Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the little “indie” game that could — if by “indie” you mean “made by a 30-person studio with production values that make half of AAA look like a student film.” Naturally, The Game Awards took one look at it and said: “Twelve nominations? Sure, why not. Let’s make history while we're at it.”
Because nothing screams independent spirit like winning every category from Game of the Year to Best Use of Light and Shadows to “Most Performances Stuffed Into One Category.”
The “Indie” Fairy Tale
Everyone’s pretending to be shocked that a debut game is smashing nomination records, but this is the modern industry: any studio under two thousand employees gets called “indie,” especially if the marketing department wants you to feel warm and fuzzy while you’re buying it.
Sure, the game’s gorgeous, inventive, and has more voice actors than the last seven Ubisoft titles combined — but don’t worry, it’s still “scrappy” and “small-scale.” Just ignore the outsourced teams quietly sweating in the credits.
Critical Darling? Or Jury Feeding Frenzy?
The Game Awards jury — a polite term for a global committee of caffeine-addicted reviewers — apparently decided that this is the year they make a statement. And that statement is:
“We will nominate this game for everything except Best Mobile Game, and only because we ran out of categories.”
Twelve nominations across every conceivable field? Incredible. It’s almost as if giving something many nominations guarantees discourse, headlines, and engagement — which, shockingly, is exactly what award shows need.
“Record-Breaking” = “Marketing Assist”
Let’s be honest: The awards aren’t just recognizing success — they’re creating it.
“Most nominated game ever” is basically a giant glowing sticker slapped on every storefront. Instant prestige. Instant sales bump. Instant Reddit meltdown. A marketing team’s dream.
The fact the game already sold millions just sweetens the deal. Nothing like awarding a rising hit to make the awards feel relevant again.
The Risks™
Now that the game has been crowned The Chosen One, the expectations are high enough to require a pressure suit. If it walks home with anything less than 47 awards, people will complain that it was “robbed,” “snubbed,” or “victimized by the system.”
And heaven forbid it doesn’t win Best Indie — the genre it supposedly belongs to. Nothing more awkward than a record-breaking contender losing to an actual indie made in someone’s kitchen.
Industry Impact
Sandfall Interactive is now officially on the hook for the sequel to end all sequels. After all, if your debut title becomes the most nominated game ever, your next project has to cure boredom, reinvent reality, and possibly stop climate change.
But hey — at least the “indie” label gives them cover. If they crash and burn later, people will call it “the charm of a small studio,” not “a mismanaged fiasco.”
Final Thought
In the end, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 didn’t just break nomination records — it broke the award show’s ability to pretend it’s subtle.
Indie, AAA, AA, whatever: the jury found a shiny new toy, and they’re dangling it in front of everyone like a laser pointer in a room full of cats. And honestly? It’s working.
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