A Masterpiece of Storytelling and Atmosphere

Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 is the first title from a new studio in France and it is changing the rules.

May 03, 2025

I think I am not even close to having this game finished, but let me tell you this: Expedition 33 is one of the most beautiful and atmospheric experiences I’ve ever witnessed in my 40+ years of gaming.

I haven't felt this way about a video game in years!

And I’m not the only one who’s blown away, as it’s got the highest Metacritic user rating ever!

📅 Released: April 24, 2025

📄 Genre: Fantasy RPG

🎮 Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, PC

🏷️ Price: $49.99 (or via Game Pass)

🗨️ Metacritic Score: 91 (User Score: 9.7)

📖 Developer: Sandfall Interactive (France)

🥷Team Size: 30 (new studio)

✌️I play it on my Xbox Series X

So, yes, the hype about Clair Obscure is 100% real. For me, it’s the kind of gaming experience that sticks with you long after you stop playing every single time.

As usual, I don’t write reviews, but this truly outstanding and captivating game deserves some insights. However, I won’t tell you any details about the story, except for the prologue, since I highly recommend experiencing how this intriguing story unfolds by yourself.

The Story | Prologue

I don’t consider the prologue a spoiler, but if you would rather experience the whole story by yourself, feel free to skip this part.

This year, Sophie, Gustave’s ex-girlfriend, will turn to dust and petals, along with everyone else her age. It’s called the gommage (French)

The world of Clair Obscure is dying, literally. Every year, a god-like being known as "The Paintress" paints a number onto her monolith on a distant island, and everyone of that age simply fades from existence. That event is called ‘Gommage’. This year, it’s the number 33.

The atmosphere and the environments are absolutely incredible right from the start

Like every year, a new expedition sets out on a mission to break that cycle and stop the Paintress before she writes the next number on her monolith.

This early cutscene with the ‘Gommage’ is one of the most cinematic and beautiful tone-setters of any game I've ever played.

And this mysterious, unique, and creative premise is just the starting point for one of the most gripping and unpredictable stories in video games.

Gameplay | Combat

One of the first more challenging fights is a mime. These ‘mini-bosses’ are optional, but quite fun.

You will find a mix of intriguing exploration of the gorgeous world and strategic, turn-based combat, but with QTE (Quick-Time-Elements) that keeps you engaged. It also keeps the fights more tense: You dodge and parry in real time during combat. Also, some attacking abilities include a timing mechanic.

So, you're not just selecting a move and watching it play out. Instead, you're engaged, active, and trying to learn enemy patterns for the perfect dodging/parrying.

The battles are perfectly staged, with fantastic, detailed animations that make every move feel powerful and alive.

Honestly, before Expedition 33, I never really liked turn-based games. I usually get bored, quit early, and never look back. But here, I’m definitely hooked!

Storytelling | Atmosphere

What makes Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 truly unforgettable is the storytelling.

The characters are incredibly well written, full of depth, struggles, and real emotions. Every conversation and every step you take reveals a bit more about their inner battles, and it never feels forced.

An early example: Although I already knew what was going to happen to Sophie, I almost cried! That is outstanding!

Expedition 33 keeps you hooked with mysteries and unanswered questions, pulling you from one place to the next while delivering answers at just the right moments.

It’s that rare kind of story that stays with you long after you put the controller down.

Visually, it’s a work of art, as stunning as its intense story, with almost every scene somehow more jaw-dropping than the last. Developed with Unreal Engine 5 and using Lumen, Nanite, and Virtual Shadow Maps, the devs created a gorgeous world rich in detail, realism, and vivid color.

You can tell that every frame was crafted with love and a real artistic vision.

The soundtrack is equally impressive and could carry this game alone. Every piece feels perfectly tuned to the mood of the scene, whether it’s quiet despair, growing determination, or fleeting moments of peace.

The Developers

This image is AI-generated, so it's nothing official. I use ideogram AI :)

Everybody says it’s so unusual that a team of only 30 developers can create such a big and fantastic AAA title!

AAA game development teams typically range from 100 to over 500 people, depending on the project's scope and complexity the can even be bigger. For example, major titles like Assassin's Creed IV involved around 900 developers, while Grand Theft Auto V had about 1,000 team members.

The people behind Expedition 33 include many former Ubisoft developers, with experience on games like Beyond Good and Evil 2, The Division 2, and Ghost Recon.

The studio, Sandfall Interactive, was co-founded by Tom Guillermin, who worked as a gameplay programmer at Ubisoft Montpellier and Massive Entertainment.

CEO Guillaume Broche also came from Ubisoft, where he was a narrative lead and brand manager. Some team members come from outside gaming, including a COO who previously worked at a French ride-sharing company.

The quality of this game, from the art direction to the combat systems to how it all feels so addictive, speaks volumes about what can happen when a small team of creative individuals isn’t buried under layers of corporate nonsense, restrictions, and pure financial goals!

Despite their varied backgrounds, the people at Sandfall seem to share a passion for games, and with Clair Obscure, they were able to make one on their own terms.

In my opinion, they created something that Ubisoft or any other large publisher/developer would never give them the freedom to make.

Drawbacks

Yes, there are two tiny drawbacks. which almost nobody mentions, so I will do it :)

The character animations while walking or running, and only then, can sometimes feel a little stiff and unnatural.
Also, the lip-sync doesn’t always match the dialogue, but it didn’t break the immersion for me.

Do those things really matter? Honestly, when I started playing, I thought it would bother me. But after like 20 minutes, I couldn’t care less, as the whole game felt so amazing!