Hauntingly Beautiful Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Soundtrack Hits #1 on Billboard’s Classical Album Chart
The hype over Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just keeps on climbing, and it’s not hard to see why. Released on 25th April 2025, the game sold a whopping 1 million units in just three days, then catapulted itself to the top of every chart it could possibly be considered relevant for. Reasons for its immeasurable success have been credited to the deep and yet elegantly explored narrative, the unique and undeniably beautiful Art Nouveau style of the world, and the brilliantly handled turn-based gameplay currently bringing attention back to the more traditional aspects of RPGs that have been somewhat neglected in recent instalments.
That doesn’t mean that the enchantingly melancholic and expertly crafted soundtrack isn’t getting its fair share of attention. With over one hundred and fifty-four tracks and over eight hours of listening, it is currently occupying the top spot on Billboard’s Classical Album Chart, as well as the Classical Crossover Album Chart, and it is safe to say that the #1 spot is well deserved. A lot of a game’s heart lies in its soundtrack, in the atmosphere that can be created interweaving sound with those all-important visual inputs, and the developers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 made sure that they got the best fit for their project.
On Recruiting Genius
In keeping with the unconventional methods that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 obtained most of its key staff, Lorien Testard was reportedly recruited by the Game Director, Guillame Broche, after he listened to Testard’s samples on SoundCloud. Testard confirmed that Broche: ‘Really liked what he heard, and he loved my music. So he asked me to do the job for Expedition 33.’ As with everyone else who was pulled into the project, it was the right decision. Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, the lead writer, found via an audition for a voice acting position, says of Broche: ‘I call this the Guillaume effect. He’s very good at finding really cool people.’
Testard confirmed that most of the game’s soundtrack was made in his home studio, though he did also work sparsely with the Curieaux Orchestra at the Midilive Studios in Paris as well. He explained that he never felt under pressure despite stepping up into such a large role due to the fact that he was there to write. With an encouraging thread on Discord that is really in keeping with the passion project Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 identifies as, Testard says: ‘It was a dream job to be with your friends and create music from the start.’
Describing the Environment
The soundtrack is often a heavyweight for carrying the immersiveness of a game. With just a simple change of sound, creators can make sweeping castle halls feel reverent or creepy, they can bring a sense of humor to banter between characters, and they can emphasize the alien aspects of the worlds the players are exploring.
Testard took the experience of the players to heart when creating his soundtrack, saying: ‘It depends on which la ville (town) you are in. When you are in the Gestral village or just at the start, it’s not the same atmosphere.’ He goes on to elaborate on what sorts of sounds were used to evoke certain atmospheres, as with the ‘Goblu’, where they used a lot of submarine-esque enhancements, including the rhythmic beat to mimic a depth sensor that would be present on such a machine.
‘Every song has a particular story that I really love. So for each song, I can say there’s a story.’
Testard confirmed that his method for writing the soundtrack was to take a level and write three environment tracks, two battle themes, and one boss theme. In this way, over the 5 year development time, he was slowly able to accumulate the work that would eventually describe the world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. ‘I tried not to be influenced by other soundtracks’, he says, and certainly the world of the game feels enclosed.
The music is very much focused on bringing life to what the player is experiencing. It can be heard in the way the soundtrack shifts so distinctly between styles in each area and in each emotional moment with the characters. The music of Lumiere brings the Belle Epoque setting of the game to the fore, where the Flying Waters drive away from that theme to emphasize the notion of the strange and wonderous field.
Layering Tracks to Create Themes
Testard stated that one of the techniques he used to create the soundtrack was the idea of layering the piano.
‘I really love this concept of taking the part I like in the virtual instrumental piano and layering it with the other part I like to have a distinct sound for a piano track.’
This idea of layering rolled over to weaving themes for characters and locations to give depth to their personalities and heritage. It’s part of what makes the characters of Clair Obscur: Episode 33 seem alive. For Gustave, for example, Testard explained that he used Lumiere’s theme to build up Gustave’s because his home was such a huge part of him.
You can find this theme amongst the other members of Expedition 33 as well to enhance this sense of camaraderie between them and reiterate that they’ve all grown up together, that they’re all childhood friends. Knowing this and being able to hear it in their various tracks greatly heightens the sense of tragedy that’s felt when the expedition hits the shoreline and most of them are wiped out in that single first strike.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s soundtrack also respects the changing landscape of the game. When the characters return to Lumiere, it’s not the same place that they left, so the melody has evolved. It brings a greater sense of a living, constantly adjusting atmosphere, and really brings attention to how much the characters grow in the game. The whole thing feels incredibly authentic, which is beautiful when you think about it in terms of a painted canvas, something literally made to be static.
Art Deserving of The Top Spot
Occasionally, a video game soundtrack will be deemed worthy enough to break the top fifty on one of Billboard’s charts, as with Halo 4 back in 2012, the Minecraft Alpha soundtrack written by Daniel L. Johnson, and Cuphead taking the top spot on Billboard’s Jazz Chart following its release in 2017.
With the stunning variety of orchestral pieces found within Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, courtesy of Lorien Testard, it’s no wonder that this game has been earmarked as one of those worthy entries. So much love and attention to detail has gone into every track to give the player the most wonderful experience possible, and it is a joy to see when that love and attention is rewarded with the prestige of this recognition.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will surely continue to turn heads as new patches are released and gameplay continues to adapt. What’s for sure is that this game is certainly not finished snatching our attention yet.
