The first time you see the Expedition 33 face models in motion, something clicks. It’s not just that they look "good" in that sterile, technical way we’ve come to expect from Unreal Engine 5 projects. No, it’s the expressive weight behind the eyes of characters like Gustave and Maelle. Sandfall Interactive, the French studio behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, didn't just hire actors to stand in a booth; they seem to have captured a specific kind of soulful, Belle Époque-inspired fatigue that sets the game apart from the typical "fantasy hero" aesthetic.
It’s personal.
People are talking about these models because they represent a shift. We’re moving away from the era where every RPG character looks like a generic doll. In Expedition 33, the faces tell the story of a world where people are literally being erased by a Paintress who marks a new number on a monolith every year. When you look at the face of a character who knows they only have a year left to live, the fidelity of that 3D model matters. It’s the difference between a puppet and a person.
The Tech Behind the Faces in Clair Obscur
Sandfall Interactive has been surprisingly transparent about using Unreal Engine 5 to drive their character performances. But tech is just a tool. You can have the highest polygon count in the world and still end up in the "Uncanny Valley"—that creepy place where things look almost human but not quite right.
To avoid this, the Expedition 33 face models rely heavily on high-fidelity performance capture. This isn't just about mapping points on a face; it’s about the micro-expressions. Ben Starr, who voices the lead character Gustave (and who many know as Clive from Final Fantasy XVI), brings a specific intensity that the animators had to match pixel for pixel. If the face model didn't have the geometry to support the way Starr’s brow furrows when he’s frustrated, the performance would fall flat.
Honestly, the lighting does a lot of the heavy lifting here. UE5’s Lumen system allows light to bounce off skin in a way that mimics real-world physics—Subsurface Scattering. This is what gives the skin that translucent, living quality rather than looking like painted plastic. When Maelle stands in the glow of a dying world, you see the light catch the fine hairs on her skin and the moisture in her eyes. It’s haunting.
🔗 Read more: Super Mario 64 Secret Stars: The Ones Everyone Seems to Miss
Meet the Cast: The People Behind the Pixels
The community has been scrambling to identify every single one of the Expedition 33 face models since the reveal trailer dropped. We know the voice cast is stacked: Ben Starr, Charlie Cox (of Daredevil fame), Jennifer English (Baldur’s Gate 3), and Andy Serkis. But the physical likenesses are where the artistry of the character designers really shines.
Gustave: The Reluctant Leader
Gustave’s face model is a study in weariness. He is a man in his late 20s or early 30s, but he carries the weight of a century. The designers gave him sharp, angular features that catch shadows aggressively. It’s a deliberate choice. He’s meant to look like he’s been carved out of stone by the very world he’s trying to save.
Maelle: Grace Under Pressure
Maelle, voiced by Jennifer English, offers a softer contrast, though she’s no less intense. Her face model features a more youthful roundness, but the "Expedition 33" team used detailed texture maps to show the subtle grit of travel. She isn't wearing "video game makeup." She has pores. She has slight imperfections. It’s refreshing.
The Paintress: A Different Kind of Model
We don't see her face in the same way, but the "antagonist" of the game is defined by her absence of humanity. The way her movements are modeled is eerie—fluid yet wrong. It creates a visual hierarchy where the humans feel "real" and the threat feels "other."
Why These Models Feel Different from Typical RPGs
You’ve seen the "BioWare face" or the "Bethesda stare." You know exactly what I’m talking about. Those dead eyes that look slightly past you while the mouth moves like a nutcracker.
The Expedition 33 face models avoid this through a "bespoke" approach to animation. Instead of relying purely on procedural lip-syncing, which uses an algorithm to move the mouth based on audio files, Sandfall appears to be using a mix of hand-keyed refinement and high-end motion data.
- Weight of Expression: When a character speaks, it’s not just the mouth moving. The cheeks lift, the eyes crinkle, and the neck muscles tense.
- Asymmetry: Real faces aren't symmetrical. If you look closely at Gustave’s model, one side of his face reacts slightly differently than the other. This "imperfection" is what tricks our brains into seeing a human instead of a 3D object.
