akelamishari
22629
471
19
Ive enjoyed this game so much, and im so happy for the team to have won 9 out of 13 nominations for tonights Game Awards!
Three were best performance in same category so the most they could have won were 10 awards, but it still broke The Last of Us 2 previous record with 7 wins.
A small French indie team did what many AAA games are now failing to do, and well-deserved to them. Their passion shows so much!
https://www.thegamer.com/clair-obscur-expedition-33-game-of-the-year-tga-2025/
DippinDerps
https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1dWZpZWpqdTQwYjZqemNhaTVkNWM4N2E0Mm5obzZuOGpsdGozNnQxeiZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/FNI0R3x281Qbcj48eC/200w.webp
deaththeunholy
Top quality game right there. Fucking Simon was hard af
AutoBat
I might pick this up. Only heard about it after the GOTY award
Poofybutt
Well deserved! It's an excellent game!
akelamishari
Im so happy for them! They absolutely deserve all the recognition and accolades!
ShadeMeadowsArt
Never 'eard of this one!
Need to read up on it
Lantis02
+1 if you include Jennifer English's award for best performance as Maelle. I know that generally doesn't count, but worth mentioning.
akelamishari
I was sad three of them were nominated for same category because it meant the others would lose but absolutely glad it was Jennifer getting it!
FISHonmydish
Still a little peeved by it winning indie awards with all it's industry funding and how much it sweeped but it's not as if it didn't deserve to win, they really did make a solid turn-based
Sucks the only award silksong won was one it didn't share with expedition lmao
akelamishari
Truth, it made me sad that many others didnt get to win
GentlemanScientist
Blue Prince was snubbed! Snubbed I say! Jokes aside, CO:E33 is a masterpiece and I'm happy that we had so many great games this year.
jappie348
I Really loved blue prince aswell. Very stacked lineup this year
hsalonen3000
I love this game. Even if I was not European, I would still love this game. It is beautiful, has a better story than all Final Fantasys after X, and is made with love. Not for the moneyz. I highly recommend getting it.
GoodChange
Well deserved. I just finished my new game+ playthrough yesterday.
AtmaDarkwolf
I wanted to like this game so badly, and I bought the game to support them - I still got it and have attempted to 'get into it' a few times but it just never hooks me - No clue WHY it's not locking in, it fills all the checkboxes of all the types of games I like, its not off-the-side camera(U can adjust it) the combat seems decent, etc, like the devs listened to players and did their damnest to give everyone what they asked for, but it just won't click. :(
Revicus
It's tough when that happens. I think most gamers have had that experience of finding a game it seems like everyone but them seems to like, even when it still seems like it was well put together. Sometimes it's just as simple as one of the core game mechanics just being too difficult for the particular player or not interesting to them. I've played some games I would still recommend to others that I just couldn't finish.
AtmaDarkwolf
Right? Like I WANT them to prosper HARD regardless how i LIKE the game or not, but the fact it marks off anything and everything that I, as a gamer,who LOVES that kind of game, means a TON to me, so I WANT to love it. (And I will keep trying to dive in cuz ya...) but it also makes me sad like u say, cuz I am def missing out on something great. Is like being that one guy who has never played FFVII (Old OR the remake) and never 'feels' what ppl talk about when discussing it.
akelamishari
It happens, and while i understand it may feel sad, its just not vibing with you and thats ok. Maybe in the future, maybe never, but the good thing is there are other games and one will be the game for you. Thanks for supporting them anyway, and hope you find a game you fall in love with soon!
IconicM
I don't understand how it lost Player's Choice to a game that came out in 2024? Like, I could have seen Silksong getting it but some MMO I've never even heard of from the previous year? Why was it even an option?
AyaElemelon
As someone who plays wuthering waves and loves it, I too am shocked it won over silksong.
Revicus
I think for a lot of Player's Choice votes it comes down to, "Which one of these games is the only one you've played?" And major MMO-gachapon games draw pretty huge crowds, for some reason, so the odds of it being one of those can be high. But I have no explanation at all for why it was included when it released last year.
