Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - A Testament to Human Ingenuity

Photo from Playstation.

Evan Rosenau

Released in April of this year, Expedition 33 is one of the single greatest games I’ve ever played. Its story, broken into a traditional three act structure, is captivating unlike any of its contemporaries, fully deserving of the movie deal the team at Sandfall Interactive, who produced the game, has already signed with production company Story Kitchen. 

Yet, the story behind its development is almost as riveting as the game itself. Founded in 2020 by French designer Guillaume Broche, Sandfall Interactive began production on its first game: Expedition 33. The game would be produced by a core team of only 30 people, small for a game that has photorealistic graphics and nearly 50 hours of gameplay. 

Its first members met in various chatrooms and streaming services, with Broche recruiting the game’s orchestral composer, Lorien Testard, over Soundcloud. Expedition 33 is his debut work as a composer. It was also lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen’s debut in the position. 

In fact, the team who developed the game was mostly novice engineers with little professional experience—this game was built on passion. In fact, Broche has expressed one of his reasons for producing the game was simply he couldn’t find the perfect game for him, so he decided to make it. 

In its over five years in production, Expedition 33 continued to gain more and more acclaim, debuting on Xbox Gamepass and selling over a million copies in its first 24 hours on the market. Every aspect of the game deserves its own review. 

The voice acting includes VA legends like Ben Starr and Jennifer English, as well as mainstream celebrities like Andy Serkis and Charlie Cox.

The writing is, once again, phenomenal. A story that begins seemingly clear cut becomes increasingly thought-provoking and mind-bending. By the end, I was reflecting on my own mortality, morals, and interpersonal skills. 

The game begins following Gustave, an expeditioner in the town of Lumière, sent to stop the Paintress, who each paints a new number on her stone monolith overlooking the city, counting down from 100. When the game begins, she’s at 33, causing all citizens age 33 to gommage, or die with a flowery flourish, including Gustave’s lover. All their elders had gommaged previously. This exposition serves as the driving force to depart on Expedition 33, sent to follow the expeditions who came before them and prepare for those who came after, living by the phrase “when one falls, we continue.”

Finally, let me talk about the score. Lorien Testard produced music unlike anything else. Ever. His compositions for this game range from hard-core jazz riffs to stunning orchestral arrangements. In fact, one song, Une vie à t'aimer, even mashes opera and rock together. If you’re like, “How?”  I can confirm it’s as mind-boggingly awesome as it sounds.

Expedition 33 is a testament to what humans can accomplish through collaboration. This game would not have been created without the immense perseverance displayed by every single member of its team. In my opinion, it is one of the greatest displays in recent memory of human creativity.

As of September 2025, the game has sold 4.4 million copies, been praised by French President Emmanuel Macron, and is being considered for Game of the Year.