The world is your oyster when you’re a small indie studio without a massive corporation looking over your shoulder, andClair Obscure: Expedition 33’s devs made the most of it. They included a character obsessed with feet, got a stone turtle to deliver the Strongest Ice Attack Ever, and even put themselves in the game.
Speaking of which, that Easter egg portrait isn’t the only reference the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developers have made to themselves. It turns out that a number of NPCs are either named or modelled after the actual developers at Sandfall. From Lumiere residents to Gestrals, you’ll find a reference to someone who works at the studio.
Clair Obscur Devs Have Put Themselves In The Game As NPCs
You already know aboutMonoco being named after the studio’s dogand Happiness Manager, but it turns out other devs also make an appearance. As pointed out byFF7-fron Reddit, the devs have inserted themselves into the game as Lumierians, Expeditioners, and even Gestrals.
CEO Guillaume Broche’s name is used for one of Gustave’s apprentices, Francois takes his name from COO Francois Meurisse, music designer Raphael Joffres lent his name and likeness to Expeditioner Raphael, as did cinematic animator Tristan Fleury, lead game designer Michel Nohra, CTO Tom Guillermin, VFX artist Leo Paris, engine programmer Jerome Vaglienti, and lead character artist Alan Reynaud (who suspiciously looked the best). There are loads more that are mentioned in the comments section.
Technical artist Alexandre Breton lent his likeness to Antoine, the artist in Lumiere, and Mandine the hair stylist is named after Amandine Marest, the team’s hair and technical character artist. Clair Obscur is filled with charming references like this, and it just makes us love them even more.
Clair Obscur has been sitting pretty at the top of this year’s charts ever since it launched. However, with the launch of Donkey Kong Bananza, it’s no longer the highest rated game of 2025. Unfortunately,this didn’t go down too well with Clair Obscur fans, with some saying that it’s not fair, and that Bananza should not be getting higher reviews.
