Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 voice actor reveals Ben Starr's hilariously wrong prediction

Rich Keeble, the voice of Gestral warrior Monoco in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, sat down with Polygon to talk about the game's runaway success — and the spectacularly bad advice he got from co-star Ben Starr before launch.

Keeble came to acting relatively late, in his early 30s, building a niche in voice work thanks to his deep voice and comedic background. Before recording began, he met Starr — who voices Verso — for coffee and asked him to gauge the game's potential. Starr's verdict: it would do well, but don't expect a Baldur's Gate 3-style cultural moment, partly because some players might not click with the turn-based combat. "I think it'll do well, but I don't think it's going to be a Baldur's Gate 3-style movement," Starr told him. Keeble's summary of how that prediction aged: "He managed them the wrong way, because the game was a phenomenon." Expedition 33 went on to win BAFTA Best Game, among a stack of other awards, and Keeble says the scale of it still hasn't fully sunk in.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive, became one of the most talked-about RPGs in years after its launch — drawing comparisons to Baldur's Gate 3 in terms of the passionate community it built almost overnight. Keeble's character Monoco is a fan favourite largely because of the comic relief he provides in an otherwise emotionally heavy story. His introduction scene — where Verso tries to recruit him and Monoco flatly deadpans "OK, bye" before being slowly talked into joining because there will be a lot of fighting — became one of the game's most-quoted moments.

The community response has gone well beyond typical gaming enthusiasm. Keeble mentioned that fans have been emailing to invite cast members to their weddings, people are getting Expedition 33 tattoos, and convention attendees are calling it the game of the decade. "I still think it hasn't really sunk in," Keeble said, reflecting on the BAFTA win and the broader awards run. More than a year after launch, he admits the recording booth still gives him nerves — phenomenon or not.