Studio Ghibli inspired Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer

Famed anime maker, Studio Ghibli, was a major inspiration for incoming turn-based RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Everything from its art style, music, and Japanese culture was inspired by the studio’s works.

Speaking with Giant Bomb (via GamingBolt), creative director Guillaume Broche spilled the beans surrounding the inspirations. In terms of music, films like Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and My Neighbor Totoro were cited while its art was inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away.

Previously, we already knew that Sandfall drew combat inspirations from classic Final Fantasy entries like FF7, 8, 9, and 10, while sprinkling in some Sekiro: Shadow’s Die Twice for good measure. The game is right around the corner, with the title finding itself going gold not too long ago.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is slated to release on April 24 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger Editor-in-Chief

Gabe has been a gamer since he was young, playing games like Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Guitar Hero, and whatever looked cool on GameFly. Ever since 2018, he's been infatuated with the inner workings of the gaming and entertainment industries, covering a wide range of topics from video games to TV and film. Starting as a contributor for PSX Extreme, he's worked his way up to its Managing Editor. Using what's he learned over the years, he founded Smash Jump to remind everyone to smash jump.