It’s safe to say thatClair Obscur: Expedition 33has made quite an impact on the gaming space, and it could revolutionize the way turn-based JRPG-style titles are made from now thanks to its innovative combat. Although Sandfall must have known it made something special, it probably didn’t predict the kind of effect its debut game would have on the industry, with a film based on the title already in the works.Expedition 33and its unique world has been a hit right from the get-go, and the question becomes: what is next for Sandfall Interactive?
For now, Sandfall Interactive seems contentto continue on withExpedition 33, patching and improving the gameto make it the best it can be. This is quite a sentiment and shows the impressive mentality in the studio, considering thatExpedition 33is the leading candidate to be Game of the Year by many, as of writing. Still, Sandfall will eventually move on from its staggeringly successful debut title, but that doesn’t mean it has to leave the world it set up behind. There’s more to explore with the characters too, especially those who didn’t get as much screen time.
Expedition 33’s Canvas Worlds Are Perfect For More Games
The Versatility Of The Set-Up Is Perfect For Creative Freedom
WithSandfall Interactiveconfirming on X that it wants tomake more content forExpedition 33, it seems that Verso’s Canvas still proves to be a great creative muse for the studio, but with the uniqueness of the Painters and their Canvas that have been dreamed up,it feels as though Sandfall should stay in its world for more games. The conflicts of the Dessendre Family make for the perfect story about grief and what it can do to those still living. Exploring more about this family, especially their conflict with the Writers, is the perfect path forward.
While Verso created the Gestrals and Grandis, Clea created the Nevrons, with Sprong being one of her first creations.
Still, with the bulk of the gameplay taking place in Verso’s Canvas,it makes sense for anotherClair Obscurtitle to take place in another Canvas, possibly by someone else in the family, or maybe even a world written by the Writers, depending on how their powers work. This is the perfect set-up, since Sandfall can do almost whatever it wants creatively while still being in the same universe. This way, the studio can benefit from theClair Obscurname while dreaming up another world without the restrictions usually applied to sequels.
Sandfall could completely change the combat to a different genre (although if it continues to innovate with turn-based combat, all the better), change the Canvas world to a completely different style of setting, and, of course,change the characters, and it would all work.Having the next Canvas world be painted by someone else in the Dessendre familyand having the player try to guess who the canvas belongs to as the story goes on could be interesting too. Of everyone in the family, one character is perfect to be the painter of the next Canvas world.
A Painted World By Clea Could Be The Perfect Setting For A Sequel
She Is The Most Underused Member Of The Dessendre Family
Clea features the least in the story, and although she is responsible for painting half of Verso’s Canvas (or at least that’s what she claims), she stays out of the Canvas. To be fair to her, she is busy with thePainters and Writers war plotlineand has been the only proactive member of her family since the fire, but that could mean she is being saved for a future title.A Canvas by Clea could be fascinating, considering her cold demeanor and how different the world would be compared to the vibrancy of her childhood playground.
Clea is the reason for Simon being a menace of a boss. She gave him the power to defeat an Axon and use the Gommage.
Perhaps, Clea’s methodical and cruel nature could lead to her painting a Canvas to keep the Writers who killed Verso imprisoned. Asteampunk world with plenty of mechanical parts and moving gears would be perfect to represent Clea’s cold and logical nature, while this kind of setting would perfectly fit with the early 1900s’real world’FranceClair Obscurtakes place in. Clea would make a great villain and be another Paintress figure that the player can ultimately understand, especially after spending hoursplaying as Verso inExpedition 33.
It would allow Clea to shine more and perhaps deal with the death of her brother, especially considering that they were close in age and grew up together. There’s a possibility that Clea hasn’t actually processed her brother’s death, at least in the same way the rest of her family has, having thrownherself into conflict against the Writers immediately after losing Verso. This could be explored in a potential sequel too, and provide the emotional punch of a vengeful sister inflicting pain onto others after the pain of losing her brother.
A Clair Obscur Sequel Can Be Anything Sandfall Wants It To Be
And Still Benefit From The Clair Obscur Name
WhileExpedition 33is a love letter to JRPGsof old, it still has one of the most creative world set-ups that I have seen with a plot hook that grips players and never lets the player go. Using this world again when it has so much more to offer, and more Canvases to explore, just makes sense.Renior talks about the many Canvases he painted with Aline and how he got lost in them, so maybe exploring one of these could be where a sequel takes place. A foray into the past with a young Renior and Aline could be a great prequel.
Or, one of Renior and Aline’s old Canvases could be used by Clea, considering her ability to paint over things and change their nature. She could turn one into a hellscape to trap her foes (Writers) and a part of her could use this Canvas out of spite of her parents, given that Aline hid in Verso’s Canvas and Renior spent ages trying to force her back out. Considering thatClea calls her parents by name, while Alicia calls them Maman and Papa, it probably shows that she has some resentment toward them, and a sequel could explore that too.
It’s clear that thegaming industry wants to see more of the world set up byClair Obscur: Expedition 33, and there’s a good reason for that. There’s plenty more to explore with the Dessendre family and their war against the Writers, while also still more emotion to pull out of them, especially the emotionally guarded Clea. More importantly, Sandfall still has creative freedom with the idea of the Canvas worlds, and the versatility this gives this studio could stop a sequel from suffering from the dreaded’sequelitis’that has condemned many titles.