Debug200
Apparently the devs created in-game rewards for players who voted...
IconicM
Ah. Frankly that should be a disqualification imo.
BisAndThighHighs
It's usually a reward for getting nominated, then another bigger reward for winning, so they basically buy votes from the entire player base and guarantee a win. The entire category is about as useful as the "Most Anticipated Award" was this year, which they might as well just called the "GTA VI" award.
BeerFueledAdventurer
iLoveItWhenMyFingersSmellLikePussy
It deserves a lot of awards, but I don't think it should've been in the best indie and best indie debut categories. Its a sizable studio founded by an industry veteran. Some other developer retreated from the indie debut category cos he made games before, just under a different name.
rdement
fine, fine. I'll buy it when I get some extra cash. Prolly after the holy-days.
marthafarquar
Well deserved, I played 270 hours, once in French that I don't speak, and it's easily the best game of the Year, in my top 5 games ever and I have been gaming for over 40 years. I also played Oblivion remake, Ghost of Yōtei and Outer Worlds 2 as well and they are all good, Yōtei is great, but none of them had the amazing combat that is so addictive I had to stop playing as my right index finger joint swelled up because I was parrying too much.
EstoyPoopis
The combat among all those ganes you mention is vastly different, isn't it?
Rogahar
It is, without a doubt, the Frenchest JRPG I have ever played. And I love it.
Sendmeyourpuppypics
Absolutely deserved!
Kats8652
Like any media, gaming is subjective. It's an ok game for me. Nothing groundbreaking on a game-play or technical level but cool to see what a smaller passionate team can do with a limited budget, I would rather get multiple Clair Obscures then waiting decades on a new Elder Scrolls.
As far as indies go, I had a lot more fun with Look outside. Now that is a game that was my obsession for weeks and the 2.0+2.1 updates were massive.
But hey it's all subjective and Im happy for the fans.
akelamishari
Ill have to check out Look Outside, thanks for the tip!
onepinksheep
E33 has what's probably the best soundtrack of any game for the past few years. The fact that it didn't even get a nomination for the Grammys, which instead is full of Hollywood tie-in slop, shows how much these big name awards shows have no credibility.
khaoselement
This was far and beyond the best thing I played this year, and it wasn't even close.
Babomonkey
Not my type o' game but congrats, glad y'all got a good one.
TheMellowPeril
With mime shirts and red berets
cropduster5000
And baguettes on their backs
Sulimen
akelamishari
That were supposed to be a joke, lol, that was awesome
beegobuzz
senekis
BAGUETTE
Whatdoyousaytoanicecupoftea
....and outrageous French accents!
Quizz25S
Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time-a
gablestout
Fuck you. You and I both know exactly how I read that in my head...
Whatdoyousaytoanicecupoftea
Mo haw haw hurrr
joshjw454
https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1OGp1YTZ6NWMzOWhoNHY4d3NlM3FpYnJnc3VubHUyaGUzem5lNW1vbiZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/KGZi31hJc4owsz7e05/200w.webp
GoodEveningThisIsWhatAButtDoesPBBPPBBTT
If the game is so good, why didn't it win anything from 1 - 32?
TheLordFoxington
(There were 32 developers and their dog)
Kurianichi
This guy is asking the real questions
gablestout
wooliebooger
ItsACrazyWorld
funny
TheWombatStrikesAgain
Because the number is counting down, not up. The previous game was Expedition 34. You uncultured swine.
phalanxausage
Practice makes perfect
senekis
Those weren't released - the first expedition was 00, then 99, 98, 97...
cropduster5000
Somebody get this person a festival token
TungstenOrbital
What is the game about?
RaymondChoppard
Grief
EndlingGer
Mysterious entities “Thanos snaps” all people above a certain age once a year. Started with 100 and counted down every anniversary.
People set out on expeditions to stop that. Naming them after the age that will be snapped next. Hence expedition 33.
Until no attempt succeeded or even returned home to report, so they pretty much going in dark.
