Expedition 33 Dominates at the Game Awards, Devs Drop a Thank-You DLC
Are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s developers exhausted from all the trophies? The RPG not only snagged Game of the Year at this year’s Game Awards, but swept nine of the eleven categories it was nominated in, cementing its place as 2025’s standout title. In celebration, the team released a free DLC to show appreciation to the fans that propelled the game to success.
Our early review of Expedition 33 highlighted its stunning visuals, a captivating soundtrack with strong voice acting, and fast-paced, satisfying combat. We noted a linear feel and depth that lagged behind some peers in the RPG space, but still found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The broader gaming community appears to share this sentiment in force.
A caveat for context: this game marks Sandfall Interactive’s debut project. The studio’s origin story is heartening: founder and lead developer Guillaume Broche left Ubisoft to pursue a Final Fantasy–inspired vision, enlisting friends and fans from Reddit, ArtStation, and SoundCloud. They brought on many aspiring developers who poured years of passion into the game’s development.
By 2025, those efforts translated into strong critical reception, a devoted player base, and an impressive trophy haul at the Game Awards.
In the race for Game of the Year, Expedition 33 bested titles such as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. The game also earned top marks in multiple categories, including Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Performance (Jennifer English as Maelle), Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Role-Playing Game. It’s a showcase performance that few can match.
The Thank You DLC is now accessible to all owners and introduces a new playable environment, fresh music tracks, additional end-game boss encounters, a robust Photo mode with nuanced controls, and a wide array of quality-of-life improvements plus localization refinements.
Fans have welcomed the update with as much enthusiasm as the base game, which sits in the Steam catalog with an Overwhelmingly Positive rating and more than 81,000 user reviews.
Would you like this rewrite to lean more toward a teaser-led hook at the start, or keep the bold summary approach but with a lighter teaser? Additionally, should I adjust the level of critique to be more or less technical for beginner readers?
