It Feels So Wrong To Have Been So Right About ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33′

Often, the world is cruel and unfair. Bad things happen to good people, and sometimes, the jerks and sadists of the world win in horrific, unambiguous ways. But today? I’m going to bask in this win. I’ve earned and deserve this moment. Remember when I originally showed up and was immediately labeled a soulless corpo scumbag who didn’t know or understand gaming? Well, I apparently know enough to have properly called Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 being a 20/10 experience, now didn’t I?

So, VICE’s own Matt Vatankhah, RPG extraordinaire, reviewed Clair Obscur on behalf of the outlet. (Call me biased, but the dude’s a poet. Read his thoughts here!) He gave the game our highest possible rating: “Best In Its Class.” Which is, to be clear, 150% true. Don’t believe me? On both Metacritic and OpenCritic, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a whopping, unmistakable aggregate score of 92. In the noble game of Chess, I believe we call that a “Checkmate.”

I say this now and forevermore: if you’re a critic worth their salt, sometimes, you just know. When I previewed Clair Obscur back in March, I knew the gaming world was ready to introduce a superstar into its ranks. I knew it was destined for early Game of the Year talks. When I told y’all it evoked the feeling I imagined Final Fantasy 7 fans felt when they played that bad boy back in the day, it wasn’t for Google, it wasn’t for clickbait, it wasn’t hyperbole. I said what I said, I meant it, and wow — turns out, everyone else knows it now, too.

as the designated heel of waypoint, I’ll say it: “haha, i told you so” — i told you ‘clair obscur’ had greatness in its soul

Is this Clair Obscur brag an excuse to try and get as many people to read Matt’s review of the game as possible? Yes. But, also, it’s fun to be harmlessly petty sometimes. Plus, on a less antagonistic and genuine note, Sandfall Interactive crafted one of the most beautiful RPGs of all time. Seriously. When a preview makes you feel such a rich spectrum of emotions, you follow that gut feeling.

Which brings us, of course, to the inevitable actual clickbait of “WOW, CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33 IS A GAME OF THE YEAR CONTENDER?” The simple answer of which is “Yes.” So far, 2025 has been loaded with high-profile releases, and we’re not even at the halfway point of the year yet. But I’m telling y’all right now — screenshot this if you must — Clair Obscur will be a Game of the Year winner across multiple publications. Bank on that. Maybe it won’t win “THE” Game Awards GotY trophy, but it’ll clean up in its own regard when the time comes. Don’t believe me? Just watch.