Ah, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. A game that sounds like it should be hanging in the Louvre but instead lets you fight death itself—because why wouldn’t it? During this year’s Xbox Developer_Direct, Sandfall Interactive finally pulled back the curtain, offering a proper look at their dark fantasy masterpiece. Not only did we get to meet the game’s delightfully peculiar cast and dig into its twisted premise, but we also learned the most important bit: it’s coming out sooner than expected.

On 24 April 2025, you’ll be able to grab your finest existential dread and join the fight against the Paintress. And for those on Game Pass? It’s there on day one—lucky you.

The Paintress Strikes Again

Let’s talk about that premise. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes place in a Belle Époque-inspired world that’s as beautiful as it is morbid. Every year, a mysterious figure known as the Paintress quite literally paints death into the sky. She picks a number, paints it up there for all to see, and everyone of that age promptly dies. Charming, right?

Naturally, this isn’t a situation you can just ignore. So, Expedition 33—a ragtag team of brave volunteers—is formed to stop the Paintress before she wipes out the next unlucky group of 33-year-olds. Think Ocean’s Eleven, but with more death, doom, and questionable sanity.

A Cast to Die For

The game’s cast is nothing short of spectacular. Gustave, voiced by Daredevil’s Charlie Cox, leads the charge, joined by Maelle (Baldur’s Gate 3’s Jennifer English), Lune (Kirsty Rider), Sciel (Shala Nyx), Renoir (Lord of the Rings legend Andy Serkis), and Verso (Final Fantasy XVI’s Ben Starr). Honestly, it’s like they threw every fan-favourite voice actor into a blender and out came this glorious ensemble.

High Stakes, Turn-Based Drama

Sandfall Interactive, the game’s developers, are on a mission to revive the turn-based RPG genre, which, let’s be honest, has been collecting dust thanks to the explosion of action-heavy blockbusters. With Clair Obscur, they’re aiming for a high-fidelity experience that screams, “Yes, we’re small, but we’ve got style.” Inspired by the likes of Persona, the game promises intricate systems, a beautifully tragic world, and combat that actually requires thinking—a rarity these days.

This is Sandfall’s debut project, developed by a small team of 30 former Ubisoft veterans. Small studio, big dreams. The kind of underdog story that makes you want to root for them before they inevitably take over the world—or at least Game Pass.

Mark Your Calendars

So, there you have it. On 24 April 2025, you can dive into a world where art kills, turn-based combat thrives, and Andy Serkis probably steals the show. Will Expedition 33 succeed in their quest to stop the Paintress, or are they destined to become another brushstroke in her morbid masterpiece?

Either way, I’ll be there, dramatically yelling, “Not today, Paintress!” while probably losing horribly. Will you?