In what’s shaping up to be one of the most remarkable award seasons in gaming history, Expedition 33 Has Already Swept Up Several Awards Before TGA 2025, leaving industry veterans and newcomers alike in awe of this indie powerhouse’s unprecedented success. The formally titled “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” hasn’t just been winning awards—it’s been rewriting the record books and challenging our assumptions about what a small development team can achieve.
The Golden Joystick Domination: A Seven-Award Sweep
When the 43rd annual Golden Joystick Awards were announced, few could have predicted the absolute domination that would follow. Sandfall Interactive’s debut title didn’t just win big—it achieved a clean sweep in every category where it was nominated, taking home an impressive seven Golden Joysticks. This wasn’t just a victory; it was a statement.
The awards cabinet for Expedition 33 now includes:
- Ultimate Game of the Year – The most prestigious honor of the evening
- Best Storytelling – Recognition for its narrative excellence
- Best Visual Design – Celebrating its stunning artistic direction
- Best Soundtrack – Honoring its musical composition
- Best Lead Performer (Jennifer English as Maelle) – For her captivating portrayal
- Best Supporting Performer (Ben Starr as Verso) – Recognizing his outstanding performance
- Studio of the Year (Sandfall Interactive) – A remarkable achievement for a first-time studio
What makes this sweep particularly extraordinary is that it represents the first major awards recognition for Sandfall Interactive, a studio founded merely five years ago in 2020. The fact that a debut title from a relatively unknown developer could achieve such comprehensive victory speaks volumes about the game’s quality and impact.
Breaking Records at The Game Awards 2025
If the Golden Joystick sweep wasn’t impressive enough, Expedition 33 went on to shatter records at The Game Awards 2025 nominations. The game secured an unprecedented 12 nominations across 10 categories, making it the most-nominated game in TGA history. This achievement surpasses previous record-holders and places Expedition 33 in elite company alongside gaming’s most celebrated titles.
The extensive nomination list includes:
- Game of the Year – The ultimate recognition
- Best Game Direction – For exceptional creative vision
- Best Narrative – Celebrating storytelling mastery
- Best Art Direction – Honoring visual excellence
- Best Score and Music – Recognizing audio achievement
- Best Audio Design – For technical sound innovation
- Best Performance (Three nominations: Jennifer English, Ben Starr, and Charlie Cox) – A rare feat
- Best Independent Game – Acknowledging indie excellence
- Best Debut Indie Game – For outstanding first efforts
- Best RPG – Celebrating genre excellence
This nomination tally ties Expedition 33 with The Last of Us Part 2 for the most performance nominations in a single year, with three separate actors recognized for their outstanding work. The fact that Ben Starr received his second TGA performance nomination in three years (following his 2023 nod for Final Fantasy 16) further underscores the caliber of talent involved in this production.
The Phenomenal Sales Success Behind the Awards
Numbers don’t lie, and Expedition 33’s commercial performance has been nothing short of extraordinary. The game didn’t just win over critics—it captured the hearts and wallets of gamers worldwide with unprecedented velocity:
- 500,000 copies sold in the first 24 hours – A remarkable debut
- 1 million copies within three days – Demonstrating incredible momentum
- 2 million copies by day 12 – Showing sustained interest
- 3 million copies in 33 days – A poetic milestone
- 4.4 million+ copies to date – Proving long-term appeal
These figures become even more impressive when considering the game’s indie status and the fact that it was developed by a core team of only about 30 people. For context, many AAA titles with budgets exceeding $100 million and teams of hundreds would be thrilled with such performance, yet Expedition 33 achieved this with a fraction of the resources.
Critical Acclaim: The Reviews Speak Volumes
Beyond sales and awards, Expedition 33 has garnered near-universal critical acclaim. The game currently boasts:
- “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews on Steam with a 97% approval rating
- A perfect 100 player rating on OpenCritic – A rare achievement
- A user score of 9.7 – Exceptional by any standard
These metrics suggest that Expedition 33 isn’t just critically acclaimed—it’s genuinely loved by the gaming community. The perfect OpenCritic score, in particular, is an almost unheard-of achievement that places Expedition 33 in the most exclusive company of gaming’s all-time greats.
What Makes Expedition 33 So Special?
Understanding why this game has resonated so deeply requires looking at what sets it apart from both indie and AAA competitors. Expedition 33 represents a masterful blend of classic JRPG inspiration with modern innovation, creating something that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
The Narrative Excellence
At its core, Expedition 33 tells a story that’s both emotionally resonant and intellectually stimulating. The game explores themes of sacrifice, redemption, and human connection through a lens that’s both personal and epic in scope. What makes the narrative particularly effective is its refusal to rely on tired tropes, instead offering characters who feel authentic and motivations that feel earned.
