Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has rapidly change into one of many standout RPGs of the yr, with some discussions of it being a sport of the yr contender earlier than the sport was launched to the general public. This sentiment has solely grown as increasingly more gamers have now gotten an opportunity to discover the Continent and meet Gustave and the remainder of Expedition 33 for themselves.
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Right here at RPG Web site, we awarded the sport with one in every of our uncommon “10/10” scores in our evaluate, with the sport sitting at a 9.7 person rating and a 9.2 critic rating on Metacritic on the time of this writing. It continues to drag in increasingly more gamers into its embrace, having now surpassed 2 million copies offered throughout the sport’s first two weeks. Whereas its story, character,s and visuals are all outstanding, one in every of its most talked-about points is its masterpiece of a soundtrack, all 150+ songs of it.
RPG Web site had an opportunity to take a seat down with the sport’s composer, Lorien Testard, about capturing the soul of this new world by the facility of his music.
Lorien: So I am Lorien Testard. I’m 30 years previous now, so I’ve three years left earlier than the tip *chuckles*. I’ve a very huge ardour for video video games. I began enjoying once I was like three years previous. My father was working at a online game store once I was younger, so I performed, like, Mario Social gathering and Mario Kart once I was actually, actually younger, and actually liked the video video games for many of my life. I began doing music fairly late – I believe I used to be 16 years previous. And I .. I realized on my own for 3 years, then went to a music college for 3 years. Then I began performing some stuff by myself, like some music for trailers. I knew from the beginning I needed to do music for video video games, as a result of it is actually what I like and what I needed to create. So yeah, nevertheless it’s like a deep love for video video games, and I nonetheless have an enormous love for music in video video games.
Lorien: It was Guillaume [Broche], he discovered my subject on the discussion board the place I posted my track. So I posted this track, and in the future, he got here and purchased it after which requested me to compose for the sport.
Lorien: 5 years. Possibly six. No, I believe it was early 2020.
Lorien: I used to be actually targeted on creating an authentic soundtrack, so I don’t actually take into consideration the French references. I really feel that as a result of I’m French and have been listening to the music for twenty years, it has change into a little bit of my music, not on objective, however prefer it’s simply part of me. It was essential to me to create one thing actually authentic and implausible, just like the universe that Nicolas [Maxson-Francombe] created. The very idea is so stunning and provoking that I’ve to provide it my all to make music tied to them, and to make the world across the participant really feel alive.
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Lorien: Yeah, I keep in mind fairly clearly, like, the Lettre à Maelle and the track is within the soundtrack, and we used it for the character trailer of Maelle. So it is actually significant and particular for me to see the primary track I wrote 5 years in the past to, be current and see the track again to that leads the principle tone of the story and environment of the soundtrack, like piano, voice, guitar, swing and melancholia and nostalgia for Maelle and the opposite characters come from this track.
Lorien: It was the 33-minute monitor – Nos vies en Lumière. There have been some songs within the sport that simply got here to me actually quick in a single night time, and it was all good and what I needed. So for me, a track like these had been a present. For this monitor, I put in two months of labor on this monitor every single day, ten hours a day. So yeah, it was fairly difficult as a result of there are such a lot of layers on the monitor, so many songs to be collectively. And I needed to place a lot stuff into this track. The ultimate verses of the sport had been actually a problem for me as a result of I put plenty of strain and plenty of love into it. I put like all of the stuff I had in me for like three years into it, I put like all the melodies of the characters into it, and it took plenty of time to get a basis I like. So yeah, I believe this one was fairly difficult.
Lorien: The human voice is like probably the most highly effective and probably the most emotional instrument. So not having vocals, for me, is like shedding emotion. So yeah. So the voice was actually vital for the songs of Expedition 33 for the world. Alice Duport-Percier, the vocalist composer of the sport, actually gave a voice to the world. She’s change into part of the story, part of the world. She tales, she tells love. And she or he gave me a lot emotion when she sings. However I’ll really feel the ache, will really feel the identical. Yeah. The voice is de facto highly effective and robust instrument.
