Summary

  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a strong French connection evident in names, fashion, and accents.
  • Actors Ben Starr and Jennifer English often struggled with French pronunciations.
  • Vive la France!

If the name didn't make it clear, the opening sequence of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will make it quite obvious that it has a very strong French connection. The city of Lumiere is a post-apocalyptic Paris, with names, fashion, and accents to match with it. While there is a separate French voice cast for the game, the English cast also threw around a few French words.

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You'll occasionally hear characters say cuss words like "merde" or "putain", but the main bulk of the French comes in characters' names. It seems Gustave and Maell actors Ben Starr and Jennifer English often struggled with these French pronunciations. Given that the game has a strong French setting, they really wanted to get it right.

Gustave And Maell Actors Found French Pronunciations A Bit Hard

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"It was, like, you know in Friends where Phoebe tries to teach Joey French and he thinks he's saying what she's saying," said English in a conversation with GamesRadar+. She revealed that they had to say words multiple times to get them right . "We were just saying the same thing over and over."

"I would have to get [game director Broche Guillaume] to say the French name and then I would say it back to them, and then we would just insert it into the sentence because sometimes I couldn't say 'Francois'... because you just want to do it justice," added Starr. "You don't want to look silly. And, fortunately, if you don't like the way we say it, you can just go and play it with the amazing French cast instead."

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"Their French is slightly better," joked English, to which Starr added, "I think their French is a little bit better. I can't prove it but I think it might be." Both of them still did a great job bringing the characters to life.

Speaking of the French connection, president Emmanuel Macron congratulated Sandfall Interactive on its success, calling Clair Obscur "a shining example of French audacity and creativity." The game sold over a million copies on day-one, was the highest rated game of the year, and has even taken the mantle of highest-rated user-scored game on Metacritic ever.

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Turn-Based RPG Fantasy Systems 42 9.6/10 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 Engine Unreal Engine 5
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