The voice performances, particularly by Jennifer English as Maelle and Ben Starr as Verso, elevate the material to cinematic levels. Their chemistry and emotional range bring depth to characters that might otherwise have felt familiar, creating relationships that players genuinely invest in.
Innovative Combat Systems
While many modern RPGs have moved away from turn-based combat, Expedition 33 embraces it while introducing innovations that make the system feel fresh and exciting. The game’s combat mechanics reward strategic thinking while maintaining the accessibility that makes turn-based systems appealing to a broad audience.
What’s particularly impressive is how the combat system serves the narrative rather than existing separately from it. Each battle feels meaningful, and the progression system ties directly into character development and story advancement.
Visual and Audio Mastery
The game’s artistic direction represents a perfect marriage of technical excellence and creative vision. The visual design creates a world that’s both beautiful and thematically consistent, with each environment telling its own story while contributing to the larger narrative.
Similarly, the soundtrack doesn’t just provide background music—it enhances emotional moments and creates atmosphere that draws players deeper into the experience. The audio design, from ambient sounds to combat effects, demonstrates a level of polish that rivals the biggest productions in gaming.
The Sandfall Interactive Story: David vs. Goliath
Perhaps the most inspiring aspect of Expedition 33’s success is the story behind its development. Sandfall Interactive, founded in 2020 and based in Montpellier, France, represents the dream of many indie developers: create something exceptional with limited resources and compete with the industry’s biggest players.
With a core team of only about 30 people, Sandfall achieved what many thought impossible. Their success challenges the notion that only massive studios with enormous budgets can create gaming’s most celebrated experiences. In many ways, Expedition 33’s triumph is a victory for indie development everywhere, proving that passion, talent, and vision can overcome resource limitations.
What This Means for the Gaming Industry?
Expedition 33’s unprecedented success has implications that extend far beyond its own achievements. The game’s performance suggests several important trends and shifts in the gaming landscape:
The Rise of the “AA” Developer
Expedition 33 represents what many are calling the “AA” space—games with higher production values than typical indie titles but without the massive budgets of AAA productions. This middle ground is becoming increasingly viable, allowing developers to create polished, ambitious games without the financial risks associated with AAA development.
The Enduring Appeal of Turn-Based RPGs
Despite the industry’s trend toward action-oriented gameplay, Expedition 33’s success demonstrates that there’s still a substantial audience for well-crafted turn-based RPGs. The game proves that when executed with innovation and quality, traditional genres can find massive success in the modern market.
The Globalization of Game Development
The fact that a French studio could create a game inspired by JRPG traditions and achieve such global success speaks to the increasingly international nature of game development. Talent and great ideas can come from anywhere, and the gaming audience is more than willing to embrace excellent work regardless of its geographic origin.
Looking Ahead to The Game Awards 2025
With the Golden Joystick sweep already accomplished and record-breaking nominations in hand, all eyes now turn to The Game Awards 2025, scheduled for December 11. The question on everyone’s mind is whether Expedition 33 can complete the ultimate awards season double by taking home the most prestigious prize in gaming.
The competition is formidable, with fellow nominees including Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Each of these games represents the pinnacle of gaming achievement in 2025, making the Game of the Year race particularly competitive.
However, Expedition 33’s combination of critical acclaim, commercial success, and broad category recognition makes it the clear frontrunner. A victory at The Game Awards would not only cement Expedition 33’s place in gaming history but also validate the growing importance of indie and mid-tier development in the industry.
The Legacy of Expedition 33
Regardless of the outcome at The Game Awards, Expedition 33 has already secured its place in gaming history. The game’s unprecedented awards success, combined with its commercial performance and critical acclaim, makes it one of the most significant releases of 2025—and potentially of the entire generation.
More importantly, Expedition 33’s success story will likely inspire countless developers to pursue their creative visions, knowing that exceptional work can find recognition regardless of budget or studio size. In an industry often criticized for playing it safe, Expedition 33 represents bold creativity rewarded—a lesson that hopefully resonates for years to come.
Conclusion: A New Standard for Gaming Excellence
Expedition 33 Has Already Swept Up Several Awards Before TGA 2025, and in doing so, it has set a new standard for what’s possible in game development. The game’s journey from a small French studio’s debut project to the most-nominated title in TGA history is nothing short of inspirational.
Whether you’re a fan of turn-based RPGs, indie development success stories, or simply exceptional gaming experiences, Expedition 33 represents something special. Its Golden Joystick sweep and record-breaking TGA nominations aren’t just achievements—they’re milestones that will be remembered long after the awards season has passed.
As we look ahead to The Game Awards 2025 and beyond, one thing is certain: Expedition 33 has already secured its legacy as one of gaming’s great success stories, proving that with enough talent, passion, and vision, even the smallest team can achieve the greatest heights