“I’m about to give you the best nine minutes of your life,” Ben Starr says before we start our quick fire interview during a press junket for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The Clive Rosfield actor sits alongside Jennifer English, best known as Shadowheart in the most critically acclaimed game of the last decade, Baldur’s Gate 3.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG inspired by old-school series like Final Fantasy and Persona. Starr was a fan of Final Fantasy long before he stepped into the role of its sixteenth(ish) protagonist, making his part in this game a perfect fit. “How can you not put the spirit [of Final Fantasy] into this role?” Starr says. “RPGs exist in the veins of this [game]. The creative team has been influenced by those historic, monolithic, RPGs that shaped so many of us that are our age, the age of Expedition 33. It’s a game made by people who love the people they’re making the game for.”
Starr’s background makes him feel tailor made for the role, but English believes that her lack of experience in the genre has also been accounted for. “I haven’t [played any old school JRPGs] yet,” English says. “I’m very lucky that the wonderful team at Sandfall has made an Easy Mode at my request. I’m not really interested in fighting, or it’s more that I’m not very good at it. So it’s for people like me.”
“We’re calling it the Jennifer English Memorial Story Mode.” Starr claims with a surprised look from English. “We can still remember you while you’re alive,” he adds in explanation.
Story Mode isn’t new to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The Persona series, which inspired it, has had a Safe Mode where you instantly revive during battles since Persona 4 Golden. Despite games’ long history of adding in ‘safe’ modes where players can continue missions even when they are wiped out, they can still cause controversy. It’s heartening to see developers give options that cater to a larger number of players, and celebrities like English promoting Story Mode as a valid way to play.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on Thursday, April 24, 2025.
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