20 Recent Indies That Put AAA To Shame
17. Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 Is A Visual Masterpiece
2025 has been the year of smaller studios putting AAA quality to shame, as the next big indie title of this year, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, shows.
Despite being made by a small independent French studio, Sandfall Interactive, the game features stunning visuals, an engaging story, and the kind of design that you’d normally expect only out of a big-budget production.
The game is absolutely gorgeous, presenting highly detailed environments inspired by the French Belle Epoque period that manage to perfectly capture the dreamy but mysterious atmosphere of its fantastical world.
On top of it, its cast of characters is memorable and well-written, and its Persona-style combat innovates the JRPG formula just enough to make it stand out among its larger competitors.
Honestly, if you didn’t look at the game’s development history, you wouldn’t believe it was made by an independent studio. It looks and plays better than most current AAA games, plus it delivers a unique story that takes risks, which most mainstream video games would normally be afraid of.
It’s a definite breath of fresh air that shows studios don’t need in-game monetization and live-service nonsense to have the budget to create a high-quality product.