The RPG genre is one of the most long-lived in the video game sector, with more than four decades of history behind it. Throughout this time, the different studios that have decided to venture into proposals based on different universes that meet this type of characteristics have been evolving the formula to adapt it increasingly to current times. A commendable task that Sandfall Interactive has embraced with great ambition.

This is how Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has arrived on the market, a title that already showed promise from its first trailers, but which has managed to establish itself with a proposal that reinvents the genre, succeeding in bringing together usual techniques with other innovations and a magnificent visual aspect that does justice to next-generation consoles. A demonstration that the risk independent studios sometimes take pays off, as the initial sales of the video game have managed to exceed all expectations and become the great surprise of 2025 in the interactive entertainment sector.

One of the great virtues of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is its storyline, which keeps the player glued to the screen awaiting the next events that will define what happens to the protagonist characters. All of this wrapped in a Belle Époque France setting that suits it wonderfully to offer colorful and very dynamic environments that fit perfectly with the theme of the proposal.

An expedition in search of salvation

The RPG genre has established itself over the years by offering proposals in which a group of heroes must face an evil that devastates humanity, being the only ones who can prevent it. There's also some of this in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but with much more humanity and less fantasy. Yes, the protagonists have magical abilities and supernatural powers, but their objective is much more mundane: to save their own lives and those of future generations in a world that weaves its threads with an expiration date.

In this sense, the game's story feels more emotional, more human. Each character's personality, like the way they deal with conflicts, is a central piece of the plot, making it much easier to empathize with their emotions and aspirations, offering an immersive vision for the player. This narrative charge is fundamental in the development of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which also features a realistic aspect for its characters, with carefully crafted animations and very truthful performances from actors of the caliber of Charlie Cox, Jennifer English, or Andy Serkis.

With all this, Sandfall Interactive has tried to reward a story that reaches the soul of players to feel it as their own and accompany their characters in the search for the truth of their world to try to save themselves through the expedition. Of course, secrets and plot twists also appear over the hours, generating a most pleasant adventure both visually and gameplay-wise.

Combat, a delight for RPG lovers

If the storyline is one of the fundamental pillars of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the gameplay is not far behind. It may be shocking that with the realism granted at the graphical level, battles are conducted in turn-based attacks, but over time it's discovered that the game would not have worked the same way without this option, as the range of actions for the player is so broad and strategic that this pause time is required to know what to do at each moment.

One of the great virtues of combat in this title is that each of the characters that make up the group feels unique, so their actions are not comparable to those of another companion, but they are capable of generating synergy that provides beneficial states in combat and can tip the balance in favor of the player. Precision and strategy are key elements in defining the gameplay of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, something that the most demanding players with this type of title appreciate.

In this sense, those responsible for its development have expressed on several occasions that the game's idea was to move away from everything that had been done previously. In a sector where ideas are constantly being recycled, generating something completely new and original was necessary, so that was the intention at all times. Something they achieved with flying colors when observing the final result and the opinions it's managing to generate from both critics and the public.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may just be the beginning of Sandfall Interactive's journey in the video game sector, either to create a saga that continues the universe created on this occasion or through something completely new that manages to capture public attention as they have succeeded in doing this time. Undoubtedly, a team not to lose track of in the coming years.