Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Monoco actor reveals that Ben Starr “was wrong” about the game’s launch

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Rich Keeble, who plays Monoco in the game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, recently joined us for an interview. He shared that his co-star, Ben Starr, was way off in his predictions about how successful the game would be at launch.

You can find our full conversation on YouTube, where we discuss how the Monoco role came to be, Keeble’s thoughts on the game’s popularity, and much more. Alternatively, you can read some highlights below.

Keeble remembers when he first read the description of the character Monoco. He says it simply asked for a voice that was ‘rich, deep, and booming.’ There was also a small picture, but Keeble admits he couldn’t quite understand what it showed.

Keeble was used to performing with a loud voice, so he started working on this role immediately. He recalls being given some background on the character during the audition, and finding the script humorous. He said he delivered his lines in a dry, casual manner.

Keeble points out that when the project was initially booked, they received much more detail, including information about the character’s allegiance to Verso and some background story that wasn’t used in the final games.

Regarding Verso – the intriguing antihero and close friend of Monoco, portrayed by Ben Starr, known from Final Fantasy – Keeble remembers quickly sensing that the character would be a success.

During the recording sessions, when I performed the scene where we first meet Monoco – the one with the line, “There will be a lot of fighting” – Ben had already finished his part. That was really useful, I think, because it immediately established the mood and let us know exactly what we were aiming for.

I recall feeling confident that we were off to a good start. I was definitely trying to impress Ben, but he was genuinely talented and refreshingly down-to-earth – he had a subtle humor without being overly showy. I think that established a positive and relaxed atmosphere from the beginning.

After the recording was done, Keeble began to feel anxious as the game’s release approached. He noticed the trailers were getting a lot of views and the game’s Twitter following was rapidly increasing, which made him increasingly nervous.

So, I actually met up with Ben for coffee to chat about the game. He was pretty upfront – about a week or two before launch, he told me he thought it would do well, but he didn’t want me expecting Baldur’s Gate 3 levels of success, you know, like an 80+ on Metacritic. He was just trying to be realistic and keep my expectations in check, which I appreciated.

We were just joking about it the other day, and he actually admitted he was wrong! It’s kind of become a whole thing now, almost like a trend. Honestly, it’s awesome seeing so many people getting into cosplay and really embracing it – it’s been amazing to watch.

How has it felt for Keeble to witness the game’s unexpected triumph – going from a Metacritic score of 92 to winning numerous Game Awards and Golden Joysticks for its developer, Sandfall Interactive?

It’s still really strange to me,” says Keeble. “I’m having trouble believing it. The Golden Joysticks were the first of the major awards, and surprisingly, I wasn’t officially invited. I managed to snag a spot at a table thanks to Amy and JJ at the Future Game Show, so I’m grateful to them.

I remember being crammed at a table with a little handwritten name card, and it was probably Sam Béart who turned to me and said, ‘Rich, don’t talk down to me, but if you actually win Game of the Year, you have to get up on stage!’ I just kind of shrugged it off and said, ‘Let’s just see what happens, okay?’

We had been winning consistently throughout the awards, and I was texting my wife after each win. Even so, I didn’t assume we had it in the bag. Afterwards, people acted like it was a foregone conclusion, but I honestly didn’t know. There were so many other great games nominated, like Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and Silksong, that we were up against.

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It definitely continued at The Game Awards too. Honestly, I didn’t really think we had a chance of winning when I went. They did start things off with a musical performance, which was great, but I was still completely surprised and shocked when we actually won.

Wow, it’s still so surreal being here at BAFTA. Honestly, it hasn’t really hit me yet! Our game’s been out for almost a year now, and it’s just wild to think people are still playing and getting hyped about it. It’s totally mind-blowing, if I’m being real.

I’m really thrilled with how things turned out. It’s amazing, and honestly, I feel incredibly fortunate.

Keeble’s success wasn’t down to luck; it was a result of his excellent performance, which is why he’s at the heart of this popular story.

The game is leading the nominations at the BAFTA Games Awards this Friday, so it might win even more awards!

Want to hear more from Keeble? We’ll be sharing additional clips from the interview in the coming weeks. Don’t forget to subscribe to the TopMob Gaming YouTube channel to stay updated!

See more Arcade Hang interviews on YouTube:

  • Devora Wilde talks Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 future
  • Neil Newbon talks Dungeons & Dragons & Dramas
  • Karlach actor Samantha Béart talks Baldur’s Gate 3 and more
  • House of the Dragon star Abubakar Salim chats Dead Take
  • Glenn Moore, Sarah Keyworth and Pierre Novellie talk Button Boys podcast

Authors

Rob LeaneGaming Editor

Rob Leane leads gaming coverage at TopMob, managing content for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile, and VR games. He creates content for TopMob’s website, social media, and video platforms, and also writes the weekly gaming newsletter. Before TopMob, Rob worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional, and Dennis Publishing.

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2026-04-15 14:11