TecRah

Light and Shadow Expedition 33 is expected to be released on April 24, 2025 for the PS5 XSX PC Windows Steam Epic Game Store platform.

As Sandfall Interactive’s debut title, Light and Shadow Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG that introduces a real-time battle system. On February 25th, FamiCom editors were lucky enough to go to the Shibuya Sakura Stage to take part in an official demo of the game before its official launch. The following is a report on the demo and an interview with the development team.

At the start of the demo, Guillaume Broche, CEO and Creative Director of Sandfall Interactive, and Mr. Franois Meurisse, COO and Product Manager of the company, took the stage to give a brief introduction.

With the help of the giant screen on the stage, the two explained in detail the six years of development since 2019, how they came to adopt a turn-based system and command-based combat influenced by JRPGs, and how the worldview is based on France in the Belle Époque period between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

When talking about the game’s prologue, the two developers also briefly talked about the desperate world of the game. First, there’s the iconic character of Eimu, a young woman who draws a number every year. Every year, she draws a number, and anyone who is the same age as that number will die, and the number gets smaller every year. But only one man survived the 33rd expedition sent to break this horrible curse. The setting and the development of these mysteries are very intriguing.

Moving on to the six characters and the voice cast, the English version of the game features the following voice actors. The voice actors for the English version of the game are Charlie Cox as Gustav, a member of the expedition, and Jennifer English as Gustav’s sister, Maire, and Kirsty Rider as the magician, Luné, and Andy Serkis as the mysterious survivor, Lunovar.

System-wise, the game retains the command-based combat model while introducing a real-time dynamic turn-based combat mechanic that doesn’t feel antiquated at all. Thanks to this, players are even able to use their own maneuvering skills to clear levels without injury, making it a JRPG with a different style.

Finally, the two of them emphasized the character building system that allows even magicians to use normal attacks through different training routes. The world setting is finely honed, and the realistic graphics and memorable sound effects brought by the Unreal 5 engine impressed me with this horrifying and beautifully crafted work.

Fran ois Meurisse, COO and Product Manager (left) and Guillaume Broche, CEO and Creative Director (right).

Demo Experience Report

After the developer’s talk, I went to the demo session. This time, the demo was on PC, and I was able to experience the Spring Meadow level in ACT1, which lasted for about a minute.

The game offers three levels of difficulty, Story Easy Expedition Normal Expert Hard, which can be changed at any point outside of battle. The graphics settings support up to 120 FPS and include a quick preset feature that automatically adjusts the graphics options based on the current PC hardware performance, which is very thoughtful.

Note: You can also manually adjust anti-aliasing, shading, material effects, and more.

After briefly confirming the settings, I entered the game. With the background summary of the prologue scrolling on the screen, I could see a lot of people with the same age as the number 33 engraved by Eimu disappearing into the city of Lumière, the starting area of the plot, as if it were smoke. Although Expedition 33 was dispatched to bravely fight against them, according to the mysterious man Lunovar, the expedition has been completely wiped out.

With overwhelming graphics and a sense of despair, Gustav, one of the expedition members, slowly awakens in an unknown place. From here on, the player is able to do the actual maneuvering and move freely around this tree-lined area. Within a few steps, the game pops up a new tutorial on combat, where you can see various commands such as attack, aim, skill, and props in the combat wheel.

Below, I’ll briefly introduce you to the combat commands and actions that appear in the demo.

Commands that can be activated during the Expedition turn

The following commands or actions can be executed when the battle enters the player’s turn

Attack This is traditionally known as a normal attack, and it gains the AP points necessary to activate a skill or free aim shot.

Aim Free Aim Shot. Aim at a target’s weak point or an enemy flying in the air to attack, requiring you to move the cursor to aim. Aiming at an enemy remotely before entering combat triggers a pre-emptive attack that costs 1 AP point per shot.

Skills are AP-consuming commands that can be activated by choosing one from the Skill Roulette wheel. When used, they trigger a QTE, which requires you to press the appropriate button at the right time; a failed QTE will still activate the skill, but a successful QTE will increase the skill’s effect, and if you achieve a perfect rating, it will be further enhanced. Each character can equip up to 6 skills.

Props Use stamina-restoring, AP-restoring, or revitalizing props. Touch the Expedition Flag, which serves as a resting point, to replenish items and learn character skills. At the same time, the Expedition Flag is a respawn point when your team is destroyed.

The QTEs used to activate skills can be used without any negative effects even if you fail. Each character can learn different skills. For example, Gustav in the demo can learn physical damage skills, lightning damage skills, and skills that provide benefits to the party, while Lunay, who is a magician, can learn ice, earth, thunder, and other attributes.

