"I didn't expect them to have the same impact as Final Fantasy 16": Clair Obscur Expedition 33's Ben Starr thought "being an idiot with Balatro" would be his biggest role of 2025, not Sandfall's surprise-hit RPG

A screenshot from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, showing a man named Verso covered in dirt and blood, looking into the camera.

We were all a bit blindsided by the sheer success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It always looked like a great game, but to be zeitgeist-defining the way it was in 2025 took us all a bit by surprise. That includes those involved, as voice actor Ben Starr didn't expect the J'RPG to have the same impact as Final Fantasy 16.

In the Game Maker's Toolkit Podcast with the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, Starr recalled how he thought 2025 was going to "be the year of me dressing up as a clown at the BAFTAs," but the acclaimed RPG changed his trajectory. "That's what I thought was going to be my biggest contribution to the gaming landscape, was me being an idiot with Balatro," he recalled, laughing.