I cannot write anything about the first hour of playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 without spoiling it. (There are no spoilers in this post.)
Let that sink in.
The whole first hour I would qualify as spoiler-worthy.
That’s crazy! When was the last time you played a video game where anything—much less almost everything—that happens in the first hour is meaningful enough that you realize you have to be careful what you say? For me, I truly can’t remember a game I’ve felt that way about in a long, long time.
That’s not to say that many games’ beginnings are bad. It just means that we’ve grown accustomed to the first hour of a game being the opposite of precious. They’re equivalent to what’s “on the back of the box.” We know what we’re getting, and we certainly wouldn’t be spoiling anything by simply describing the basics of the game. It’s common for players to say to each other, “It gets really good after the first 10 hours.”
But Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Sandfall Interactive’s debut game that released late last month, is incredible within the first hour. But how? What have they done to make it so strong? It all comes down to three choices:
1. No One Explains Anything To You
Many games, even some of the greats like The Witcher 3 or live-service hits like Destiny 2, begin with an opening cinematic that explains the mysteries of the world’s lore. There’s usually some big picture vague commentary with a lot of proper nouns. Beautiful graphics illustrate How Bad Things Are. In these opening moments, all of the important context is spoon-fed to the player.
However, in Clair Obscur, the world and story are revealed primarily through direct conversations and environmental storytelling. We, as the player, enter in media res.
Things have already been happening here, and it’s the players that are new, not the stakes. The characters refer to situations and events that Gustave would already know about—but with just enough details to help the player follow along. Characters who are already familiar with each other speak as such; there’s no stilted introductions. This is a masterful stroke.
Similarly, much can be learned by eavesdropping on NPCs or by looking at set-pieces and making inferences based on the details shown. This kind of environmental storytelling has been used to great effect in beloved series like Mass Effect and Fallout.
This kind of writing assumes that the player is an intelligent person who will become grounded and emotionally invested simply by playing the game. This is a show of trust, and it’s something we don’t see in a lot of other games’ opening hours.
2. This Day Matters
Right from the get-go, Clair Obscur roots the player in a very important day-in-the-life of protagonist Gustave. The game opens on Gustave moping in a garden. He’s teased, gently, by a friend named Maelle whose relationship to Gustave becomes revealed over time.
Everything that Gustave does on this day is driven by his desires and needs in this particular world. From the morning to the evening and how the next day begins, everything that happens throughout the prologue hits hard and hits quick.
When I teach fiction to students, I often ask them, “Why does this day matter?” For millennia, humans around the world have told stories that center around a version of this question. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 pacts so much heat into one day. By getting personal, and quickly, Clair Obscur makes this day matter not just to Gustave, but to the player.
3. Intertwined Tutorials
The first hour of any game has to teach the fundamentals of how to play it. Movement in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is very clear, but the turn-based combat that also features quick-time events (QTE), a tough dodge and parry, plus varied skills per character takes a little bit of time to get used to. Like yeah, okay, teach me how to use my cool lightning sword, but also make the situation socially awkward.
Sandfall neatly folded combat tutorials into character-to-character interactions in a way that feels manageable, realistic for the world, and well-paced. It never feels overwhelming.
A Great Start
This is all to say… Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is already one of my favorite games of 2025. I’m about 10 hours in, and let me tell you… you don’t need to wait that long for it to be excellent. The emotional beats hit right away! The music stirs my soul! The combat is fun! The dialogue feels real! The vibes are excellent!
Kudos to Sandfall for sharing what is honestly a master class in video game storytelling. I can’t wait to see how the rest of this game shakes out. Do yourself a favor and play this game with as little context as possible—no trailers, no reviews. Just play it.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive and published by Kepler Interactive, released on April 24, 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam. MRSP: $49.99
Amanda Tien (she/her or they) loves video games where she can pet dogs, punch bad guys, make friends, and have a good cry. She started writing for the site in 2020, and became an editor in 2022. She enjoys writing about mystery games, indies, and strong femme protagonists. Her work has also been published in Unwinnable Monthly (click here to read her cover feature on Nancy Drew games), Salt Hill Journal, Poets.org, Litro Magazine, Public Books, and more. She was the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Columbia University's Culinarian Magazine, and served for two years as the Managing Editor of Aster(ix) Literary Journal. She recently graduated with a MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. Her writing, art, graphic design, and marketing work can be viewed at www.amandatien.com. She does not post a lot on social, but you can find her on X and on Instagram.
