Unless you lived under a rock, you'd know that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was easily 2025's most acclaimed game of the year--and not just because it took home the Game of the Year trophy (alongside being named GameSpot's GOTY). Despite the massive popularity and success of the JRPG, developer Sandfall Interactive was surprised by the reception the game received, going as far as saying the team "underestimated" just how much Clair Obscur's side content would resonate with audiences.
Speaking to Edge Magazine for its February 2026 issue (via GamesRadar), lead game designer Michel Nohra explained that the optional objectives in the game--the additional bosses, minigames, side quests, and more--were far more popular than the team initially thought.
"Often, people don't want to finish the game, so they do all the side content before finishing it, because once the story is over, you're usually less motivated to do the side content," Nohra said. "And that's something I underestimated, which made people [who] wanted a challenging end boss fight feel a bit disappointed. I don't regret doing it the way we did it, but [we could have] had more explanation about your choice [in Act 3]."
Lead programmer Tom Guillermin echoed Nohra's sentiment, saying it was a "surprise" that so many players opted to do and see everything Clair Obscur had to offer rather than just mainlining the game's story. Guillermin chalked this up to "humility," as the developers didn't think they had a hit on their hands.
"We weren't sure if our game was going to be that good," Guillermin says. "And if it's not, people may just want to see the story, and go directly to the end of the story. So it was a surprise for us [that] people were doing every single thing there is to do in the game before going to the final dungeon. We're happy about that, but we didn't see it coming."
If there was one regret, Nohra said the team could've been clearer about the intended difficulty for the final boss, explaining that players should've gone to "beat it down now" instead of overleveling with side content. That didn't impact the opinions on the game, though, as Clair Obscur reviewed very well and broke The Game Awards' trophy-snatching record with nine awards.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 joins a growing list of GOTY winners that includes Baldur's Gate 3, God of War, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The game has received so much positive attention that even France's president Emmanuel Macron congratulated the team for representing The Country of Love as hard as it did.
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Speaking to Edge Magazine for its February 2026 issue (via GamesRadar), lead game designer Michel Nohra explained that the optional objectives in the game--the additional bosses, minigames, side quests, and more--were far more popular than the team initially thought.
"Often, people don't want to finish the game, so they do all the side content before finishing it, because once the story is over, you're usually less motivated to do the side content," Nohra said. "And that's something I underestimated, which made people [who] wanted a challenging end boss fight feel a bit disappointed. I don't regret doing it the way we did it, but [we could have] had more explanation about your choice [in Act 3]."
Lead programmer Tom Guillermin echoed Nohra's sentiment, saying it was a "surprise" that so many players opted to do and see everything Clair Obscur had to offer rather than just mainlining the game's story. Guillermin chalked this up to "humility," as the developers didn't think they had a hit on their hands.
"We weren't sure if our game was going to be that good," Guillermin says. "And if it's not, people may just want to see the story, and go directly to the end of the story. So it was a surprise for us [that] people were doing every single thing there is to do in the game before going to the final dungeon. We're happy about that, but we didn't see it coming."
If there was one regret, Nohra said the team could've been clearer about the intended difficulty for the final boss, explaining that players should've gone to "beat it down now" instead of overleveling with side content. That didn't impact the opinions on the game, though, as Clair Obscur reviewed very well and broke The Game Awards' trophy-snatching record with nine awards.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 joins a growing list of GOTY winners that includes Baldur's Gate 3, God of War, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The game has received so much positive attention that even France's president Emmanuel Macron congratulated the team for representing The Country of Love as hard as it did.
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