Sorry if this is mean. But it is bonkers to me that a team of talented creatives can spend years making what looks like an incredible game and then send it out into the world with a title like "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33"
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Most of the time the creators have no say in naming. That's the coming misconception. That the creatives or developers have a say in things. Stop blaming the creators, blame the heads.
Not to be all like WELL ACTUALLY but in French it means light and dark, and it's the term they use in France to describe chiaroscuro painting/lighting. Since it's set in belle epoque, this metaphor's got layers.
idk why they decided to tack on 'expedition 33' tho. probably gameplay stuff.
It sparks the imagination and gives a sense of stake.
"Expedition" evokes a dangerous adventuring into the unknown, "33" implies that the 32 other expeditions failed at whatever they were trying to achieve.
The issue is the juxtaposition with "Clair Obscur", which is as non-descript as it gets.
I think it's a case of having both instead of just one. Clair Obscur is punchy, Expedition 33 is descriptive while also having a degree of punchiness, having both kinda fails to have it's cake and eat it to.
I would've just gone with Clair Obscur, but I don't mind the combined title that much.
I'm guessing the original name might have been just Clair Obscur until someone got scared that it sounds 'too French' and they added the subtitle so that there's an English word in it.
Expedition 33 is just the in-game name of the expedition. Everyone on the expedition is 33 years old (give or take, cant remember exactly how it works) because that's the number the painter painted/will paint.
My assumption was that if they wanted to make it a franchise they could just go with "Clair Obscur" and then subtitle. Expedition 33 specifically refers to the plot of this game, so they could pick a totally new setting if they wanted while retaining the "theme" of the game. Sort of like Nier.
I think he was complaining about the lack of clarity.
I can't tell what "Clair Obscure: Expedition 33" is supposed to be, based on it's title alone - I can't even peg a genre for it - which will undeniable hurt it's performance in the market.
I remember that in movies. Like, here they did the following...
Diehard - Hard to Kill.
Bloodsport - Blood Contact.
Kickboxer - Blood Contact 2.
Dune - DuneS.
Nightmare on Elm Street - Nightmare on the Street of Hell.
Etc.
But I never saw a video game get its name changed.
Remember in America they changed "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" because "Philosopher" was too hard a word for the yanks.
My guess is that some executive in marketing said that only "Clair Obscur" would not be a hit on the US because some chart showed that the american public is quite blind for anything that doesn't cater especifically to them, and a videogame with a french name would be just ignored by consumers.
On that, I can agree. But from some comments here, the Expedition part is what some people are registering in their minds. Makes me think that's why they chose to go with both.
Ah shit, I did the thing. I just read a headline with 'Clair Obscur" in the title and didn't know or care what it was, but I AM interested in Expedition 33, oops. Make it the whole title like that Birds of Prey movie should have, there's still time!
Actually, it is correct in French. It's a French title, that's why it feels different to you. Note that we usually don't bitch about English titles and even respect them.
It’s not like France got unfairly oppressed by perfidious imperialist English speakers, they competed to be the dominant empire and hegemonic culture and lost at both
Please remember that Jason seems to hate the french langage. It would have been « les voitures de combat alimentées par du combustible de fusées font des acrobaties à la vitesse du son 2»
Sorry, to be clear (because apparently people are getting upset at OP) - the name is not a great one and being irritated about having to reference it a hundred times before release is perfectly reasonable.
I’d hate writing a song analysis for “The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth” too
Definitely has made it easy to stick in my mind. Nothing else with a name remotely like it makes it stand out. I just assume you're consistent & are out on most game titles that use a colon/subtitle on principle or something.
I guess the juxtaposition is kinda glaring. That being said, thanks for pointing this title out, I had a look at it and wishlisted i. The setting sounds cool and original.
ya know what, it's kinda silly but i respect it. it's got the JRPG ass JRPG vibes, it's weird enough to stick out, and it adequately conveys the frenchness of the piece. i've come around on it, it's a great/silly title
That's not mean, even as a French person I've always felt that game title was super weird. I'm not judging anyway because they know what they do much better than I would, but that's one of the most bizarre game names I've ever seen and I'm pretty sure that's the only part of the game I'll never like
Kojima be like "Ok team we all know that Metal Gear Solid doesn't mean anything. But it's so damn cool to say out loud, and we're gonna use that. A lot.
