For those of us who speak English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's name is... well... Obscure. The 'Expedition 33' part makes perfect sense—it's the 33rd expedition that the France-inspired island of Lumière has undertaken. However, the Clair Obscur part has raised questions (it comes from the French word chiaroscuro, for those wondering, an art style that focuses on the juxtaposition of light and dark).
"You've been listening for too long now! It made things more exciting at first."
It seems like us English-speaking folk aren't the only ones having problems with its name, though, as those in Japan are struggling so much that they've affectionately given it a name that's much easier to pronounce.
While in the West, we're struggling with the meaning of 'Clair Obscur,' those in Japan are struggling with the pronunciation of the game's entire name. The title includes letters and letter combinations that are not common in the Japanese language, making it exceptionally difficult for native speakers to read and pronounce.
According to Automaton Media in Japan, the name has become such a problem that they've scrapped the 'Clair Obscur: Expedition' part of it and now simply refer to the game as 'Something...