Another interesting feature of this game is that the requirements for activating skills are not limited to AP; for example, when Gustavo uses a skill and hits hard, he builds up a charge, which can then be expended to activate a powerful overload. Lunae, on the other hand, generates Taint when she activates a skill, which consists of five attributes: Ice, Fire, Thunder, Earth, and Light, which can be used to enhance the effect of a skill by consuming the corresponding Taint when using that skill.

When launching attacks with attributes, be sure to pay attention to your target’s resistance. Characters have four types of attribute resistances: weak, resistant, ineffective, and absorbing, which can greatly affect the outcome of a battle, so it’s best to find out what an unknown enemy’s resistance is when you first encounter them.

Moves that can be used on the enemy’s turn

When the battle enters the enemy’s turn, the player can perform the following actions to mitigate damage or even avoid it altogether

Dodge Press the Dodge button when you see an enemy attack coming, and you can trigger a Perfect Dodge if you time it just right, or take damage if you fail to do so.

Blocking: The timing requirements are more stringent than those of dodging, and successful activation not only restores 1 AP point, but also allows you to counterattack at the end if you successfully block all of the enemy’s attacks.

Expedition Counter Attack When the enemy launches a full attack, use all members of your team to block, and if you succeed, all your characters will launch a counterattack together and recover 1 AP.

The turn-based battle mode with real-time action elements is unique to this game in that you can dodge or block by pressing specific buttons during the enemy’s turn. Depending on the type of enemy and how they attack, the buttons the player needs to press will change, so it’s important to memorize the enemy’s attack moves and rhythm like in an action game.

In addition, weapons and equipment called Pictos can be obtained by investigating light sources in the scene or defeating enemies. In the demo, equipment is automatically strengthened, while weapons can be strengthened to level 3 by consuming a material called Chroma.

Each character can equip three Pictos at once, which can significantly improve their attributes. Pictos also come with a passive effect called Luminescence, which can be activated by spending Luminescence Points and can even be enjoyed without the corresponding Pictos. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a way to enhance Pictos in the demo yet.

Going back to the flow of the demo, after traveling from the forest at the beginning to some creepy cave, Gustav is able to reunite with the wizard Lunay. The two of them work together to take down enemies while exploring Spring Meadow, where they eventually come across the rest of the expedition being slaughtered by a large enemy. With nowhere to run, the duo will have to face the original boss, EVEQUE.

EVEQUE will unleash multiple spells in a single turn, requiring players to dodge or block frequently. After building up its power, it will also perform nine heart attacks, which must be dealt with with concentration. Incidentally, EVEQUE also has shields, all of which need to be broken before damage can be dealt to its body.

Other than that, the only thing that can be confirmed is that EVEQUE has two types of gun attacks and the ability to summon henchmen. Overall, avoiding enemy attacks to minimize damage and attacking the opponent’s weaknesses is a great shortcut for any battle.

After defeating the boss, the main character and his party will leave the area and set up camp to regroup before moving on to the next level, Floating Water. The atmosphere changes dramatically, with fish and shrimp swimming in the air and colorful seaweed. The types of enemies that appear in this level also change, with some summoning falling mines and others unleashing a continuous barrage of crashes, requiring the player to learn their attack patterns over and over again in order to avoid as much damage as possible.

Although the demo only lasted about an hour, I got a real feel for the worldview that blends elements of Belle Époque and fantasy, the battle system that combines turn-based features with action, and the beautiful graphics that are based on the Unreal 5 engine. Personally, I failed a lot of dodges and blocks in my experience, and I can’t wait to improve my success rate in the full version and explore the mysteries behind the world.

Creative Team Interview

Next up is my interview with Guillaume Broche, CEO and Creative Director of Sandfall Interactive, and Mr. Fran ois Meurisse, COO and Product Manager of the company.

Guillaume Broche, CEO and Creative Director of Sandfall Interactive, hereinafter referred to as Guillaume.

Sandfall Interactive COO and Product Manager, Fran ois Meurisse, hereinafter referred to as Fran ois.

First of all, I would like to ask how the worldview of the game, which combines elements of fantasy with early 20th century France, was created.

Guillaume: At the beginning, we were completely focused on the action elements, and the overall framework was completely different from what we have now, so to speak. It was only when Nicholas Nicholas Maxson Francombe, the art director, joined the team that we started discussing what kind of worldview we wanted to create in order to give the game its own original character, and we came up with the idea of France in the Belle Époque as a candidate. Prosperity, hope, and beauty were synonymous with this era, and many masterpieces of painting were produced. Although the gameplay system of this game is heavily influenced by JRPGs, we had to make it our own, and since there aren’t many games set in the Belle Époque era, we decided to use the Belle Époque era as the centerpiece of our worldview to further expand the world.

