Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall Interactive must be used to compliments by now — its RPG released a little over a week ago and is already universally acclaimed by players and critics alike — but I don’t think anyone had “a hat tip from French President Emmanuel Macron” on their bingo card this week.
That’s exactly what happened, though. Taking to Instagram, Macron congratulated the team on its success, writing: “A million copies and to date, one of the best-rated games in history: and yes, it’s French!”
“Congratulations to Sandfall Interactive and all the creators of Expedition 33. You are a shining example of French audacity and creativity,” Macron added, as translated by Google and spotted by PC Gamer.
We already knew the debut RPG from Sandfall Interactive got off to a flying start given it hit a sales milestone of 500,000 copies sold within 24 hours, but it swiftly doubled that, topping 1 million sales in just three days.
Developed by the newly formed studio Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG that takes heavy inspiration from the genre classics, and follows a crew of Expeditioners in a post-apocalyptic world where each year, a giant being called The Paintress etches a new number and erases anyone older than it. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sees you join the crew that travels to the ends of the continent to destroy the Paintress.
In IGN’s 9/10 review of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, we described it as a “modern RPG classic,” adding: “In so many ways, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reminded me of numerous classic and contemporary RPGs I love, but developer Sandfall truly understood why those games are special and made the pieces it borrowed its own.”
If you’re thinking of joining the expedition this weekend, be sure to check out our tips for the important things to know before going into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
