"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can be used as a guideline for working with narrative”: we analyzed the game with an expert from Nekki

On June 4th, the WN Academy platform hosted the monthly deconstruction show "What's Up with the Game?". The subject of the analysis was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, focusing on its core mechanics, narrative elements, and other components that contribute to the game's global success.

Joining the hosts, Alexander Semenov, Head of Media Projects at WN Media Group, and App2Top Editor Yevgeny Obyedkov, was a special guest — Nekki’s Chief Revenue Officer, Nikita Samoylyuk.

A significant part of the discussion was devoted to the core gameplay of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, particularly its combat system. Samoylyuk believes that the system of active dodging and parrying is designed to create wow moments and evoke unique emotions. It only works in conjunction with battle choreography and other game elements.

"The parrying system is heavily emphasized from the perspective of feeling. The main idea is not to add extra complexity (playing with both math and reaction time), but to create an experience through the wow moments. It works only when combined with visuals, music, good camera angles, and the sense of satisfaction you get from successful dodges or parries. Even missing some of these aspects would mean the puzzle wouldn’t fit together."

Additionally, the hosts and the guest expert discussed the narrative and world-building of Expedition 33. The primary value of this aspect of the game is that Sandfall Interactive has managed to create a believable world. This is not just about the plot itself but also about how the characters are written and behave: they don’t speak in stock phrases or dump exposition onto the player; their personalities and stories are woven into the gameplay.

"If you outline how the plot of Expedition 33 is structured and use the game as a guideline for working with narrative, probably just by following this guideline, you could create games with a plot that scores 4/5 or 7/10," Samoylyuk states. "It creates a checklist that you can follow, and if you have a certain level of skills, you might not make a masterpiece, but you will create something very good."

During the hour-and-a-half conversation, other elements of Expedition 33 were discussed, including the leveling system and the reasons behind Sandfall Interactive's specific decisions or concessions.

It's impossible to fit all the bright moments and interesting insights into one article, so we recommend watching the recording of the entire episode.

"What's Up with the Game?" is a monthly show available on the educational platform WN Academy. Anyone can watch it live and ask questions — by registering on the platform just once.. After that, reminders for each subsequent episode will be sent to your email. Also, after attending your first show, you gain access to the archive of recordings of all previous broadcasts.