They progress, secrets become unveiled, plot twists happen. Sadness, grief, loss and how to live with those are the driving themes.
SpatPants
That is a brilliant way to sum it all up. Well done!
TungstenOrbital
Sounds neat
TungstenOrbital
Wait, damn it lol
UserNamesArentEasy
So 2 years in a row passionate indie developers are showing the giant studios what GotY should be like? I like this trend.
Debadguy
I'm worried a lot of money is going to flood in to corrupt GotY over this.
whereismymind86
More than that really, disc elysium won one yea, among us won one year etc. the game awards have problems but they do showcase indies pretty well
GeekDadKevin
But we are still going to see GOTY edition games from the AAA devs.
2Soon4Baboon
And larian just dropped an announcement video. Let's go!
mardukkur
I don't think its worth rehashing the controversy about calling Sandfall an indie but I will say that it basically had AAA studio staffing, money, and publishing support and they're not what you'd traditionally think of as an indie. The "Big" AAA studios have been sucking trying to chase games-as-service shovelware money but smaller AAAs (AAs?) like Larian & Sandfall are just taking the market they're losing.
IAmASentientWaffle
Size of staff and budget are completely irrelevant, that's just a mental thing. The external publishing + funding agreement is what's relevant.
mardukkur
That's not really how people generally think of it but of course by that measure none of these project we're talking about are anywhere close to indie.
Hevach
Three. And even that was a self published game by Fromsoft. The last one from one of the publishing giants was 2021's It Takes Two and that was still from a semi independent developer under EA's Originals label. The last one from a AAA publisher developed in-house was all the way back in 2018. It's been a long slide to where we are.
fillerbunny9
I wouldn’t call Fromsoft an “indie” developer, by any stretch of the imagination. They may not be giant like EA or Activision, but they’ve been making triple A software for nearly 40 years.
unluckyandbored
2018..was that Red Dead Redemption 2?
Hevach
God of War. RDR2 lost and a lot of people had opinions on that.
skizzit
Astrobot won last year. BG3 was 2023.
AzraelTheSorrowful
Yeah, I was going to say, Astrobot winning goty was joke.
unluckyandbored
I mean it was fun, but game of the year? ...Nah.
Spiderbubble
Passionate devs making passion project games and they're amazing? This has been a thing since the 90s, but corporations ruined dev passion and thus quality went down the drain.
unluckyandbored
Capitalism. Ruins. Everything.
whereismymind86
That’s the point, the industry let shareholder d-bags take over the big studios and often pretends nothing else exists. There are so many incredible games out there that get drowned out by activision tossing a mountain of cash at cod advertising every year
UserNamesArentEasy
I remember the before times. Nintendo used to be cool pro consumer too.
whereismymind86
lol, no, they weren’t, it just wasn’t as publicized. I love their games, but Nintendo has always sucked as a company
BlueDsc
Sony is an indie developer? Astrobot won last year.
NSFWfrontpage2
Team Asobi developed Astrobot
Sony published it
IAmASentientWaffle
Yes, that's what indie is about. (No) publisher involvement. Some will argue that a publishing agreement without any creative involvement can still be considered indie, but Asobi being owned by PlayStation Studios makes that a moot discussion – only an insanely naive person would believe that Sony provides services and/or funding without any creative input, heh.
BlueDsc
By that logic the Xenoblade games are indie. Sony owns Team Asobi just like Nintendo owns Monolithsoft.
Hevach
Sony does not own Asobi. Japan Studios used to own them, they were spun off when Japan Studios broke up in 2021 and are now an independent studio but still retain Japan Studios exclusive publishing contract with PlayStation Studios.
BlueDsc
Someone should probably let Team Asobi know they aren't owned by Sony then, cause their website says they are.
BlindGardener
It’s always been this way, but in the past the awards process was less legitimate and so it was harder for smaller studios to get awards.
It was also harder for them to get noticed since they were competing for physical storefront space instead of the now unlimited digital storefront space.
InTangier
Felt very Hollywoodesque. People from some studios awarding other people from the same studios.
