Chiaroscuro: Journey 33 just went up at today's Xbox Developer Direct, giving us another look at his Final Fantasy-filled adventure about stopping an artist in Belle Époque France from painting. It is also now locked in a concrete release date of 24/02/2025.
If you haven't been keeping up with Expedition 33, it's an RPG with “reactive” turn-based combat and is designed to be a bit of an evolution of some JRPGs perhaps you'll know the minute you watch a video of him in action, if you're really into your finals, your fantasies, and the rest of them.
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Anyway, after being pre-announced to appear when Xbox revealed that today's Xbox Developer Direct is coming, Expedition 33 has just surfaced with some chatter from developer Sandfall Interactive with an exact release date narrowing down the previous 2025 window as it launches on April 24, 2025. So, stay tuned in your calendar.
Along with that date, there were a few details about the game's development; the dev wants to focus on creating a beautiful, interactive world that has the combat depth you'd find in traditional turn-based RPGs (especially those from Japan). The developers have been working on the game's story for four years, so you know the narrative isn't going to come half-baked.
The heart of the story is about overcoming the threat of existence, and at the same time overcoming loss and grief. “In a world like this, how can anyone stay true to themselves?” asks one of the developers, and that seems to be the basis for a large portion of the game. It's as much about internal and interpersonal conflict as it is about fighting giant monsters. So that's good…
You can also join a fun troll, but also a bit religious. And hire a big, inflatable mountain. So he balances the silly with the real.
Expedition 33 was very happy with our Alex Donaldson when he was saw it at a preview last year, writing that it reminded him a bit of 2004 The Lord of the Rings: The Third Agea very good game that plays a lot like Final Fantasy 10, and Personality 5.
“I think what it offers is interesting – he said with the caveat that I have only seen hand-drawn pictures so far – and a game like this needs to be played for real, and for an extended period of time, to be on to really understand,” he wrote, “I can say with certainty that my interest is now locked in. I hope the whole game can inspire a high standard.”
So, here's hoping Expedition 33 can do just that, now we know exactly when it will arrive on April 24, 2025.
