blend into the atmosphere. But for those who take the time to listen, or go back and read them afterwards, they’ll discover hidden layers and secrets in the words. I enjoy writing lyrics for the game a lot, and I love players’ reactions when they realize what the words are saying. It feels like we’ve created a bond together, through the music and the game. For the songwriting process, I chose to write in several languages – mostly French, English, and an invented language – depending on the feeling I wanted to convey and the emotion I wanted to share with the players.

Even without its vocals, Clair Obscur has a very distinct sound that ranges from classical to rock. Why did you decide to use these particular genres? How did you go about nailing down the game’s musical identity? I didn’t really think about musical style or the game’s overall musical identity. I let myself be guided by what I felt for each character or location. I have been thinking about the game like a giant blank canvas, filled with smaller paintings to illustrate musically. It was the characters and the world that inspired the musical ideas. That’s why the soundtrack shifts freely – from piano and strings for the Gommage, to saxophone for the mini-game on the Gestral Beach, or to vocals with electric guitars when the characters need it. Many large RPGs in recent years have shifted to a multi-composer approach, where teams of 3-4 people write massive soundtracks together. Was this largely a solo effort for you, or did you have additional composers on your team? For the tracks where you worked with multiple composers, how did this affect your process? I was lucky to be involved from the very first steps of the project, which gave me the opportunity to discover the world and story of Expedition 33 very early on. That allowed me to start composing the soundtrack long before the production phase began. It’s what made it possible for me to carry the production and musical vision all the way through to the end of this massive project. About a year and a half into the process, [Alice Duport-Percier] joined me to collaborate on the vocal songs. She has incredible talent and the voice of an angel. She wrote the majority of the vocal lines in the game.

Alice Duport-Percier (left) and Lorien Testard

Most of the time, our process worked like this: I’d start by composing the instrumental version of the track, writing the lyrics, and sharing my feelings about the song and his emotional context to her. Then she’d create her vocal line guided by her sensitivity and what the song made her feel. She came to my studio once a month to record with me, and we kept that rhythm going for three years. This is not a complaint, but sometimes the sound mix in the game seems off in favor of the music. As in, dialogue will be a bit overpowered by music. Was this intentional? No, it’s not intentional. Mixing the game’s audio was a massive undertaking, and everything was done custom. For each cutscene, sound effect, songs, or line of dialogue, it’s always about finding the right balance between all the elements to convey what we feel is important to share with the players in that moment. The audio team worked with great care throughout the entire development to make sure the mix felt as balanced and appropriate as possible in every situation. You composed 154 songs for the game over the course of five years. Why was the process so long, and how did you end up writing so many songs? I quickly had a vision of the large-scale score the project would require, so I wrote out my ideal setlist for the OST. To make it immersive and truly reflective of the world, I decided that each level would need multiple environmental tracks, battle themes, unique boss themes, and custom music for the cinematics. That gave me a massive list of tracks to compose, and I had a lot of fun working through it, song by song, over the five years of development. Can you share some of your favorite video game soundtracks, RPG soundtracks, and specifically RPG battle themes? I love the soundtracks from the Zelda and Mario series, Majora’s Mask and Mario Sunshine for example, but I also listen to and enjoy a lot of music and artists that aren’t from the world of video games.

Clair Obscur moves back and forth between devastating, comedic, and everywhere in between. How do you compose for so many tonal shifts while maintaining a cohesive sound? The use of melodies and leitmotifs helped with that – bringing back a character’s theme in a different arrangement or style created a link between different moments in the game, even when the emotions changed. There are many connections between the tracks. The battle music often sounds more contemporary and electronic than the orchestrated main themes. Was this an intentional choice? Yes, that was an intentional choice, but not because those tracks are for battles. It had more to do with the feeling I got from the specific enemy the player is facing. Whether you’re fighting Sakapatate or Sirène, the music can’t paint the same picture around the boss. Each song reflects the atmosphere and personality of the enemy the player is facing. What tools do you use to compose and make music? Are there any instruments in the score that might surprise listeners? I use a software called Nuendo to compose the tracks, along with various VSTs. For real and organic instruments, I play guitar, a bit of bass, and some piano. We also recorded many incredibly talented solo musicians for the OST, and the soundtrack features a nice variety of instruments throughout, including some you might not hear every day, like saxophone, accordion, bawu, or cümbüş.

Clair Obscur is uniquely French in many, many ways. How did you apply the French aesthetic to the soundtrack? I didn’t intentionally try to bring a specifically French aesthetic into Clair Obscur, but the Belle Époque theme and all the French music I’ve listened to throughout my life are definitely a part of me. That said, I had a lot of fun making a more intentional nod with the mimes’ theme. I insisted, wholeheartedly, that the accordion had to be part of the OST and part of that song in particular. How did Sandfall describe the game to you at the start of development? The first time Guillaume told me about the project, he said something like: “You arrive at the beginning of the game after the heroes have already lost.” That set the tone.

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Seeing the soundtrack on platforms like Spotify and YouTube lets you see what tracks are the most popular and have the most plays. Have there been any surprises there? Since the music follows the game experience closely, the tracks that stand out the most in the soundtrack are often tied to each player’s journey through the game. But still, there have been a few surprises for me. I love feeling how personally the music connects with players. I get messages from players sharing which tracks stayed with them and touched them, and the variety in their choices is incredible, almost no track is left behind. Each one seems to find someone it speaks to. It’s so moving for me to feel that our music resonates with players like that. Would you be open to returning to compose for a sequel? Or composing a potential adaptation like a film? The tomorrows are still unwritten! For more on Clair Obscur, read<a style=”text-decoration:none;” href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/review/clair-obscur-expedition-33/melancholy-rpg-eminence”> Game Informer’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review</a>, check out our features, such as<a style=”text-decoration:none;” href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/2025/05/14/if-you-liked-clair-obscur-expedition-33-play-these-games-next”> other games to play if you liked Expedition 33</a>,<a style=”text-decoration:none;” href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/feature/2025/05/12/the-worst-games-to-play-with-a-newborn-at-home”> why it’s not a great game to play at home with a newborn</a>, and <a style=”text-decoration:none;” href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/opinion/2025/04/30/clair-obscur-trusts-its-audience-and-thats-why-its-a-hit”>why we liked the beginning so much</a>.

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