Clair Obscur’s Creative Director Praises Breath of the Wild’s Open-World Design

Guillaume Broche, a fast-rising creative lead for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, recently shared strong praise for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. His comments won’t shock anyone who remembers how widely the 2017 game was celebrated, but they do stand out because Broche hasn’t been shy about being blunt when discussing other big-name franchises.

That timing also matters for Nintendo fans looking at what comes next. With additional Zelda efforts on the horizon—such as the Ocarina of Time remake—Breath of the Wild is easy to mentally file away behind newer open-world heavyweights like Elden Ring and even Tears of the Kingdom. Still, the point isn’t which game is “better” in a direct comparison. It’s that Breath of the Wild reshaped what open-world design could be when the genre was getting crowded with repetitive, marker-heavy checklists and exploration that felt more like chores than discovery.

From its first major impression, Breath of the Wild felt like a genuine reset for the genre—fresh, responsive, and still hard to match nearly a decade later. It’s also a reminder that the best open-world games don’t just give you a big map; they let you choose your own rhythm.

Quick scan facts

• Guillaume Broche is creative lead for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
• In a June 2026 interview with Jeux Video Club, Broche praised The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
• Broche’s main point: Breath of the Wild was the first open-world game to truly deliver on the idea of exploration without a minimap.
• The article contrasts Breath of the Wild with games like Skyrim, which it says relies more on waypoints, quest structure, and predetermined routes.
• It notes that Immortals Fenyx Rising (2020) and other games took cues from Breath of the Wild, including Ghost of Tsushima and Elden Ring.
• The piece argues that Clair Obscur reflects Breath of the Wild-style philosophy even though it is not an open-world game.

“It’s Truly Exceptional” — Broche’s Case for Breath of the Wild

In a June 2026 interview with Jeux Video Club, Guillaume Broche explained where he thinks Breath of the Wild fits in gaming history. His view is straightforward: it was “truly exceptional,” and in his opinion it was the first open-world title that actually kept its promise of letting the player be free from constant minimap guidance.

Broche specifically highlighted the experience of having a large map while still feeling that exploration is genuinely yours. The key idea is that you spot something, you decide you want to see it, and you set off because the world itself makes that choice feel natural.

He also frames this as a reasonable claim, not just a hot take. When you look at how ambitious—yet often messy—open-world design can be, the bar for “delivering on the promise” is understandably high.

Why the “no minimap” idea matters

The article pulls in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim as a comparison point, calling it another frequently cited “best open-world” example. It notes that Skyrim was marketed around freedom, with director Todd Howard famously pushing the idea of “seeing a landmark and going to it” before launch.

Even so, the piece argues that Skyrim can get weighed down by mission structure, waypoint-led discovery, and level design that discourages breaking away from the expected route. In other words, the world may look wide, but the game can still steer you into predictable travel.

By contrast, Breath of the Wild is described as offering far fewer “beaten paths,” with its natural environment effectively demanding a more flexible exploration style. The article emphasizes that discovery is meant to be organic: finding Shrines, villages, secrets, and other points of interest typically depends on the player’s curiosity rather than a constant breadcrumb trail.

It also draws a clear behavioral difference. In Skyrim, Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, and other open-world games, you can often reach nearly every point of interest. In Breath of the Wild, the suggestion is that you don’t just can visit those locations—you genuinely want to, because the game’s structure makes exploration feel rewarding on its own terms.

What Other Games Can Take From Breath of the Wild’s Open-World Thinking

After Breath of the Wild released, the article notes that many games tried to copy its success. One example given is Ubisoft’s Immortals Fenyx Rising from 2020, which combined Ubisoft’s usual open-world traits with BotW-style influence. The results are described as surprisingly solid, even if the game doesn’t reach the same level of inventiveness or quality.

Other titles—like Ghost of Tsushima and Elden Ring—are also said to take visible cues from Breath of the Wild’s organic design direction. The common thread is less about cloning mechanics and more about adopting a more player-driven sense of discovery.

At the same time, the piece argues that some lessons don’t have to be applied directly. Returning to Clair Obscur, it suggests Broche’s comments reflect a real reverence for Breath of the Wild, and that reverence likely didn’t go unnoticed during development. The article is clear that Clair Obscur isn’t an open-world game in the same way, but it claims its underlying philosophy still seems to have been shaped by BotW in some form.

Clair Obscur and the “discovery” mindset

A key example is presented through Clair Obscur’s endgame side content. The article says players can fly through the hub zone and interact with its “spokes” in a new way, using that added mobility to re-experience the game’s structure.

It also claims the game hides a meaningful amount of important content at this stage. New landmarks that may look ordinary at first are said to lead into major boss fights and story moments, demonstrating confidence in both the game’s exploration and the audience’s willingness to pay attention.

The argument is that the design trusts players to find satisfaction through intrinsic discovery. Instead of railroading people with annoying map markers or waypoint noise that drains mystery from the world, Clair Obscur is portrayed as encouraging curiosity and rewarding it.

Unsurprisingly, the article repeats that post-2017 games attempted to emulate Breath of the Wild’s success, but it frames Clair Obscur as inspired in a more indirect way than a pure mechanical clone.

That inspiration is compared to how The Witcher 3 is said to have drawn from Dark Souls: the influence is acknowledged, but the result still fits comfortably alongside other western RPG design. For Clair Obscur, the piece claims its most significant gaming influences are turn-based JRPGs like Final Fantasy 10, yet its curiosity-driven exploration and its willingness to tuck major content into optional areas are where it shares a kinship with BotW.

The article concludes that Sandfall Interactive may not have set out to be explicitly Breath of the Wild-inspired. Still, it argues that the strengths Broche seems to value—especially the more ambiguous exploration mechanics and their effect on player behavior—ended up bleeding into Clair Obscur’s design philosophy anyway.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

WHERE TO PLAY

Forget everything you know about The Legend of Zelda games. Step into a world built around discovery, exploration, and adventure in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a boundary-breaking entry in the celebrated series. Cross wide fields, move through forests, and climb toward mountain peaks as you uncover what has become of the kingdom of Hyrule in this open-air adventure. It’s now available on Nintendo Switch, and the journey is described as freer than ever—able to be played anywhere, with Link’s route through the world shaped by player choice.