I’m late to Expedition 33, but it deserved almost every one of its Game of the Year awards

I don’t really understand how Clair Obscur Expedition 33 passed me by so completely. The whole internet was raving about it, reviews were stellar, and my favourite YouTubers were doing playthroughs that I, for some reason, skipped. I didn’t even think about playing it. It went straight into a backlog, possibly never to see the light of day.

However, Expedition 33’s awards domination couldn’t help but get my attention. After sweeping the Golden Joystick Awards, it has received more wins at The Game Awards than any other game in the ceremony’s decade-long history. It was clear I needed to play it, and dear reader, I will tell you what you probably knew months before me: Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is a wondrous experience that deserves (almost) all the praise it gets. 

✓ VideoGamer Summary

• I missed out on Clair Obscur Expedition 33 when it released, and now, after making up for lost time, I can confirm it really is that good.
• Clair Obscur Expedition 33’s story is heartfelt and deeply moving, with huge twists even through Expedition 33’s Act 3.
• It’s hard to praise Expedition 33’s art enough in both design and presentation, and the direction is so impressive.
• Clair Obscur Expedition 33 also offers stellar sound design, from the little moments of enemy attacks, through to the gorgeous soundtrack and remarkable performances.
• The game’s status as an “indie” title is dubious and raises questions, but, overall, I can absolutely understand the hype.

Story time

It’s a testament to the strength of Clair Obscur Expedition 33’s narrative that the opening both feels like it’s not wasting any time, but also has a feeling of being strategically lackadaisical. Tutorials are interspersed between establishing the world and its characters, while never fully giving the game away as to what’s going to happen.

Expedition 33’s knowing delivery of certain plot points while keeping its own hand of story cards well out of your sight is a trick that keeps on working, even when you’re barely past the last twist. Each revelation feels fresh and original, each beat makes total sense, and when you see certain plot points coming, you can feel the dread that surrounds their arrival.

The central themes surrounding the effect of grief are palpable, and the characters keep finding new things to mourn in such an interesting interweaving throughout the game. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 was always going to end up with that Best Narrative nomination; hats off to Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, Guillaume Broche, and Victor Deleard.

The eyes have it

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 has such a unique style about it, cultivated from the ground up from each of its assets, all the way up to the distinctive way that cutscenes are directed. Sometimes in video games, cutscenes don’t use the full flexibility of the medium, and despite their endless possibilities, they end up going for something far more naturalistic in approach. 

Expedition 33 leans into not just the fantasy of larger-than-life locations and physics-defying enemies, but uses the kind of techniques usually reserved for avant-garde cinema. Switching aspect ratios, messing about with uncomfortable close-ups, changing things to black and white, or messing around with hard cuts. 

Outside of just these presentational flexes, the world is gorgeous: a watercolour beauty and nightmare. Each enemy design is delightfully weird and imaginative, clearly signposting each foe’s combat style.

Indicators of weak spots, elemental weaknesses, and what style of attacks you should be expecting can be read on the enemies all before they start swinging. Visually, Clair Obscur Expedition 33 boasts that rarest of combinations: style and substance.

Sound off

The audio design is on point from Audio Lead Raphaël Joffres and their team, which is essential as Expedition 33 is as much a rhythm game as it is a turn-based RPG, and you need those audio cues to know when to parry.

The score is a remarkably diverse treat. Lorien Testard knocks it out of the park, from the quiet and somber Alicia, to the funky Monoco, or the all-time banger Une vie à t’aimer. That last one plays in a boss fight that frustrated me beyond belief, but not only was the music a rich balm for the soul, but it also doesn’t actually overpower the audio design that you need to keep the action running.

I’d initially say that it was greedy for Expedition 33 to have three different nominations for Best Performance at The Game Awards, but after playing it, I think the nominations were justified, as was Jennifer English’s victory.

Ben Starr and Charlie Cox both give excellent performances that are touching, thoughtful, and subtle in ways that you don’t always get a chance to let breathe in video games. Jennifer English’s performance shone even among these luminaries, adding a sense of gravitas to proceedings that anchored Expedition 33’s fantastical world into place. 

Independence Day

Expedition 33 also won Best Role Playing Game, Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025. As you may have guessed, however, one of these things is not like the others. 

I know Sandfall Interactive is technically an independent developer, but it feels like lumping Expedition 33 with more conventional indie developers was rather unfair and may help create unrealistic expectations for indie games going forward. 

Expedition 33 is a high-budget, mass-market product that costs investors around $10 million (£ 7.47 million). Additionally, its use of high-profile celebrity voice actors does call into question its status as an “indie” game, while drawing attention to just how malleable “indie” is as a concept in the first place.  

It seems risky to have awarded Best Debut Indie Game to Expedition 33. By snubbing the likes of superpowered narrative opus Dispatch and tantalizing puzzler Blue Prince, The Game Awards has set a dangerous precedent, implying that “indie” games are only legitimate if they look, sound, and feel like an AA or AAA experience. 

This controversy aside, Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is fantastic. While I didn’t gel as completely with the combat due to my lack of rhythm, I can see why the RPG overshadows literally everything else that came out this year. Beyond small nitpicks, like wishing the dungeons actually had maps, or that it was easier to backtrack into the mid-game, it’s basically flawless.

I’m late to Expedition 33, but I can say now that, after the hype of its release has died down, it is a remarkable treat of a game that deserves a huge amount of recognition. That said, we must be wary not to unfairly compare other titles to Expedition 33 in a way that unfairly moves the indie dial. Expedition 33 must be an inspiration, not a straitjacket.

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