Clair Obscur photo mode reveals grotesque test images and player creations

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's photo mode has produced unsettling results, both from developer testing and from player-created images after the mode launched. QA coordinator Naja Dalmagne said photo modes in many games can feel restrictive, so the team focused on giving players as much freedom as possible.

That freedom produced unexpected effects during development, with characters showing misaligned heads, jaws literally on the floor, and bodies that could become displaced or deformed if they hadn’t been visible for a while. Senior gameplay programmer Florian Torres described the tools he implemented—"infinite camera distance, the ability to pass through collisions, lots of customizable lights, many (weird) filters, and more"—which let players peer behind cinematics and sometimes reveal partially missing limbs and odd facial expressions.

Players have since pushed the mode further, sharing extreme close-ups that create oversized-head illusions. Sandfall highlighted some favorite player shots but warned work is ongoing.

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