- Eye Tracking: One of the biggest immersion killers in gaming is when eyes don't focus. The characters in Expedition 33 have dynamic eye-tracking that looks at specific points of interest in the environment, making them feel like they are actually inhabiting the space.
It’s kinda wild how much we take for granted in modern gaming. We see a pretty character and say, "Cool graphics." But there is a massive amount of labor involved in making sure Maelle’s hair doesn't clip through her shoulder while her face is emoting a complex mixture of grief and determination.
The Belle Époque Influence
The art style of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is heavily influenced by 19th-century France. This isn't just about the clothes; it’s about the "look" of the people. There is a certain romanticism in the facial structures chosen for the Expedition 33 face models.
Think about classic French portraiture. There’s an emphasis on drama, light, and shadow. The character models reflect this "Clair Obscur" (Chiaroscuro) philosophy. By having high-contrast lighting hitting high-detail models, the developers create a cinematic feel that most JRPGs or even Western RPGs miss. They aren't trying to be "realistic" in a boring, documentary sense. They are trying to be "cinematically authentic."
👉 See also: Finding Every Bright Falls Cult Stash: What Most Players Miss
People are comparing it to Bloodborne meets Final Fantasy, and honestly, that’s a fair assessment of the facial aesthetics. There is a "prettiness" to the characters, sure, but it’s tempered by the grim reality of their mission.
Challenging the Industry Standard
There’s been a lot of discourse lately about character designs in games. Some people want hyper-realism; others want stylized anime looks. Expedition 33 sits in this fascinating middle ground.
By using Expedition 33 face models that look like real actors but are dressed in fantastical, high-fashion armor, Sandfall is carving out a niche. They are proving that an "indie" (or "AA") studio can compete with the likes of Square Enix or Sony’s first-party studios when it comes to visual fidelity.
The nuance is in the skin shaders. Skin is hard to do. If it's too shiny, it looks like sweat. If it's too matte, it looks like clay. The models here have a "waxy" quality that actually fits the Belle Époque art style perfectly—it’s like they are living oil paintings.
What This Means for Your Playthrough
Why should you care about the face models? Is it just eye candy?
Not really. In a turn-based RPG, which Expedition 33 is (with a reactive twist), you spend a lot of time looking at your party. You’re in menus, you’re in cutscenes, and you’re watching them perform abilities. If you don't connect with the characters, the stakes of the "Expedition" feel lower.
When you see Gustave’s face twitch as he parries an attack, or Maelle’s expression soften during a camp dialogue, it builds an emotional bridge. You start to care if they survive the Year 33. The fidelity of the Expedition 33 face models is an investment in the player's emotional state.
- Immersive Storytelling: You read the emotions before the dialogue even plays.
- Photo Mode Potential: Let’s be real, people are going to spend hours in photo mode capturing these faces.
- Visual Clarity: Detailed faces make it easier to distinguish characters in chaotic battle scenes.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
If you’re a gamer waiting for the release, keep an eye on the "behind the scenes" footage Sandfall drops. They often show the actors in their mocap suits. Comparing the actor's real face to the Expedition 33 face models is a great way to see how much "artistic license" the developers took to fit the game's specific aesthetic.
For aspiring 3D artists, study the "topology" of these faces. Look at how the mesh flows around the mouth and eyes. That’s how they achieve such smooth expressions without the skin "stretching" unnaturally.
Basically, Expedition 33 is setting a new bar. It’s showing that you don't need a thousand-person team to create characters that feel "human." You just need a strong artistic vision and the right application of modern tech.
To get the most out of the visual experience when the game launches, ensure your hardware (or console settings) supports high-resolution textures and ray-traced shadows. These face models are designed to be seen in 4K, where every pore and tear duct is visible. If you're on PC, prioritize "Texture Quality" and "Effects" to ensure the skin shaders work as intended. Following the official Sandfall Interactive social accounts is the best way to catch new character reveals as they announce the remaining members of the expedition. Watching the "Making Of" diaries will give you a deeper appreciation for the technical hurdles the team overcame to bring these specific models to life.