The Review Series - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

TL;DR

It’s a longer piece than usual, I get it.

Here are the key lessons for builders:

Embrace Contrast: Lean into unexpected combinations. Like the game’s name itself—to craft memorable experiences.

Sound Matters: Craft 360° experiences. Use haptics, audio, and micro-feedback to make your product feel alive. If you can afford it, invest in signature sounds and music.

Create Emotions: When you create strong emotion ties in your game or product, you are maximizing engagement and retention.

Distinctive Visuals: Bold art direction isn’t just aesthetics, it’s identity. Give your product(s) a soul and a vibe.

Playfulness is Power: Humor, cultural nods, easter eggs and unexpected details build emotional connections with users. Don’t take yourself or your products too seriously.

Small Teams, Big Dreams: Passionate teams often outperform big studios, focus beats headcount. They don’t abide by any rules or playbooks. Indies and small bootstrapped, driven teams don’t have to blush anymore.

Prelude.

My la…