Lorien: Yeah, I actually loved writing all of the lyrics for the sport, as a result of if you don’t converse French, you have got some English, nevertheless it’s uncommon – it could be a bit summary. However, if you wish to deep dive, one can find some sense and that means and a few actually cool stuff.
Lorien: I learn the script of the sport, after which I had some idea artwork for landscapes and characters, so I had a worldwide imaginative and prescient of the world. After which I used to be fairly free to do no matter I needed for every scene and occasion. Then we’d discuss if it was good or not. However I wasn’t requested or advised any musical concepts or route, I might actually do no matter I needed, however after we’d take a look at it in-game, like “can we use this monitor right here on this minimize scene”, for instance, to see if the music is in the appropriate place. So, yeah, it was fairly free for me to do no matter I needed.
Lorien: Yeah, it was essential for me. Like, I joined actually early within the challenge, earlier than Expedition 33, so I used to be there from the beginning, so I acquired to see all of the evolution of the characters for the reason that begin, I knew the story, I knew the whole lot, and so I might compose music actually early within the course of and actually upfront earlier than the manufacturing. So typically we’d have the panorama for an atmosphere, and we might have already got music earlier than the occasion tied to that place was made by the dev workforce. So it actually added to the immersive world as a result of, like we’d, we’d have each the idea artwork and the music once they would create the occasion.
Lorien: There are a number of, however not likely. We minimize some tiny a part of the sport, however I didn’t must redo a track. I’ve a soundtrack playlist with like 200 songs I wrote for the sport. And typically Guillaume would say to me, “I actually like this one track you probably did three years in the past” and had it added to the sport *chuckles*. So it was like stuff like that. To present you an instance, for instance, the Goblu boss theme, I had its draft in my trash. I can’t put it within the sport. It was additionally like a monitor I did 4 years in the past. And in the future he [Guillaume] mentioned to me, “yeah, I actually love this one. Let’s use it!” So we took the track and labored it a bit and used it for the ultimate sport.
Lorien: I believe it is the scope. I needed to have a full universe to compose. I actually love video games the place you have got character themes, cutscenes, and all of the stuff. And so Guillaume gave me the world of Clair Obscur it was like the largest deal with it as a result of there’s a lot stuff to d. Just like the final track I created for the sport was like 1 or 2 months earlier than the discharge, so it was till the tip that I had stuff to compose, as a result of it’s a 60 hours of sport so I needed to have a monitor for every customized occasion, every character, and background music. So it was actually quite a bit to compose, to create a few of my desires.
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Lorien: The simplest tracks had been the landscapes, and the songs that wanted probably the most work had been battle themes, and the songs that I loved probably the most to create had been the character and story themes. I actually liked to create songs tied to the story. So for instance, Kids of Lumière, which is monitor 143. I actually love the lyrics and writing the whole lot in that track. The track is de facto inspirational and emotive for me. I really feel actually linked to this track as a result of I’ve like one thing to share with the participant. I’ve the soul of Gustav and the soul of Maelle to place in music and join actually carefully to the characters within the story. So yeah, it is my consolation zone and what I get pleasure from probably the most creating.
Lorien: Yeah, truthfully, I noticed it like a present. For ‘Alicia’, in the future I discovered a video of a dancer. The dancer moved in sluggish movement, and it was so stunning, and the girl regarded actually very similar to Alicia. I felt actually linked to this video, after which I wrote the track. I’d see the motion of the dancer as I wrote the track, and, in a single night time, my portion of the track was completed. I despatched the tracks to Alice, and she or he completed her half actually quick. I believe it took possibly two days to create, and once we shared it with the workforce, all people knew this was the one. There’s something within the temper and within the melody, within the environment of the monitor. It’s what we need to present and share to the participant once they activate the sport. You open the sport and listen to it. The track tells so many issues earlier than you play and begin the sport.
Lorien: Yeah, it was a very particular track for us.
Lorien: Thanks very a lot for the interview. It was a pleasure.
You may as well discover our earlier interview with Sandfall Interactive producer Francois Meurisse or hearken to all the Expedition 33 soundtrack at no cost, streaming over on Youtube, Spotify, or Apple Music!
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection X|S, and PC (Steam).