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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the most acclaimed games of 2025 in terms of storytelling, art direction, and gameplay, earning high ratings from critics and gamers alike. However, some veteran developers believe that the game is not without its flaws, especially in its early stages.
In a recent conversation with PCGamesN, Gears of War design lead Adrian Chmielarz gave his honest opinion on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, calling it his favorite game of the year, but with some reservations.
Chmielarz explained that playing the game clearly revealed to him how much the Sandfall team has evolved from start to finish, noting that the early stages were too straightforward and static, resembling old-school games:
“These stages are designed in a very static style and I would say that they are rather poorly designed
In his opinion, this weakness in stage design does not reflect the true level of the game and gradually disappears as the environments become larger, more diverse, and more visually and mechanically impressive.
Chmielarz noted that this evolution is evident in the build-up to encounters with special enemies such as Siren and the larger, more complex bosses in the later stages, where the stage design better reflects the team’s ambition and creativity.
Despite these observations, Chmielarz came away with a very positive impression of the game, praising Sandfall’s ability to deliver a level of quality he described as near-impossible on its first project, a rare feat in the history of game development.
In the end, his observation about the design of the stages at the beginning of the game remains an interesting point and could be an important lesson for the studio when working on its next project, especially after the great success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as a new and ambitious experience in the world of role-playing games.
