Claire Obscure: Expedition 33's director admits the team was “overpowered too easily” but says classic PS1 RPGs like Final Fantasy 10 are to blame.
Talking to Edge MagazineClair Obscur director Guillaume Broche is asked if the ability to level up for the game's final boss was intentional. In response, he says that “the idea” was to have a structure similar to PS1 RPGs, “where the last disc, which for us is the last act, is very open and you can go directly to the final boss or do side content.”
In the case of Expedition 33, it seems more people chose to create side content rather than jump straight into the final showdown. something the team said they weren't expecting and which they admit resulted in a slightly frustrating boss fight for some. Brosh admits that “we may have made the challenge too easy to beat, but we wanted players who want to focus on the narrative to be able to jump from the end of Act 2 directly to the end of the game.”
I was definitely one of the players who didn't, making my way through several levels of the Endless Tower before moving on to the third act. As a result, the final battle was a bit of an underdog compared to some of the additional content, but Brosh says developer Sandfall still “thinks it's okay – more or less what we wanted.”