"Clair Obscur" is a good name, "Expedition 33" is a good name, hell even "Clair Obscur Expedition" would be a great name, but "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" is an awful name. It's just too much.
I'll have to respectfully disagree with you on this one, Jason. I struggle to remember half the game names I have on my upcoming preview/review list, but I have never forgotten the name Clair Obscur. It's definitely memorable, for me at least. And that's half the battle when it comes to a name.
Look, at this point, anything that isn't in the vein of "Dungeons of Awakenings: Origins of Revelations" or "Re:Fate ~#Link/UnImagined~" is fine by me.
There was a game last year with a long name that won everyone over who played it. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. I think long names are actually more catching, which is why I'm glad we live in the Like a Dragon era, leaving Yakuza behind. I also recommend GranBlue Fantasy Relink.
yeah they've at least been gracious enough to put the Clair Obscur in really small letters every time they show the logo so we can pretend it's just Expedition 33
There story is there's a witch or something who kills everyone below a certain age, and every year she lowers that age by one, and this time it's 33? So last year it would have been 34? I think that's the idea.
This is for me as the trend restaurants had a while back of naming themselves for their address, such as "Social House 245". I get it that the point is they want me to remember they are on 245 Main Street, but I won't. I won't ever think to go there.
Because a sequel would necessarily do away with the "Expedition XX" format (unless the protagonists miserably fail to neutralize the Paintress) and Clair Obscur 2 would have a different subtitle. It's future-proofing.
Having watched the previews, Expedition 33 refers to a group of people who are set to die when they turn 33 years old because of something that happened in the game. So yeah I imagine that title would not be relevant to a sequel.
It’s an ironclad law of nature that if you make a game that puts clever twists on classic JRPG-style systems the name has to be inscrutable and off-putting.
I honestly don't even think it sounds that extra. I mean I know it's not exactly a "usual" title, but nothing about it stands out as particularly abnormal to me?
Which part are you confused by? It can't be the expedition 33 part because that is pretty clear by the trailers for the game. Is a reference to a movement in painting built around the play in shadows. It's French so I can understand why Americans would be a little confused, but it's a...
I can't speak specifically for Jason, and I personally like the title, but if I were to play devil's advocate, the most solid argument would be thay the title is too long and kind of cumbersome (which is part of the charm for me but maybe not for others)
Yep. Star Wars was at one point drafted as "Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars".
Had they kept it I doubt we'd know the saga today.
It's hard to come up with a name that isn't etiher taken or painfully generic. This is clunky but memorable, and I believe it is better than the completely empty titles of many recent AAA games.
Not sure which title you're refering to, but my point is that Metaphor ReFantazio uses english in a way that a native speaker probably wouldn't, whereas Clair Obscur seems closer to something a native speaker would invent (and is odd for other reasons).
The term "Metaphor" just means something which represents something else symbolically but not literally. Which both alludes to the Archetypes in the game, and it's a sister-term to Persona which means the same.
Clair obscure isn't "native" english; it's french lol.
Heroine of a dystopian YA novel where people who can paint get put into camps, and she meets a hunky guy named Dave Inchy who secretly leads a resistance group. The entire book is based on an argument the author had with their parents when they were 16, but with all the names changed
My feelings exactly. I love how simultaneously super-extra and inscrutable it sounds.
Granted, I am thoroughly sold on the concept and visuals of the game already so maybe I'm the wrong audience for that title.
I kinda liken Metaphor Refantazio to Steins;Gate, where the title sounds like nonsense but actually makes sense in a plot connected way a little over halfway through the game.
They really should’ve stuck with one of those - Clair Obscur or Expedition 33, not both. It also feels a little redundant to have a completely new series have a subtitle.
