Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Enters the History of Game of the Year Awards

Key Takeaways

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive, emerged as one of the most celebrated games in 2025, winning multiple prestigious awards and securing 291 Game of the Year accolades, placing it among the top three games with the highest number of awards.
Despite a relatively modest budget of $10 million, Clair Obscur managed to stand out against big-budget titles from major publishers, showcasing the potential of indie gaming in the RPG genre.
Following its disqualification from the Indie Game Awards due to GenAI usage, Clair Obscur is expected to receive around 100 Game of the Year nominations for 2026, according to Angies post on ResetEra.
Placing among an elite group of titles with over 100 Game of the Year awards, Clair Obscur stands alongside RPG giants such as The Last of Us Part II, Elden Ring, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, establishing itself as one of the most acclaimed RPGs in recent history.

Clair Obscur’s Triumphant Rise: A Game of the Year Contender Amid Indie Giants

Sandfall Interactive’s RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, became one of the most celebrated games of 2025, winning top honors at The Game Awards and the Golden Joysticks, among other accolades from media outlets worldwide. The game received 291 Game of the Year awards in 2025, placing it third among all titles in history, behind The Last of Us Part II (326) and Elden Ring (435). This is particularly impressive considering Clair Obscur’s sudden emergence and relatively modest $10 million budget allowed it to stand out among games from major publishers. However, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was disqualified from the Indie Game Awards after developers used GenAI in an earlier version. Despite this setback, Angie’s post on ResetEra predicted that Clair Obscur would receive around 100 Game of the Year nominations for 2026. As of 2026, Clair Obscur’s 291 awards place it among an elite group of titles. The list of 21 games with over 100 Game of the Year awards includes: Elden Ring (FromSoftware) – 435 The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog) – 326 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive) – 291 Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios) – 288

Clair Obscur’s Acclaimed Rise Amongst RPG Giants

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt Red) – 281 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD) – 264 God of War (2018) (Santa Monica Studio) – 263 The Last of Us (Naughty Dog) – 257 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda) – 229 Astro Bot (Team Asobi) – 196 Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog) – 190 Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games) – 178 Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games) – 163 Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare) – 139 Death Stranding (Kojima Productions) – 118 God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio) – 118 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog) – 115 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD) – 114 Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment) – 114 Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar Games) – 111 Mass Effect 2 (BioWare) – 102 Ultimately, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 secured its place as one of the most acclaimed RPGs in recent history.

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Specification
Official Name	Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Brief Summary	“Year by year, She erases us.” Once a year, the Paintress wakes and paints upon her monolith. Paints her cursed number. And everyone of that age turns to smoke and fades away. Year by year, that number ticks down and more of us are erased. Tomorrow she’ll wake and paint “33.” And tomorrow we depart on our final mission - Destroy the Paintress, so she can never paint death again. We are Expedition 33. Lead the members of Expedition 33 on their quest to destroy the Paintress so that she can never paint death again. Explore a world of wonders inspired by Belle Époque France and battle unique enemies in this turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics.
Platforms	PlayStation 5, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X\|S
Released	April 24, 2025
Genre	Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie
Play Modes	Single player
Content Rating	19+
Languages	Chinese (Simplified), English, Korean
Genre	Sandfall Interactive
Genre	Kepler Interactive
Ratings	90/100 (561 reviews)