Technologies

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Producer Talks Inspirations: FromSoftware, French Novels

At GDC 2025, the producer explains what the French studio brings to a modern JRPG, from combat to music to art and more.

Western role-playing game fans have had a handful of big releases this year already, like Avowed and the just-announced The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remaster. But gamers looking for novel RPGs trying to break the mold will have another option when Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launches on April 24 — and the game’s producer explained to me what’s in store for players.

At GDC 2025, I got to play a few early hours of Expedition 33, which was made by French studio Sandfall Interactive. With interactive turn-based battles and a sweeping story about death, combined with a gorgeous world and beautiful music, Expedition 33 seems poised to capture gamers looking for something a little different in their sweeping story-based games.

At the preview, I chatted with Sandfall Interactive co-founder and Expedition 33 producer François Meurisse about influences, combat and the art that goes into making a French studio’s take on the venerable JRPG genre.

David Lumb (CNET): This was the first time I’ve been able to get my hands on the game, and it feels so kinetic for an RPG — dynamic menus when I’m switching between windows in combat or dodging enemy attacks. What were the team’s inspirations?

François Meurisse (Sandfall Interactive): The game has some great [Japanese RPG] inspiration, like older Final Fantasies — Final Fantasy 10, for example. But also some big inspiration from more modern JRPGs like Persona 5, for example.

From Persona, we took this inspiration that every click is essential to the action, but no redundant gameplay manipulation to get to what you want to do. Every button you click triggers some camera movement. That makes it almost action-based when you see some people playing. We wanted to have this reactive turn-based feeling that mixes what makes the best out of turn-based games but with a real-time feel.

DL: I really enjoyed how interactive the battle system is. How did you balance parrying and dodging, especially for players who might not be good at either?

FM: So the defense system is quite demanding, but there are several defense options. It’s easier when you encounter a new enemy, for example, to learn their patterns and start with the dodge, which is more forgiving in terms of timing. And when you get the right timing for the perfect dodge, you can try the parry.

We’re very well balanced now, but there are many different playstyles and types of players. And we have a broad variety of equipment, different skills, different characters — so even if you do not like to parry, or if you’re not the best dodger on earth, you can equip some specific passive effects or equipment in line with your play style.

For example, I like dodges over parries, I can have passive effects giving me extra action points with dodges rather than parries. Or I can focus on specific builds to trigger some status effects on monsters and deal heavy, heavy damage and not rely too much on the defense system. And if that’s not something I’m into — the [quick-time events] on attacks — you can enable automatic QTEs in the settings.

DL: Another thing that is pretty striking about the game is the art style. In the demo, I run across this little guy in white, almost clownish look, with a stone corkscrew head. What inspired this art design?

FM: For the whole game, we had more of a Belle Epoque, Art Deco inspiration, so France from early 20th century mixed with high fantasy. That’s something that we wanted for the city at the beginning of the expedition, for the expeditionary outfits, for the manor.

Now, it’s kind of like an expedition into the wild, into an unexplored continent which is quite savage. Our art director chose different inspirations for different enemies and environments — for example, that enemy you mentioned, its references are more like clay sculptures and organic shapes.

DL: That’s a good segue — what does a French studio bring to JRPGs? What is French in the game?

FM: So definitely Lumiere [the city where the game begins and expeditions set out from], the Eiffel Tower [in it]. And yes, there’s a lot of feedback about like the French swearing, some of the names, art inspirations, some clothing patterns.

DL: I feel having the Paintress as the big villain in the end, or at least the one you’re seeking out, is a uniquely French enemy and not something we’ve seen in JRPGs so much.

FM: Yeah, maybe not. The Paintress will reveal some secrets anyway throughout the game.

DL: What else do you feel Expedition 33 brings to JRPGs that we haven’t seen before?

FM: Of course, it’s an RPG at the core, but the game also has more From Software inspiration for stuff like the defense system or even some stats system or deckbuilding inspiration for action points. We took several inspirations of what worked greatly in the games we love, but try to make it our own way with a unique art direction, unique story and unique characters.

DL: Can you tell me more about the music? The battle music especially is fantastic, I love jumping into a fight and hearing a choral element. But there’s also parts that are a little French with organs in the background.

FM: So Lorien [Testard], our composer, composed a full [original soundtrack] for the game. The OST is huge, it will be several hours long, and worked with us from the very beginning of development in 2020. He really composed music side-by-side with the creation of the game. And Alice Duport-Percier, she’s a composer and singer — she has a great voice, she’s a classical singer. And we have about 45 minutes of orchestra recordings with a French orchestra.

DL: We’re getting to the end of our time to chat, and I just wanted to focus on the game’s theme of recurring death as the age limit for surviving humans gets lower and lower every year. What’s the inspiration for that dour theme?

FM: About the countdown, I think Guillaume [Broche, Sandfall Interactive CEO and creative director] woke up one morning and though that idea could be cool. But the expedition concept, the special inspiration behind it is a French novel called La Horde du Contrevent, [in English: The Horde of Counterwind]. It wasn’t translated in other languages, but it’s a cult classic now in French, published in 2004.

