Talking about graphics in 2025 feels so weird. Those sorts of conversations feel straight out of 2009 when gaming hardware was finally evolvin🤪g enough to 𝓀start rendering more photo-realistic environments and character models. However, now that more and more studios have been able to create excellent looking characters and environments, there’s൲ far less to say unless something looks notably ghoulish.
The conversation has now shifted in a much more interesting direction from how good a game looks to what the game looks like. Instead of talking about how there’s something a little…off about the faces in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, I’m much more⛦ excited to talk about how the game’s art direction is absolutely stunning.
Expedition 33 doesn’t get everything right with its “graphics” (whatever that means), bu𒉰t it gets everything right with its art direction.
A Look Like No Other
There’s something so unique about how Expedition 33 looks. Even though it’s easy to compare its art direction to games that are doing similar things like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Elden Ring with its giant, distant glowing trees or 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xenoblade Chronicles🎉 with the impossible floating rock formations, there’s someth𒅌ing that Expedition 33 captures that’s evocative of other games, but arranged in a way like I’ve never seen before.
Art direction is all about visual storytelling and helping establish a mood. The disparate rock formations that are floating in the air look like a blast of TNT if the explosion was paused suddenly after the blast and the rocks stayed hanging in place. There’s an overall feeling of disjointedness and unease th📖at’s portrayed through Clair Obscur’s art that helps add to the vibes of the story. It’s difficult to know if The Continent is beautiful or scary after the expedition launches, and that’s not just thanks to the writing but also to how it’s designed.
Art Design Establishes Feeling
I was struck by just how thoughtful and𓆉 impactful Expedition 33’s art direction was from the very first scene.. The entire prologue is set in the late afternoon as the sun sets across the sea while hundreds of people watch the Paintress as she eliminates an entire section of the population with a stroke of her brush.
Not only does the sunset add to the bittersweet tone of the scene, and visually guide players to understand that the sun is literally setting for characters like Sophie as she disappears🤪, but we can also see how big the Paintress is on the horizon. She’s a huge, looming threat that doesn’t seem to even consider the people of Lumiere. She feels so distant and apathetic to the devastation she causes and all of that is conveyed through the art direction.
Non-Literal Art Direction
There’s also a fair amount of non-literal art design i💜n the game in scenes where characters are transported to other planes of existence in a purely visual sense. For example, as the Paintress paints a new number on the tree, Gustave and Sophie are suddenly transported closer to her, standing in a black void as they watch in silence as the Paintre⭕ss works.
There are a handful of scenes that I don’t wish to spoil when Gustave finally makes it to The Continent with the rest of Expedition 33 that I’m not entirely sure if they’re literal or not. That said, it doesn’t matter if what Gustave sees and experiences is totally accurate to what happens because how it feels is portrayed clearly through the visuals.
Art direction is so crucial to creating a moving visual experience.🧸 It feels like so man꧙y games lately have been entirely committed to looking as realistic as possible that they forget to look interesting. feels similar to Clair Obscur in that regard, and it’s clear that the studio behind it values visual storytelling and art that enhances vibes over creating something that’s realistic and grounded.
I’m hoping that now🥃 that graphics have gotten about as good as they’ll likely ever be that more studios follow Clair Obscur’s lead and make their games visually interesting, not just realistic. Clair Obscur makes a great case for metaphorical visuals as well that more studios should keep in mind for establishing mood and atmosphere. Here’s to hoping.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- ♑ Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interไactive
- Publisher(s)
- ⛎ Kepler Interactive
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