Shroud Praises Expedition 33 After Fighting Against Its GOTY Win

Shroud has been many things over the years—FPS demigod, extraction‑shooter evangelist, Arc Raiders’ unofficial hype man—but “JRPG enjoyer” has never been one of them. In fact, when Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 started sweeping award nominations, he practically begged his audience to stop it from winning anything.

“Do not let that Expedition game win Game of the Year,” he told viewers, rallying his community to “band together” and push Arc Raiders to the top instead.

Fast‑forward to now, and the man has done a full 180.

After finally sitting down with Expedition 33 for a long stream session, Shroud has admitted—out loud, on camera—that the game is actually… pretty good. And the way he said it? Chef’s kiss.

Shroud’s Viral Admission

This whole saga started because Shroud was loudly anti‑Expedition 33 without ever touching it. That earned him some heat, including a very animated call‑out from Asmongold, who basically told him he’d love the game if he’d just play it.

Turns out? Asmongold called his shot.

Near the end of his stream, seven hours deep into the game, Shroud finally cracked:

“Dare I say Asmongold was right?”

That’s the sound of a man realizing he might’ve been a little too loud, a little too confident, and a little too wrong!

From Critic to Fan

Once he actually played the thing, Shroud’s tone shifted fast. He praised the gameplay, especially the parry system, which Dexerto notes he called “really, really fun”. For someone who openly doesn’t care about story and doesn’t usually vibe with JRPGs, that’s basically a love letter.

He even admitted:

• “The game can’t get worse; it’s gonna only get better.”
• “That was fun. I had a great time, I got no complaints.”
• “The game’s cool, I like it.”

That’s not lukewarm praise. That’s a man realizing he might’ve been gatekeeping himself out of a good time.

The GOTY Irony Is Delicious

The funniest part? Shroud only played Expedition 33 because he promised he would if it won Game of the Year.

And then it didn’t just win—it dominated, taking home nine awards in a record‑breaking sweep.

So he kept his word, booted it up, and discovered the exact thing he’d been fighting against was… actually great.

There’s something poetic about that.

A JRPG for People Who Don’t Like JRPGs

Shroud’s biggest surprise wasn’t the story or the world—it was the combat. He said outright that if the game didn’t have its real‑time parry system, he probably wouldn’t be enjoying it nearly as much.

GamesRadar+ points out that he’s one of many players who don’t normally touch turn‑based RPGs but ended up vibing with Expedition 33 anyway.

It’s the rare JRPG that wins over the “I only play shooters” crowd. And Shroud is Exhibit A.

Shroud’s Surprising Turnaround

This whole arc is peak gaming culture: a streamer loudly dismisses a game he hasn’t played, the internet calls him out, he makes a bet, the game wins everything, he plays it, and—plot twist—it’s actually good.

Shroud didn’t walk back his love for Arc Raiders. He didn’t suddenly become a JRPG convert. But he did something better: he admitted he was wrong, gave the game a fair shake, and found something he genuinely enjoyed.