UserNamesArentEasy
With BG3 I think that really brought to light on how a indie company can compete with the AAA studios.
ID1746
Larian isn't indie anymore honestly, they're a large established studio, just not part of the Big Corporations. Part of why they make such good games independently is very likely how they got screwed on their first project by their publisher, almost bankrupting them (The Lady, the Mage and the Knight). They got saved by LED Wars, an indie RTS game (C&C clone) they made that scraped enough funds together so they could make Divine Divinity & rest is history.
mardukkur
Calling Larian an indie is just insane. Divinity:OS2 sold 7.5M copies at least. BG3 cost up to $200M and employed hundreds of developers across six studios. Between the 2 games they easily went from a AA to a AAA.
UserNamesArentEasy
What even makes AAA, money?
mardukkur
Size and money basically but it's a good question because there is no firm definition. Indie is easier: none of the games people are currently calling indie qualifies.
satanslittleposter
It's a combination of budget, available resource, reach, & renown (and maybe a little bit about experience, but this only matters in the early days of reaching AAA scale). Larian are definitely AAA from DOS2, Sandfall are probably AA, though after Clair Obscur they will have the option to scale up to AAA. It doesn't have to mean that they've sold out to shitty shareholder first practices though. That said, the labels are pretty fucking meaningless really.
kagnub
I have it in my cart for some weeks now. Wasn't sure about. Now i am!
streetcatz
same, im just finishing another first
ItsACrazyWorld
Play it. You wont be disappointed.
Pikkupanda
It’s singularly beautiful with a mesmerizing story.
jewnoguat
The music is one of the best parts about it too.
Distractus
It's one of the best gaming experiences I've had in decades
Dimestream
You will cry.
rdmage11
About mid-way through I dropped the difficulty down to easy, the combat was still plenty of fun. It's a great game and we'll worth the price
wylantar
Really disappointed KCD2 didn’t win anything. Yeah, 33 was an amazing game but so was KCD2. The fact that neither Tom McKay or Luke Dale were nominated is wild to me. Just sucks when a great game gets zero recognition, but I suppose being nominated is good too.
BlueSheep
KCD2 should have won the RPG award, i mean Exp 33 is good and deserve most the rewards, but has only some RPG elements while KCD2 is pure RPG core
AtmaDarkwolf
Be REAL cool if all us peons knew what KCD/KCD2 stood for so we could join that microscopic group of people who know about it (Maybe this feeds into why they didn't get as many votes, people want to keep it a secret? o.O)
donorkort
I'm assuming it's Kingdom: Come Deliverance.
CreaminalMinds
KCD2 was the right game in the wrong year. Any other year it'd easily sweep up a couple awards and garner a lot more recognition, but it was unlucky to release in the one year where an even greater masterpiece came out.
It does feel unfair.
jzastrow
it's super good but I feel like it sucked up too much air from these awards. Nothing for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2?
IconicM
It was a tough year, most of those oyher games would have won awards in other years.
iLoveItWhenMyFingersSmellLikePussy
I really hoped blue prince would have gotten at least one. I don't think E33 should have been in the indie categories to begin with
LinkHouseMan
Agreed
SpeedMetalTerrarium
I agree, some of the other nominees deserved some love too. Kingdom Come was definitely GotY for me. I haven't had a chance to play Expedition 33, but it's on the list after I finish KCD2, Ghost of Yotei, and probably another Baldur's Gate 3 run.
Zezan
people think (and not saying you do) that it only matters if you win. No if you are even nominated for any award you are already outstanding in that category. For game of the year, nominations alone mean you are a 10/10 experience. Nomination in its own regard is a massive reward.
SpeedMetalTerrarium
That's true, and I'm in no way saying Expedition 33 didn't deserve it. I just haven't gotten around to playing it yet. Hoping to check it out on GamePass sometime soon as I'm a bit unsure if the combat style is for me.
IconicM
You may feal differently after you finally play it... I'm guessing in 2027 given the list of games you're playing first. ;)