French studio Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been a prominent and nearly inescapable part of the cultural zeitgeist since its April 24 debut.
The ultra-successful RPG landed a live-action adaptation before the game hit distributors, with record-setting consumer interest in gameplay, narrative, and score furthering its popularity.
The story-rich turn-based title takes place in a gritty Belle Époque setting, boasting an intensely immersive campaign, endearing characters, and a stellar soundtrack. Throughout the sprawling fantasy world, gamers can find countless cultural elements from baguette- and beret-heavy cosmetics to profane French interjections.
Now that we’ve had nearly one month to relish all the game offers, Google Trends data reveals an uptick in relevant inquiries.
On Monday, TheGamer reported that Google searches for one particular French swear word rose around the time of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33‘s April 24 release. The obscenity, used fairly often throughout the game, saw an uptick following the game’s release, spiking between April 27 and May 3.
After a closer look, similar search data shows that in-game bad words aren’t the only French terms piquing U.S.-based player interest.
(Don’t worry — no spoilers ahead! Phew…)
According to Google Trends, stateside searches for “gommage,” “patate,” “learn French,” and even general searches for the country of France all hit 30-day highs in the days just after Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hit retailers and online distributors.
Searches for “patate,” a French term meaning “potato,” reached a Google Trends “Interest Over Time” score of 100 on April 24, eclipsing search interest for either term before or after release day. Google Trends data ranks user search frequency from 1 to 100, with 1 representing the lowest-calculable interest and 100 indicative of the highest possible interest.
Inquiries for “gommage,” meaning “to erase,” hit a search query high on April 27. Additionally, searches for “France” and “learn French” saw 30-day highs on April 28 and 30, respectively.
Normally, I’d agree that attributing Google search interest for potatoes or seemingly innocuous verbs to a video game’s success seems sus, one look at “Related Topics” and “Related Queries” shows other tangential searches.
Google searches for “belle époque france” are up 1,250%. Even searches asking “what age would i gommage” are trending upward.
Akin to “Trending” categories on social media apps, Google Trends data acts as a kind of litmus test for media impact. It’s clear Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive have a hit on their hands, and search patterns reflecting the game’s ability to drive cultural interest are just another check in the game’s “W” column. Ideally, data derived from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gamers incentivizes studios industry-wide to lean into more cultural integration.
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A lifelong gamer raised on classic titles like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Croc, Stephanie brings her expertise of gaming and pop culture to deliver unique, refreshing views on the world of video games, complete with references to absurd and obscure media.
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