Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will win The Game Awards next month. It did just that at the Golden Joysticks last week, winning every single category it was nominated for, and I wouldn't be surprised if this feat is repeated at The Keighleys.
And for once it feels deserved by the hype. Like Larian with Baldur's Gate 3, Sandfall Interactive has created a groundbreaking RPG with unique game mechanics, wonderful characters, and a deep visual identity that sets it far above the competition. But one award category has come under greater scrutiny than others: Best Performance.
Charlie Cox deserves to be nominated for his performance as Gustave
The play has three of the six nominations in the Best Performance category with Jennifer English (Maelle), Ben Starr (Verso) and Charlie Cox (Gustave) all up for the award. While each one deserves this accolade, part of me is sad that other standout performances in the likes of Dispatch, Hades 2, and The Alters are nowhere to be seen.
But the jury's decision is final, and it's heartwarming to see such an ambitious game by such a relatively small team receive so much recognition. My money is on English taking home the gold, but time will tell.
Let's be clear — Charlie Cox gives a fantastic performance as Gustave in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Until a big twist at the end of the first act, he's our main character, and magnificently carries the game's opening, keeping everyone hooked.
We step into his shoes as he witnesses a profound loss and embarks on an impossible mission to change his inevitably tragic fate. We fall in love with and want the best for Gustave, especially as he tries to take care of surrogate sister Maelle and the surviving expeditioners who stand by his side. But in the end it's all for naught.
Gustave's final scene is destined to go down in gaming history as one of the most impactful of all time. The music, vocal performances, shot composition, dialogue and visuals are all so perfect. A routine boss battle is quickly turned on its head to subvert our expectations and change the entire experience for the better. I'm skilfully looking around spoilers here for those who haven't played the game yet, but you'll know this moment when you get there. Trust me.
Despite not being present in the player's party anymore, Gustave's ghost hangs over us for the rest of the game, as everyone agrees that the man who was once their leader is no longer with them, but they still have a mission to complete.
There are so many dark but legendary scenes in Clair Obscur that I could single out as the best of the year, and Gustave is responsible for many of them.
But despite the brilliance of Charlie Cox's performance, it wouldn't have been possible without the original motion capture actors who brought these characters to life. Cox said as such recently when asked about his nomination at The Game Awards.
Why does Charlie Cox Praise Expedition 33's Motion Capture Artists?
Speaking on a recent panel (via POSTA Entretenimiento), Charlie Cox commented on his nomination at The Game Awards, though his general candor leads me to believe he's otherwise pretty detached from the world of video games.
“Yes, I am very happy for this nomination,” said Cox, only to immediately praise the work done by Gustave's motion actor, Maxence Cazorla.
“I've said this before, and I think it's important to say that there's a great French actor named Maxence Cazorla who did almost all the motion capture for that role,” Cox told the waiting crowd.
“And so, whatever nomination or credit I get, I really have to give to him, because I really think the performance of that character is because of him, and my voice was just part of that process.”
Cox previously told fans that he felt like a complete fraud for all the attention given to his character in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as he apparently only spent a total of four hours in a singing booth recording his lines before calling it a day. The character, like so many in this game, has since taken on a life of his own with devoted fans falling in love with his story.
I have to imagine Cox never expected that reception when he first took on the gig. I'd be really surprised, especially if I wasn't in tune with the weird world of video games.
But I love that his immediate reaction was to redirect the praise meant for him to those responsible for bringing Gustave to life in the first place. He's right when he says that the body language, facial expressions and overall flow of Gustave's performance is possible thanks to Cazorla's excellent work, and as an English-speaking performer he's free to build on that with his own interpretation.
It's not unlike the video game and anime dubs we've seen released for decades, but now there's a huge culture of fandom around famous voice actors and the work they produce. We want to celebrate them, but it's also important to remember that they are just one piece of a much bigger puzzle.
Many modern triple-A titles and even smaller productions these days will produce motion capture and vocal performances at the same time, but that was not the case for the English language version of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Does that discount the appearances of Charlie Cox, Jennifer English or Ben Starr? Not in the least, but it does highlight how The Game Awards tends to take a rather narrow view of the industry it represents – perhaps best underlined by the presence of three nominees from the same game in a single category.
Perhaps we need a best performance capture category in the coming years or a more nuanced way to celebrate performances in singing, motion capture and countless other fields. This game made me cry more times than I care to admit, and the vocal performances of its excellent cast played a very crucial role in the emotional outpouring. But when I step back, I can appreciate all the other ingredients that made this possible.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Released
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April 24, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer
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Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher
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Kepler Interactive
