Respected gaming critic Ralph “Skill Up” Panebianco has taken a different approach to covering one of 2025’s most talked-about RPGs. Instead of his usual review format, Skill Up released a 100-minute documentary exploring the creation of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at how this critically acclaimed title came together.
The documentary features extensive interviews with Guillaume Broche, Creative Director at Sandfall Interactive, and other key team members. What comes through is a refreshing contrast to typical AAA development stories—Sandfall prioritized joy, creative freedom, and human connection throughout their process.
“On my side, I think maybe something that was lost a bit in all these big productions is honesty and truth and joy,” Broche explains in the documentary. “I think people are just feeling the humanity, fun, and relationship with the team behind the game.”
This philosophy comes through in Clair Obscur, a turn-based RPG set in a world inspired by Belle Époque France and Impressionist art. The game follows an adult cast of characters trying to break a curse that erases one year from everyone’s life each time the mysterious “Paintress” awakens.
What makes Sandfall’s approach unique is how they put gameplay front and center, a move that’s a throwback to Nintendo’s way of making games. The team built and refined the mechanics before working on the story and characters, ensuring the basics were solid. This let them take creative risks that bigger studios might avoid—from quirky boss designs to surprising twists in the story.
The documentary shows how Broche’s experience at Ubisoft shaped his journey as an indie developer. According to him, making a game like Clair Obscur at a major publisher would have meant waiting “25 years before he is senior enough to propose such a project”—a pretty telling comment on how tough it can be to push creative boundaries in a big studio.
Sandfall’s indie setup gave them the freedom to make choices that set the game apart. Voice acting and motion capture were performed by actors who really clicked with their characters, adding to the game’s authenticity. Some characters were even inspired by members of the team itself, adding a personal feel to the world.
Since its release, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has gotten high praise for its mature storytelling, detailed world, inventive combat, and emotional narrative. Both critics and players have praised the focus on adult characters and themes in a genre typically dominated by younger faces.
Skill Up’s choice to make a documentary instead of doing his regular review is a big change from his usual stuff. He rated the game as “Very Strongly Recommended”—a rare badge of honor he’s only given to the likes of Elden Ring and Tears of the Kingdom. This style gave him the chance to dig deeper into the game’s development story and give fans something more than the standard review.
