Expedition 33 Developer Aspires to Emulate Half-Life 2 and Ocarina of Time

Alright, let’s dive in. First off, there’s this whole thing with Sandfall – the brains behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – going all in on teeny tiny teams. You know, the kind that could fit into a cozy cafe rather than some mega office building. I mean, they’re talking about channeling the vibes of those epic titles, Half-Life 2 and Ocarina of Time. And I’m just thinking, wasn’t Ocarina of Time like super legendary? Anyway, they really think being small’s the way to get all creative and stuff. Less chaos, more brainwaves or something.

Oh, and speaking of chaos – that’s what Clair Obscur seemed to cause, in a good way! Bam, out of nowhere, it’s like the darling of 2025. Who’d have thought? 3.3 million copies in 33 days. Not that I’m into numbers, but that’s kinda poetic. The gaming scene didn’t even see it coming, caught everyone with their joysticks down. It’s like, hey, we’re all excited for Death Stranding 2 and the new Metal Gear, but Clair Obscur pops in all casual like, “What’s up, peeps, miss me?”

Now, about this Francois Meurisse guy—he’s the COO, right? Perhaps he’s onto something. Sticking to the small-team guns like, nope, not budging more than 50 folks. It’s a head scratcher because we’re used to these sprawling dev empires. But he sees them going the smart, passionate route, like getting a gang of buddies together for a startup. Heck, they even found the lead writer through Reddit. Wild, right? Doesn’t sound like the typical polished gaming universe.

Anyway—where was I? Yeah, so they’re vibing on sticking with small crews. Reminds you of those sweet old-school games. Half-Life 2 wasn’t slapped together by thousands of people. But are they really gonna pull it off with just 50? Who knows. It’s a bold move, Cotton. Wonder if it’ll pay off.

Oh, random tangent—but the game’s soundtrack? Gold. Apparently, one of the best tracks almost didn’t make the cut. Imagine if they’d left it out. That’s like leaving chocolate chips out of chocolate chip cookies. Madness!

Okay, okay, going off track again, sorry. But seriously, their strategy’s all about keeping things real, building games they’d actually play. It’s like finding joy in crafting this playground for wild ideas. Makes you think, could small be the real deal? I mean, Clair Obscur did nail it, right?

So I guess we’ll see how Sandfall rolls with this whole thing. Could be one for the books, or just a crazy footnote in gaming history. But hey, that’s life.