Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the best games of the year, and a contender for the best of the generation. As Sandfall Interactive works on a brand-new update for the game, fans are waiting to see if the game will be celebrated at the annual Game Awards. 

Whether the game wins or doesn’t win, director Guillaume Broche and lead programmer Tom Guillermin explain that the game’s current level of success is already far more than they expected. Since release, the game has been put on the same pedestal as Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s undeniably one of the greats. 

Speaking to Eurogamer, Broche says the response to the game has been “surreal”. While the team expected to “find their niche” on release, they never thought the game would be as popular as it is right now. 

“I was saying before the game launched, we are going to find our niche and the players who love the game will really, really f*****g love the game, but we are still expecting it to be a very small percentage of gamers,” he explained. 

Broche says the game “exploded far beyond” what the team or their publisher expected. “We are incredibly moved and grateful at how big it got and how it emotionally resonated with people.”

Alongside the audience reception, lead programmer Tom Guillermin couldn’t believe how well the game was received by critics. As one of the highest rated games of the year on Metacritic, the game has been showered with critical praise, so much so that seeing the reception was the “first shock” of many. 

“There are so many great games that we look up to that are in that range of score. So when we discovered that, everybody was screaming with joy in the studio,” he said. “It was such an emotional moment.”

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has made Sandfall Interactive the studio to watch. With plans for a new game already, gamers everywhere are already salivating over what the studio’s second title could possibly be. After all, with a debut so strong, who isn’t fantasising about what the team could do next?