Summary

  • Esquie is a fan favorite character in Clair Obscur, with demand for a plushie.
  • Monoco, named after Sandfall Interactive's office dog, is popular among players.
  • Other characters in the game, like Petank and Sakapatate, have clever pun-based names.

Very minor spoilers for some of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's characters ahead.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a rich cast of loveable characters. While the human gang are all great, though, it's the non-human characters who seem to have stolen the spotlight.

Related

Japanese Players Are Struggling With Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Name, So They've Given It Its Own One

Time to play the hit new video game, Something 33.

Posts 7 By  Sam Woods

Esquie has become Clair Obscur's fan favorite, with high demand for a plushie leading to the development team confirming that they'd love to make one. However, hot on Esquie's heels are Gestral characters like Noco and Monoco, who have also garnered high praise.

It's the latter where things get interesting, with party member Monoco seemingly named after a special member of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's development team.

Monoco Is Named After Sandfall Interactive's Office Dog And Happiness Manager

A quick glance at Sandfall Interactive's team page shows one staff member who's not like the rest — Monoco, a very good dog who has been designated as the team's happiness manager. It's evident that with their unique name and spelling, this is who Expedition 33 member Monoco is based on, or at least his name.

While Monoco's (the dog) role at Sandfall is unclear, outside of making everybody happy, they do have two favorite games: Eating Wood and Chasing Broomsticks.

If you remember, Eating Wood was a 2018 Game of the Year contender, so it's a really solid choice. Chasing Broomsticks is a more interesting pick, though. It was a 2007 Xbox Live Arcade title that launched to a mixed reception but has since gone on to garner a cult following. The dog has taste.

Monoco isn't the only name that the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 team has been clever with, as a new post on Reddit has shared some of the puns the Sandfall Interactive team has used.

Petank, Clair Obscur's version of Persona's Treasure Hand enemies, is named after French game, Pétanque, in which players throw small metal balls, similar to the way Petank attacks. Sakapatate comes from the phrase 'sac à patate', which is used when adults carry something, like children, over their shoulder, and Esquie is likely named after French judge and philosopher, Montesquieu, because in the game you can mount Esquie.

Game of the Year...

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Like Follow Followed Turn-Based RPG JRPG Fantasy Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 97% Released April 24, 2025 ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence Developer(s) Sandfall Interactive Publisher(s) Kepler Interactive 10 Images Close
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SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
Engine Unreal Engine 5 Genre(s) Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy Powered by Expand Collapse