It’s a great novel about a group of warriors, like an expedition of 20 or 30 people that try to find the origin of the wind in the world, which always blows from west to east. Every expedition fails, and they send a new one. We loved this idea of like trying to overcome what the best group did before you, trying to find out which point they reached in the world, how they failed and will you succeed?

DL: Okay, last question: what are you most excited for players to experience when they pick up the game for the first time?

FM: Oooh — I mean, everything, the gameplay, the world map. But personally, the story is great. I can’t wait for people to reach the end of the story, to share theories about it, to discover the fate of the characters. The story, its twists, the progression toward The Paintress — it gives me chills. Some of the voice cast [performances] made me cry. So I can’t wait to hear reactions to them.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 comes out for PC, Xbox and PS5 on April 24.

Technologies

PlayStation Classic Themes Are Returning to PS5 in Next Update

Those 30th anniversary themes for the PlayStation 5 proved much too popular for Sony to ignore.

If you’re anything like me, gaming hasn’t quite felt right without the impactful sights and sounds of the PlayStation 2’s start-up menu. If that is the case for you — for starters, you’re probably also turning 30 this year, and we’ll get through it together — but also, Sony has great news: The classic themes for the PlayStation 5 are coming back, this time for good.

Sony confirmed this news in an official blog post on Wednesday, laying out the new features coming to PS5 in the next system update. In addition to some nifty new audio options, you’ll once again be able to deck out your console’s UI with themes based on its classic predecessors: the PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4. These were first introduced as a limited-time offering for the PlayStation brand’s 30th anniversary last year, but they went over so well with longtime fans that they’re back for good.

«Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from our community, we’re happy to bring back the look and feel of the four console designs for players to customize the home screen on PS5!» the post explained.

The update that includes these classic UI themes will go live on Thursday, April 24.

«It’s a great move for Sony to give players the option to reskin their UI to remind them of their treasured days booting up their first PlayStation games,» CNET Senior Reporter David Lumb said. «Seems silly to have kept the themes around for a limited time only to return them now, but I’ll take what I can get. That PS1 boot-up sound deserves to live outside my head.»

The initial offerings last year also included a more general 30th anniversary UI theme that will not be returning in this update, though I doubt most people even remembered that one.

Based on Sony’s announcement, it’s unclear whether these new themes will alter the PS5’s appearance during its start-up sequence or if the changes are limited to the sights and sounds of the main menu. Sony did not respond to CNET’s request for comment before publication.

Other things coming in the PS5 update

The triumphant return of these nostalgic themes is clearly what most will want to focus on, but the update coming on Thursday will also give the PS5 some cool new ways to tweak the system’s audio. According to the blog post, these new features will be dubbed «audio focus» and can be reached by going to [Settings] > [Sound] > [Volume] > [Audio Focus]. If you’ve ever tweaked settings on a soundbar or used the Apple TV streaming box’s dialogue enhancement feature, these options should feel familiar to you, and it’s pretty great to see the PS5 expanding its options for folks like me who sometimes struggle to make out dialogue in movies, shows and games.

The audio focus options are as follows, as laid out by Sony:

Boost Low Pitch: Amplify low-frequency sounds like roaring engines and rumbling noises.
Boost Voices: Amplify voice chats, character voices and other middle-frequency sounds.
Boost High Pitch: Amplify high-frequency sounds like footsteps and metallic noises.
Boost Quiet Sounds: Amplify low-volume sounds in a wide range of frequencies.

Technologies

Hubble Space Telescope Is 35: Don’t Miss These 4 Dazzling Anniversary Images

The world’s most famous telescope is celebrating in style with new views of Mars, nebulas and a galaxy that reminds us of home.

The most famous telescope in history has reached a major milestone — it’s 35 years old. The Hubble Space Telescope launched on a grand scientific adventure to study the cosmos on April 24, 1990. NASA and the European Space Agency are pulling out all the stops for the telescope’s 35th anniversary with the reveal of four stunning new space images.

The celebratory views include Mars, two nebulas and a galaxy. The variety of targets shows off Hubble’s versatility and ability to see not only into deep space, but also into our own solar system.

NASA dropped a host of superlatives with words like «transformative,» «evocative,» «engaging» and «accessible» in its anniversary release statement. It’s all true. Hubble’s discoveries have been covered in over 22,000 papers, but its influence reaches far beyond science journals. It has shaped the public’s view of our universe through groundbreaking images like the Pillars of Creation and the Hubble Deep Field.

Check out the anniversary images.

Mars, the frosty marble

Earth may be humanity’s favorite planet, but Mars is a close second. Hubble turned its gaze on the red planet at the end of 2024. The crisp views highlight the planet’s northern polar cap at the beginning of the Martian spring. Gauzy clouds make Mars look like a frosty marble.

Planetary nebula NGC 2899, a space butterfly

A white dwarf star lingers at the center of planetary nebula NGC 2899. This is one of the cosmic objects you can let your imagination run wild with. It resembles a misshapen butterfly or a moth in flight. ESA suggested the pinched middle looks like a half-eaten doughnut.

