You’re playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the lights are low, and the opening cinematic kicks in. Suddenly, you're staring at the lead character, Gustave, and your brain does a double-take. You think, wait, is that Batman? Specifically, Gustave looks like Robert Pattinson to an almost suspicious degree.
It’s not just a passing resemblance. It’s the jawline. It’s the brooding, heavy-lidded eyes. It’s that very specific "I haven't slept in three days because I'm contemplating the abyss" energy that Pattinson mastered in The Lighthouse. If you’ve spent any time on Reddit or Steam forums since the game’s 2025 release, you know the internet has been losing its collective mind over this.
But here’s the kicker: Robert Pattinson has absolutely nothing to do with this game.
The Robert Pattinson Connection That Isn't Actually There
Honestly, it’s one of the weirdest "accidental" doppelgänger situations in recent gaming history. When Sandfall Interactive first revealed Gustave, the character was immediately compared to the Twilight and The Batman star.
The facial structure is the big one. Gustave has these sharp, high cheekbones and a square chin that basically screams "Pattinson at a Dior shoot." When you add the facial hair—that rugged, Belle Époque-era mustache and stubble—the comparison to his role as Ephraim Winslow in The Lighthouse becomes impossible to ignore.
People were so convinced that they started digging through the credits. Surely, it was a likeness deal? Maybe they used 3D scans?
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Nope.
Sandfall Interactive has been pretty clear that the character model wasn't based on Pattinson. Some developers even mentioned in interviews that Gustave’s face was inspired by a mix of French models and even some of the studio's own staff members. But the human brain is a funny thing. We love patterns. Once you see the "Battinson" in Gustave, you can't unsee it. It's like a curse.
Who is actually behind Gustave?
If you want to talk about the "real" Gustave, you have to look at Charlie Cox.
Yeah, Daredevil himself.
The character is voiced by Charlie Cox, and if you look closely at Gustave’s animations—specifically how he moves his mouth when he speaks or the way he tilts his head—you can see Cox’s influence. There’s a lot of Charlie in the performance. However, because the character model has such a distinct, chiseled "Pattinson" look, it creates this weird sensory dissonance. You’re hearing Matt Murdock, but you’re seeing Edward Cullen.
Why the Internet is Obsessed with the Lookalike
Why does this matter? Why is the fact that Gustave looks like Robert Pattinson such a massive talking point?
Basically, it comes down to the "vibe" of Expedition 33. The game is beautiful but incredibly bleak. You’re leading a group of people to their inevitable deaths to stop a goddess from painting everyone into extinction. That kind of heavy, melancholic atmosphere is exactly where Robert Pattinson’s modern filmography lives.
- The Brood Factor: Both Gustave and Pattinson’s characters carry a specific weight of the world on their shoulders.
- The Aesthetic: The Belle Époque setting fits that moody, "tortured artist" look that Pattinson has basically trademarked in the 2020s.
- The Meme Potential: Gamers love a good doppelgänger. It’s the same energy as people saying Tidus from Final Fantasy X looks like Meg Ryan.
Some fans have gone as far as to say that if a live-action movie ever happens, casting anyone other than Pattinson would be a crime. Though, to be fair, Charlie Cox would probably have something to say about that.
It's Not Just Pattinson—There Are Other Faces in the Mix
If you scroll through the deeper threads of the Expedition 33 community, you’ll find that not everyone is on the Pattinson train.
A vocal minority swears they see Jake Gyllenhaal. There’s something about the eyes—that slightly watery, intense look—that reminds people of Gyllenhaal in Mysterio mode or maybe Prisoners.
Then you have the people who think he looks like a rugged Daniel Radcliffe.
But really, those are the outliers. The overwhelming consensus is that Gustave is basically Robert Pattinson’s digital twin. It’s reached the point where mods are already popping up to "lean into" the look, adjusting the lighting or textures to make the resemblance even more uncanny.
Is it a marketing stunt?
Kinda makes you wonder, right?
In an industry where star power sells, having a protagonist who looks like one of the biggest actors on the planet—without having to pay the licensing fees for his face—is a bit of a masterstroke. Whether it was intentional or just a very happy accident of character design, it has kept Expedition 33 in the conversation. It’s free marketing. Every time someone posts a side-by-side of Gustave and a still from The Batman, the game gets a fresh wave of eyes on it.
What This Means for Character Design in Games
This whole Gustave situation highlights a shift in how we perceive digital characters. We're getting so close to photorealism that we're starting to "cast" these characters in our heads based on real-world celebrities.
When a character is "just okay" looking, we don't bother. But when a model is as detailed and high-fidelity as Gustave, our brains try to find a real-world anchor. It’s a testament to the art team at Sandfall. They created a face so strikingly handsome and specific that it felt like it had to belong to a movie star.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Creators
If you're obsessed with the Gustave/Pattinson phenomenon, there are a few things you can do to dive deeper into the rabbit hole:
- Watch the Behind-the-Scenes: Check out the Sandfall Interactive dev diaries. They actually show the motion capture sessions with Charlie Cox. It’s fascinating to see where the voice actor's face ends and the digital character begins.
- Photo Mode is Your Friend: Use the in-game photo mode to catch Gustave at different angles. You’ll notice that in certain lighting, he looks exactly like Pattinson, but in others, the resemblance fades and you see the original design more clearly.
- Check the Mods: If you're on PC, keep an eye on Nexus Mods. The community is already working on "Enhanced Likeness" packs that aim to make the character look even more like the actors people see in him.
The reality is that Gustave looks like Robert Pattinson because Sandfall Interactive tapped into a very specific, modern "type" of leading man—moody, chiseled, and deeply tired. Whether it was by design or destiny, Gustave has become a face that gamers won't forget anytime soon, even if he's not actually the guy from Twilight.
To truly appreciate the artistry, go back and watch the trailer for The Lighthouse immediately after playing the game's intro. The similarity in the "thousand-yard stare" alone is enough to make you wonder if there’s a secret Pattinson fan on the dev team pulling the strings.
Next Steps for Players: Head into the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 settings and experiment with the "Film Grain" and "Chromatic Aberration" toggles. Cranking these up actually enhances that cinematic, Lighthouse-esque aesthetic that makes Gustave’s resemblance to Robert Pattinson pop even more during cutscenes.