Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Dominates the Game Awards in Historic Fashion
So, the Game Awards this year turned into something really special, especially if you’re a fan of story-driven role-playing games. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 didn’t just win big — it absolutely swept the night. The French-developed RPG walked away with an incredible nine awards, including the biggest one of all: Game of the Year. Out of the ten categories it was nominated for, it only missed out on one, which is a near-perfect record and one for the history books.
Going into the ceremony in Los Angeles, Clair Obscur was already seen as the hot favourite. It had earned a record-breaking 12 nominations, more than any game in the show’s history. Still, it faced stiff competition from heavy hitters like Death Stranding 2, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades 2, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Despite that, the top prize was ultimately secured, and it was widely felt that the win had been earned.
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What really helped Clair Obscur stand out was its world and its emotional weight. The game is set in a haunting universe ruled by a supernatural figure known as The Paintress, who prevents people from living beyond a certain age. Players follow a group of adventurers on a desperate mission to destroy her, and that journey has been praised for being deeply moving. The old-school, turn-based combat was also celebrated, proving that classic RPG mechanics can still feel fresh when done right.
The story behind the studio made the victory even more powerful. Sandfall Interactive was formed by developers who left Ubisoft to chase a dream project, despite having limited experience running a studio of their own. When director Guillaume Broche accepted the Game of the Year award — dressed in a red beret and striped shirt as a nod to the game’s French identity — he described the year as a “weird timeline” and thanked not only his team, but also the countless online creators who helped them learn how to make a game in the first place.
Awards kept piling up. Clair Obscur won Best Narrative, Best Score and Music, Best RPG, Best Independent Game, and Best Debut Indie Game. Composer Lorien Testard, working on his very first game, was discovered after posting homemade tracks on SoundCloud, making his win feel like a breakthrough moment. In the Best Performance category, actress Jennifer English took home the award for her role as Maelle, dedicating it to neurodivergent players watching around the world.
While a few categories went to other games, the night clearly belonged to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. By the end of the ceremony, it wasn’t just a winner — it had become a defining moment for modern role-playing games and a reminder of what passion-driven development can achieve.
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