Gas and dust give the nebula its unique look. All this beauty traces to the tumultuous death of its central star.

Rosette Nebula and gas clouds

Hubble’s look at the Rosette Nebula focuses on a small part of a much larger formation.

The nebula is a place of active star formation. «Dark clouds of hydrogen gas laced with dust are silhouetted across the image,» ESA said. «The clouds are being eroded and shaped by the seething radiation from the cluster of larger stars in the center of the nebula.»

Barred spiral galaxy NGC 5335

NGC 5335 is a barred spiral galaxy like our Milky Way. Hubble’s image shows the distinctive bar across the middle of NGC 5335. «The bar channels gas inwards toward the galactic center, fueling star formation,» said ESA. «Such bars are dynamic in galaxies and may come and go over two-billion-year intervals.»

Hubble hangs on

Hubble orbits Earth. Space is a tough place to live. The telescope’s designers planned to get 15 years of use out of it, but Hubble handily outlasted that goal.

Hubble’s longevity hasn’t been easy. The telescope has weathered an array of technical problems over the years. NASA dispatched five space shuttle servicing missions to Hubble, with the last in 2009.

There are no more space shuttles in operation, so the Hubble team handles all fixes from afar. That has meant some big changes to Hubble’s operations, particularly with the gyroscopes that help point it in the right direction. The Hubble team has had to get creative, but they’ve kept the aging observatory up and running and delivering fresh science and imagery.

Every Hubble anniversary feels like a triumph for the elderly space telescope. It may have a few more anniversaries left in it. NASA hopes it will continue operations into the 2030s. Long live Hubble.

Technologies

Apple and Meta Hit With EU Fines, Ordered to Improve Consumer Choice

The European Commission has demanded that the two tech companies give people more scope to decide how their data is used and better access to deals.

The EU’s crackdown on Big Tech began in earnest on Wednesday, as the European Commission issued the first fines under the Digital Markets Act, a piece of regulation designed to keep major players in the technology world from abusing their dominant position in the industry.

Apple’s fine, the bigger of the two, totals 500 million euros ($570 million), and follows an investigation into whether the company has been preventing customers from viewing and accessing offers that could save them money — cheaper streaming subscriptions, for instance — if they paid outside of its App Store ecosystem. The European Commission found that Apple prevents app developers from informing people about cheaper ways to pay, and has ordered the company to change this practice.

Meta, meanwhile, has received a fine of 200 million euros ($228 million), due to the fact it provides people in Europe with a binary choice to either use Meta’s platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — for free and accept the company will combine your data across services, or pay a premium to ensure an ad-free experience in which your data is kept separate.

Since the European Commission initially told Meta this model did not comply with the DMA, the company introduced new practices that provide people with more choice over how their data is used. But the company has still received a fine for its previous model.

Silicon Valley and the EU have long had a fractious relationship. Almost 10 years ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook dismissed a massive EU tax bill as «political crap.» But with geopolitical tensions between Europe and the US at a high right now, the fines are more divisive than ever. It’s often tricky to see how the high-level regulatory decisions affect the tech industry, but you only need to look at Apple dropping the lighting port on the iPhone in favor of USB-C charging to understand the power of the EU to sway the behavior of tech companies.

The aim of the Digital Markets Act is twofold. It gives up-and-coming tech companies an opportunity to prove themselves in an industry dominated by the world’s wealthiest companies. It’s also designed to ensure tech users across Europe (and sometimes further afield) have access to the best services and deals, plus the ability to decide for themselves how to spend their money and how their data is used. The European Commission does have the power to fine companies up to 10% of their annual global revenue under this regulation, but these fines fall below this threshold in an effort to be proportionate with the specific violations of the law.

«Enabling free business and consumer choice is at the core of the rules laid down in the Digital Markets Act,» Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president for technological sovereignty at the European Commission, said in a statement Tuesday. «This includes ensuring that citizens have full control over when and how their data is used online, and businesses can freely communicate with their own customers. The decisions adopted today find that both Apple and Meta have taken away this free choice from their users and are required to change their behaviour.»

But to the Silicon Valley tech giants, the EU’s approach can often seem unnecessarily punitive, in some cases forcing them to make changes that they argue are actually worse for users. In a statement issued on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Apple accused the European Commission of moving the goalposts, and said the company planned to appeal the decision.

«Today’s announcements are yet another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting Apple in a series of decisions that are bad for the privacy and security of our users, bad for products, and force us to give away our technology for free,» the company’s spokesperson said. «We have spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made dozens of changes to comply with this law, none of which our users have asked for.»

Meanwhile, Meta’s chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan said the European Commission was «attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards.» He added, «This isn’t just about a fine. The Commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service. And by unfairly restricting personalized advertising the European Commission is also hurting European businesses and economies.»

It’s likely that Meta, feeling aggrieved over being penalized even after making multiple changes to its business model, will also appeal the fine. The company remains adamant there’s nothing in the Digital Markets Act to justify the changes the European Commission is asking it to make.