Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is definitely one of the surprise hits of this year. A developer from Baldur’s Gate 3 agrees, having initially intended to only try the game once.
What does the developer say about the game? In a stream on X.com, Greg Lidstone, who served as the animation lead on Baldur’s Gate 3, was asked whether any of the recent games he played had particularly good animations or motion capture. He replied without thinking long: “Expedition 33”.
I just started playing it. One weekend, my wife and daughter were out to see Billie Eilish, so I had the apartment pretty much to myself. I borrowed it from someone to play the beginning, and I practically played through it and thought: ‘This is really great.’ Now it’s on my list of things I have to make time for to actually play through it.
He also celebrates that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a game that knows 100% what it is and simply relies on that. It’s beautifully crafted.
With his opinion, he is far from alone, as the game has captivated numerous players, critics, and developers since its release.
For many, the absolute highlight of 2025
What makes Clair Obscur so special? Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based role-playing game with real-time elements and the debut work of the studio Sandfall Interactive. The game has been so well received that even the developers themselves were surprised, and it is considered one of the best games of all time.
On Metacritic, the game receives a score of 9.7 / 10 from 19,074 user ratings (as of August 17, 2025, at 10:30 AM). It has already sold over 2 million copies within 12 days and reached 3.3 million sales after exactly 33 days.
The soundtrack has also enchanted so many people, that it broke several records. In addition to developers from Baldur’s Gate 3, for example, the creators of Witcher 3 and Death Stranding have praised the work. The father of first-person shooters, John Romero, even goes so far as to say that games like Clair Obscur are the future.
In our review, Clair Obscur also convinced us on multiple levels and climbed up our list for our highlights of this year. Many players also “mourn” their gaming experience and are convinced that they will never find anything like this again.
Many skeptical players have also been convinced by Clair Obscur so far. Despite turn-based battles not being for everyone, many people find their way into the game. The deep, compelling story even manages to change the minds of story skeptics: Clair Obscur is so good that it excites even story skeptics and players who dislike turn-based combat: “I want more games like this”
