How 2025’s surprise RPG hit lured some big-name stars

Nestled between the crowd-pleasing guns and gore of Xbox’s 2024 summer showcase, was an eyebrow-raising, painterly role playing game. As its party of grimacing adults urgently sprints across a shimmering, surrealist landscape, a voiceover depicts a world terrorized by an omnipotent being called the Paintress. Each year, she daubs a new descending number on a distant monolith and everyone of the corresponding age disappears. With 60+ expeditions meeting a grizzly end, it is now up to the oldest remaining humans — the 33 year olds — to try and reverse their realm’s futile fate. After Doom: The Dark Ages and Gears Of War E Day’s carnal thrills, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s existential journey offered something refreshingly abstract. The 30 strong team at developer Sandfall Interactive took inspiration from both classic RPGs and Belle Epoque-era Impressionist painters, aiming to make a refreshingly French take on Final Fantasy. It was this lofty ambition that attracted some big name voic ... Read full article.