The CLAIR OBSCU Action RPG: Expedition 33, developed by French Sandfall Interactive, has dominated the gamer scenario in 2025. Since release, the title accumulates praise of critics and the public, reaching one of the greatest notes in Metacritic history: 9.8 in the PC version, with over 2,000 user ratings.
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Performance is also high on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series, consolidating the strength of the game on all platforms. The impressive reception makes the game lead the race for the game prize (Goty) and overshadow competing releases.
Historical note and immediate impact on platforms
The score recorded by Expedition 33 surpasses that of classics consecrated such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (9.0), The Last of Us (9.2), Half-Life 2 (9.1) and even Baldur's Gate 3 (9.2), Goty winner in 2023. very rare among the players.
At OPENCITIC, another relevant aggregator, the average of 92 after 122 criticism reinforces the favoritism of the French title. Last weekend of April, the game registered peak of 145,000 simultaneous players at Steam, according to Steamdb data. The performance has exceeded other major budget games, such as Assassin's Creed Shadows and AvoWed, highlighting the impact of Expedition 33 with the public.
French studio surprises with debut game
Sandfall Interactive, founded a few years ago, surprised the industry with an ambitious, well -executed and technically refined debut project. The performance of the game caught attention even outside the industry. Emmanuel Macron, president of France, mentioned the studio in a recent speech, valuing national production.
However, the title is not only impressed by the high graphic standard and refined combat mechanics. Its differential is in bold aesthetics and the way it leads the story, plunging the player into a universe full of impactful symbolism and choices. The construction of the world and the characters also received consistent compliments, creating a rich and memorable experience for fans of the genre.
Solid campaign and numbers that support favoritism
Since arrival in the market, the game has sold over 1 million copies. The combination of technical quality, good sales performance and critical acclamation gives solid basis for Expedition 33 to be considered the main candidate for Goty.
The title campaign in the awards is expected to go through events such as The Game Awards, Bafta Games Awards, Dice Awards and Golden Joystick. None of the last five Goty winners have reached such a high grade among the players. Baldur's Gate 3 and Astro Bot, winners in 2023 and 2024, respectively, registered an average of 9.2 in Metacritic, which today seems modest compared to the 9.8 Expedition 33.
New launches scheduled for this year, such as Doom: The Dark Ages, Ghost of Yotei and Death Stranding 2, can still change the course of the dispute and challenge the protagonism won by Expedition 33.
Another name that runs outside is RogueLike Blue Prince, the second best rated game of the year, but an average of 8.2 among users, well below the Sandfall performance.
Game of the year it looks like a matter of time, but the year is not over yet
With the postponement of Grand Theft Auto VI, the main bet of 2025, the field was open for Expedition 33 shine even more. The absence of a heavyweight as GTA expands the chances of the French RPG. The campaign by the end of the year can still bring surprises, but the Sandfall Interactive game has written its name in recent industry history.
If you follow the same performance, Clair Obscu: Expedition 33 has the potential to win the title of best of the year and sign its name among the great action RPGs of the decade.
Consolidated favoritism, it remains to maintain performance
Although the season still reserves surprises, Clair Obscu: Expedition 33 emerges as the most consistent title so far and reference to other competitors. International recognition, historical notes and engagement of the gamer community support favoritism.
The challenge now is to maintain relevance to the arrival of new competitors and ensure that the initial impact is not lost until the awards season. Until then, Clair Obscu: Expedition 33 follows at the top and with the eyes of the Gamer world facing him.
