Future Classic

Modern games you'll still be playing in years to come

- Alan Wen

THE BACKGROUND

It would be fair to say that no one expected a game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to turn up in Xbox's Summer Showcase in 2024, or any other showcase. This year already had several other big-name JRPGs on the calendar, such as Metaphor: ReFantazio and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, which proudly follow the genre's traditions of turn-based commands. More divisive was the previous year when Final Fantasy XVI pivoted to full-blown action with perfect dodges and larger-than-life boss battles that feel more like a PlatinumGames joint.

This is not however a traditional JRPG, or at least not one originating from Japan. Rather it's the work of a new studio based in Montpellier, France, founded by a former Ubisoft employee and a core team of mostly juniors - for some, this was their first professional gig in games, such as writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen (originally cast in a voice role) and composer Lorien Testard. It's a game that pays tribute to the genre but less the pixel-art classics and rather ones from the 3D/HD era that contemporary critics had often dismissed, such as Final Fantasy XIII. The biggest inspiration is undoubtedly Mistwalker's cult classic Lost Odyssey, a rare example of a JRPG with mature characters and themes. That it was an Xbox 360 exclusive also seems to be why it not only made perfect sense for its de facto spiritual successor to be spotlighted by Xbox but to also be a day-one Game Pass title.

THE GAME

Set in Lumière, a fantasy world inspired by Belle Époque France,