Despite a great last year of gaming, 2025 looks to be even better. Titles like Monster Hunter: Wilds, Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, South of Midnight, Ghost of Yōtei, a new Mario Kart, and, of course, Grand Theft Auto VI are (hopefully) planning to be released within the next 12 months. Even without playing any of them yet, the race for Game of the Year does feel rather set. However, there is one title that, if it matches what it’s shown so far in trailers and previews, could be 2025’s dark horse candidate: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
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Developed by first-time developer Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG set in an apocalyptic Belle Époque France. Its narrative revolves around a group of young citizens who take an expedition to find and kill the Paintress, a god-like being that can kill those of a certain age by painting the number that corresponds with their age. You play as the remaining survivors as they make a trip seemingly nobody has been able to make and finally end the neverending cycle that’s claimed lives on both fronts. While we have seen gameplay and know some details, there are still bits and pieces we have yet to see.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, dark horses are essentially titles that nobody expects to be as big as they become. This is even more true when it comes to winning major awards. In past years, some standout dark horses included 2022’s Stray, 2023’s Sea of Stars, 2018’s Celeste, and, more recently, 2024’s Balatro. A common trait in each of these titles is that they come from indie developers or small teams. Going off that basis, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 checks a ton of these same boxes before it even launches. Still, there are many factors that we can’t definitively say the title will succeed in, but the signs are pointing toward it being impressive on a gameplay, plot, graphical, and performance front.
Of course, the biggest asset of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is its gameplay. Taking up the old-school turn-based ways of JRPGs like Final Fantasy VIII and Persona 3, the title boasts a seemingly electric type of flair. In teams of three, you’ll face off against monsters of the Paintress’ creation, taking turns to hit, support, or defend. Yet, you’ll also use free aim to shoot weak points, power up attacks with quick-time events a la Paper Mario, and block and parry attacks in real-time. It does very much look like a modernized version of the turn-based mechanics from yesteryear, with more interactivity, stunning battle animations, and a hint of Persona-style flair with the UI. These assets are sure to hit big with fans of the Persona/SMT series but have a wider-reaching appeal for other RPG fans.
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The plot also brings back memories of titles like Final Fantasy XIII and Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. In fact, the game’s creative director, Guillaume Broche, wants that correlation, as he said to PC Gamer last year, “We are definitely not hiding that there are influences from the big Japanese genre.”
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is looking to be one of those games that wears its inspirations on its sleeve, which could bode well for fans of those franchises looking for a new adventure. Plus, with no new big RPG titles from Atlus and Square Enix on the horizon as of this writing, the competition looks very slim and could allow Clair Obscur to easily take the crown and be the ‘must-play’ RPG this year. Even more so, the game isn’t expected to be that long to play, going around the 30-hour mark. This also means the time commitment is more achievable than, say, Persona 5 Royal’s 100-hour runtime or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s 120-hour length.
RPGs are some of the most acclaimed in the art direction realm, and well deserving of such. Titles like Persona 5, Nier: Automata, and Undertale have reigned as beacons of creativity for their unique aesthetic and beautiful artistic design. Outside of the modern-day Final Fantasy games like Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy XVI, this series has usually stuck to a traditional look and feel, swapping realism for style. With Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it seems the line has been threaded rather finely, though more skewed in the realistic realm. Still, as far as I can remember, not many RPGs, specifically turn-based, have taken the realism route. For some gamers, having high-fidelity graphics can be enough for them to dive in; especially if last year’s Black Myth: Wukong is anything to go by. We may see a similar phenomenon happen for Clair Obscur, especially if its visuals look as impressive as they do in trailers.
Finally, though Sandfall Interactive hasn’t made a title before, the cast it assembled to give life to the survivors is honestly impressive. The six English actors and actresses already announced have some heavy hitters that are sure to make even non-gamers interested. Newcomers like Shala Nyx (Gita in The Old Guard) and Kirsty Rider (Emanuela in The Sandman) fill the rather prominent roles of Shiel and Lune, respectively. For fans of gaming, two rising star VAs join the fray with Jennifer English (Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate III) and Ben Starr (Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI) as the young Maelle and the mysterious Verso. To round it out, we have two titans in the entertainment industry: Charlie Cox (Daredevil in Daredevil: Born Again) and the BAFTA-winning Andy Serkis (Gollum/Smeagol in The Lord of the Rings). Gathering such a big cast is no small feat and could provide some acclaim in the award circuit, as they do favor repeat performers and Hollywood stars from time to time (like Troy Baker’s multiple nominations and Giancarlo Esposito in Far Cry 6).
Overall, there is a massive amount of potential for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to not only succeed, but to make its mark in a highly-competitive year for the medium. If what we’ve seen so far holds up, we could have our first dark horse candidate for the crown this year.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will release later this year on April 24th and will come to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
