Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has just pulled off one of the most dominant runs in recent gaming history – sweeping Ultimate Game of the Year and a stack of other trophies at the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 and backing that up with multiple wins at The Game Awards 2025 . For Kiwi gamers, it’s fast becoming the must-play RPG of 2026.
Developed by French studio Sandfall Interactive, this Belle Époque–inspired RPG mixes painterly art direction with deeply emotional storytelling and stylish turn-based combat. It’s the sort of game New Zealand PlayStation, Xbox and PC communities usually discover through word-of-mouth – except this time, the awards circuit has done the shouting for them.
What Did Expedition 33 Actually Win?
At the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 in London, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 didn’t just win Ultimate Game of the Year – it won every single category it was nominated in, seven in total. That puts it alongside the most decorated games in the show’s long history.
- Ultimate Game of the Year
- Best Storytelling
- Best Visual Design
- Best Soundtrack
- Best Lead Performer – Jennifer English (Maelle)
- Best Supporting Performer – Ben Starr (Verso)
- Studio of the Year – Sandfall Interactive
Then came The Game Awards 2025 in Los Angeles, where Expedition 33 turned its record-breaking nominations into more silverware. Industry coverage highlights wins in headline categories including Game of the Year, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score & Music and Best Role-Playing Game, underlining how completely it has captured critics and players alike.
Add in honours like a dedicated Game Music Award for composer Lorien Testard and storytelling wins at other industry shows, and the picture is clear: this isn’t just a cult favourite; it’s 2025’s breakout RPG on a global stage.
Why Kiwi Gamers Are Paying Attention
New Zealand doesn’t host its own global game awards show, but Kiwi players are deeply plugged into the same ecosystems that crowned Expedition 33: PlayStation Store front pages, Xbox Game Pass recommendations and Steam discovery queues. Once news of the seven Golden Joystick wins hit social feeds, many local RPG fans started treating it as the next “must-finish-before-Christmas” title.
For NZ players who loved Baldur’s Gate 3, Persona 5 or classic Xbox 360 tear-jerkers like Lost Odyssey, the appeal is obvious:
- A dark fantasy world inspired by Belle Époque France rather than another medieval or cyberpunk setting.
- Turn-based battles with real-time inputs that reward timing and focus, not just menu navigation.
- A story that deals openly with loss, memory and trauma – the kind of emotional hit that lingers after the credits.
Crucially for New Zealand households watching the exchange rate, the game is available digitally on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, with pricing in line with other major AAA releases on the NZ PlayStation Store, Xbox storefront and Steam. For Game Pass subscribers, its strong presence on Xbox has turned it into an easy “download it and see” recommendation.
NZ & Global Fan Reactions: “This Really Is Something Special”
While there isn’t a single giant New Zealand–only thread about Expedition 33, Kiwi players are mixed throughout the same Reddit, Discord and social communities that pushed the game to GOTY status. In those spaces, the tone is overwhelmingly emotional and positive.
On PlayStation and JRPG subreddits, players describe it as one of the strongest story-driven RPGs of the decade, praising its “overwhelmingly positive” Steam rating, carefully tuned difficulty and soundtrack that elevates every boss encounter. Others say it’s the first game in years that genuinely left them thinking about its characters for days after finishing the main story.
A celebratory post shared by GamesRadar+ on social media after the Golden Joysticks highlighted fans calling it “one of the best games” they’ve ever played – exactly the kind of language that resonates with Kiwi gamers who prefer to spend their money on a few unforgettable titles rather than dozens of impulse buys.
For New Zealand players active in these communities, the message is simple: this is the game everyone is talking about right now, and not just because it looks pretty in trailers. The emotional response – people openly admitting it made them cry, or immediately hunting for similar turn-based games – is driving as much hype as the trophies.
What Makes Expedition 33 Feel Like a Masterpiece
If you strip the awards away, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 still works as an easy recommendation for NZ players who care about craft. A deep-dive feature in The Guardian traces how the project grew from a small prototype into a fully fledged blockbuster, with a team obsessed by the feel of turn-based combat and the emotional truth of its story.
The game’s “clair obscur” concept – light and shadow, hope and despair – runs through everything:
- Environments that shift from golden opera houses to rain-soaked alleyways and half-erased city streets.
- Characters who feel messy and human rather than heroic stereotypes.
- Combat sequences that look like animated paintings, while still demanding careful timing and party management.
Combine that with a haunting orchestral score and top-tier voice work from performers like Jennifer English and Ben Starr, and it becomes obvious why awards juries – and players – have rallied around it so quickly.
Where to Play in New Zealand
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available now on:
- PlayStation 5 – via the NZ PlayStation Store
- Xbox Series X|S – via the Microsoft Store and included for Game Pass on console and PC in many regions
- PC – via Steam and other digital storefronts
For Kiwi players with limited time, early impressions suggest a main story length of dozens of hours, with side content and harder difficulty settings available for those who want to stretch the experience across the whole summer holidays.
Final Word for Kiwi Gamers
Not every critically acclaimed RPG automatically connects with New Zealand audiences. But Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has all the ingredients: a striking art style, a genuinely emotional core, clever combat and a stack of trophies to back it up.
If you’re in Aotearoa wondering what to play next on PS5, Xbox Series X|S or PC, this award sweep is less about industry hype and more like a neon sign pointing to your next big RPG obsession.
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