People responding to this like "why do you hate the French language???!?!" seem to be missing that it's not called "Clair Obscur" it's called "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33"
people also responding like "it's not the only game that does this so stop complaining!!!" as if u have to personally make a list of every example of every title like this in order to be allowed to comment on it
I think it's kinda crazy that this year have two games with the number 33 being lanch s close to each other (maybe this is the reason to the "clair obscur"?)
Do I need to have done Clair Obscur: Expedition 1 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 2 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 4 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 5 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 6 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 7 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 8 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 9 a…
Clair Obscure: a painting technique, high contrast light/dark - franchise title
Expedition 33: title of the franchise entry
I don't see a reason to shit on this while we are at "Assassin's Creed: Whatever" and "Call of Duty: More Random Stuff". Or "Final Fantasy: roman numeral".
I still can't remember the title, so I have been calling it French Fantasy.
Same with Metaphor, I kept calling it Italian Persona, because I had trouble remembering the title.
It’s not great. I really like Horizon: Zero Dawn but man, that title is one of the worst I can think of. Horizon alone is ”fine” tough, albeit very unspecific.
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idk why they decided to tack on 'expedition 33' tho. probably gameplay stuff.
"Expedition" evokes a dangerous adventuring into the unknown, "33" implies that the 32 other expeditions failed at whatever they were trying to achieve.
The issue is the juxtaposition with "Clair Obscur", which is as non-descript as it gets.
I would've just gone with Clair Obscur, but I don't mind the combined title that much.
I can't tell what "Clair Obscure: Expedition 33" is supposed to be, based on it's title alone - I can't even peg a genre for it - which will undeniable hurt it's performance in the market.
Basically: the whole world doesn't think in English and they don't have to.
Diehard - Hard to Kill.
Bloodsport - Blood Contact.
Kickboxer - Blood Contact 2.
Dune - DuneS.
Nightmare on Elm Street - Nightmare on the Street of Hell.
Etc.
But I never saw a video game get its name changed.
Here in MX they named It Harry Potter and the PhilosPHAL Stone (Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal). Like, that means a whole other thing.
There should be a "revelations" or "redemption" in there, and probably something about shadows.
I’d hate writing a song analysis for “The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth” too
[Noun]fall goes hard
So a "little" mean.
Having said that, very excited to play it
Paintress who paints is a Kojima-ass name.
Why? Why did they get so close and miss like that?
So yeah, "Clair Obscur Expedition 33" could be my GOTY 2025.
It's a cool-sounding abstract phrase followed by a more concrete English phrase that describes what the game's about. Like Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Had they kept it I doubt we'd know the saga today.
Kingdom Hearts.
I rest my case.
As a French folk here it's always a nightmare to pronounce. 😅
Still great games, ofc!
the devs are french.
the game is french.
has a french name 🤷
Death Stranding is weirder to me. Returnal? Project Triangle Strategy? Octopath? Yeah there is an epidemic but atleast the French part sounds cool
Like Metaphor: ReFantazio.
For what it's worth, I like former aesthetic.
Clair obscure isn't "native" english; it's french lol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro
But stupid title discourse might get me to check it out, so that's something.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro
“The French use of the term, clair-obscur, was introduced by the seventeenth-century”
Granted, I am thoroughly sold on the concept and visuals of the game already so maybe I'm the wrong audience for that title.
People who do are heroes.
(I assume game sellers are as cheugy as I.)
Much better!
Having less than 4 digits in a title is risky.
Expedition 33: title of the franchise entry
I don't see a reason to shit on this while we are at "Assassin's Creed: Whatever" and "Call of Duty: More Random Stuff". Or "Final Fantasy: roman numeral".
Final Fantasy Type-0
And then we have
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
I agree it’s a silly title.. I’m just not sure it’s that much different from the above 🤷🏻♂️
There are far more egregious video game names and far more important things to be upset about besides.
what seems obvious after the fact, is often only bc of 2020HS
in the moment, everything sounds both good and terrible bc you dont know how the audience will react
how long did you agonize over the titles of your books???
Same with Metaphor, I kept calling it Italian Persona, because I had trouble remembering the title.