The enemies in this game have a distinctive look, what were they inspired by?

Guillaume, of course, credits Nicholas’ creative mind for generating the whimsical ideas, but on the other hand, he seems to use materials as reference when designing his enemies, such as ceramics as a base. And so, one by one, the enemies are born, memorable and never before seen by the player. In addition, the design of the monsters changes to fit the worldview of the game and the atmosphere of the different levels. For example, the first level, Spring Meadow, is based on the theme of beautiful nature, while the next level, Floating Water, takes place in water. Even the same materials can be combined with different environments to create a variety of enemies. Nicholas kept this in mind when designing the enemies.

You mentioned JRPGs, which games influenced you?

Guillaume: For my generation, Final Fantasy 8, Final Fantasy 9, and Final Fantasy 10 were very influential, and it was with Final Fantasy 8 that I was first introduced to the joys of video games. It left me with so many memories that just hearing the Balaam Soldier Training Academy’s BGM at the beginning of Final Fantasy 8 brings tears to my eyes. I’ve also played a lot of Goddess of Prosperity and Alchemy Workshop series, and I’ve been exposed to a lot of JRPGs, and it’s because of my love for JRPGs that I had the idea of making a turn-based RPG, and I wanted to innovate and make it something that would be loved even in the modern age.

When Mr. Franois Guillaume recruited me, we shared our favorite games and the ones we recommended to each other, and as a Nintendo fan, I’ve been enjoying RPGs such as Keys to the Future and Paper Mario RPGs since a long time ago. Although this game is turn-based, it still allows for dodges and combos, which is somewhat influenced by JRPGs.

In order to add a variety of action elements to turn-based battles, you’ve crafted a mechanism that requires you to spend AP to freely aim or release skills, and that allows you to regain AP by using your character’s normal attacks, blocking, and so on. What difficulties did you encounter and how hard did you work to achieve this?

Guillaume: Well, first of all, I don’t like the idea of MP. If you need to use up MP, which is a resource that has a maximum value, you’ll end up fighting with no MP at all, relying solely on physical attacks. And even if you run out of AP, you’re just back to the beginning of the battle, so you can actively take action to regain it. Incidentally, the difficulty of triggering blocks was quite high in the early stages of development, and the game is now balanced after we listened to a lot of player feedback and made adjustments. We also put a lot of effort into other aspects of the game, such as optimizing the legibility of the camera and adding a short delay when an enemy launches an attack so that players can react more intuitively.

I’m impressed with how stylish the attacks and effects are, was that inspired by the Final Fantasy series as well?

Guillaume: One of the most common names I mentioned in discussions with the animators for this game was Ghostbusters, and I wanted to use that as a reference for introducing action game-like aerial maneuvers in turn-based battles. Also, I’m a big fan of Japanese animation, so the way I did the special effects was somewhat influenced by that.

Fran ois, we wanted to create a world where the camera switches dynamically when the player chooses a command in battle, and the animation doesn’t stop. As a result, you may feel a cinematic sense of drama in the game, which was inspired by Goddess of Fear 5.

Are there any other noteworthy elements in the game?

Guillaume The high degree of freedom in character customization is also noteworthy. During the development process we had playtests with a variety of players, each of whom had different skill sets and overall character builds. Some will do things we didn’t expect, others will try to get through the game using only free aim, and you can experience the game in your own style. We look forward to finding more ways to play the game that even we didn’t expect.

Fran ois, on the other hand, I would like you to pay attention to the world map. This game is all about realistic and detailed graphics, and it’s difficult to achieve that with the world map. As the game progresses, players learn the extent of the world and see themselves approaching the location of Mother Erika. This is one of the main features of the world map, which makes you excited every time you open it.

Who is the main audience for this game?

Guillaume envisions the main audience to be around 22 and 35 years old, so people like me who grew up with JRPGs will definitely feel nostalgic when they play this game. In addition, the dynamic turn-based battle system is similar to that of action games, so those who have played mostly action games in the past and don’t often encounter turn-based RPGs will find it easy to accept.

Finally, I’d like to say a few words to those who are looking forward to the release of this game.

Guillaume: I would be honored if the Japanese developers and gamers who created Japanese culture and JPRG could play this game. I would be honored if the Japanese developers and gamers who created Japanese culture and JPRG could play this game for themselves, and I would like to ask you to try it out for yourself and give your comments on its bold innovations. This is a small token of my gratitude to the Japanese developers who brought me so much joy as a child.

Fran ois hopes that you will be immersed in this game and become attached to the characters. Our development team has always had a special affection for Japan, so please be sure to play the game with Japanese players.