The most powerful enemies in Clair Obscur Expedition 33 have silly names. This is due to how the developers approached it.
The developers of Clair Obscur Expedition 33 are currently giving many interviews and discuss pretty much every detail of the development. Although the interview with Alex Moukala featuring composer Lorien Testard and game director Guillaume Broche on YouTube was actually about the fantastic music of the game, there were also other topics. They discussed the names of the enemies in Expedition 33. Because they seem very silly when you pay attention.
How did the developers choose the names? In the interview, Guillaume Broche reveals how they came up with the names of the enemies in Expedition 33. There was no long, extensive process of consideration behind it. Instead, he confessed:
It’s a silly story, but I can tell it. How we named the enemies in the game. It’s the most random bullshit way to name things in the game. We looked at the respective concept drawing [of the enemy], just for 2 seconds. And then we just say the first French word that inspires us.
Which enemies show this? The first example that Guillaume mentions is the Serpenphare. This is a large endgame boss that is quite tough. Guillaume said about it:
As an example, there is this big snake on the world map, one of the super bosses. It has a lighthouse for a head. In French, it’s called “Serpent Phare,” which literally means “Snake Lighthouse.” It’s so dumb, but we just stuck with it.
What other enemies are there? Another enemy is the “Grosse Tete,” which guards a cave in the game. The enemy is notorious because it is virtually unbeatable in terms of damage. Instead, you have to dodge or parry over 100 attacks for the fight to be automatically won. It’s actually a cool fight – until you realize that “Grosse Tete” simply means “Big Head” and that the enemy is exactly that.
Another example is the “Sakapatate,” which you can encounter with the Gestrals. These are constructs built by the Gestrals to protect the village of the Gestrals. When you look at the Sakapatate, they are rather clumsy and thick creatures that also move clumsily. And “Sakapatate” is just “Sack of Potatoes” pronounced very unclearly. So, you are fighting against a sack full of potatoes.
In general, the developers have had a lot of fun and also integrated a lot of little absurdities into the otherwise serious game. Some of these absurdities are the secrets that can be discovered in the first hour and otherwise likely missed forever.
