How to Solve the Fatal Error Crash in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The most common solutions for Expedition 33’s fatal error message

Co-authored by Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: December 11, 2025 Fact Checked

Fatal Error Fixes

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What is the Fatal Error crash?

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If you’re wringing your hands in frustration over “Fatal Error” messages and frequent crashes in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you’re not alone. It’s a problem encountered by many players using the game’s PC version—but there are plenty of fixes to try. In this article, we’ll guide you through a list of the most effective troubleshooting techniques for this particular error message in the game. With a few simple adjustments, you’ll be back to hunting down the Paintress in no time!

The Most Effective Fatal Error Fixes for Expedition 33

Verify the game’s files through Steam to make sure nothing is missing or corrupted.
Run the game as an administrator to ensure all permissions are enabled.
Force the game to use DirectX 11 over DirectX 12, since it’s more stable.
Edit the GameUserSettings.ini file (or delete it entirely).
Delete the game’s D3D12 file, which forces it to use DirectX 12.
Disable the Steam overlay before playing the game.

Section 1 of 2:

Fixing Expedition 33’s Fatal Error Crash

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Verify the game files. If there’s a corrupted or missing file in your game, it might be triggering Fatal Error crashes that happen while you’re playing. Luckily, you can use Steam to verify the integrity of the game’s files and replace anything that’s corrupted or missing! To do this:^{[1]
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- Go to the Library tab in Steam and right-click on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in the left-hand list of owned games.
- Select Properties from the drop-down menu.
- Navigate to Installed Files and click on the Verify integrity of game files button.
- From there, Steam will run its check and automatically fix any issues it finds.
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Run the game as an administrator. Playing Expedition 33 without the proper permissions enabled can also cause Fatal Error crashes. So, make sure you’re running the game with administrative privileges. To do this, open Steam and, in the Library tab, complete the following steps:^{[2]
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- Right-click on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
- Select Manage → Browse local files from the drop-down menu.
- In the game’s installation directory, right-click on Expedition33_Steam and select Properties.
- Navigate to the Compatibility tab and check the box next to Run this program as an administrator.
- Select Apply → OK.
- Repeat this process for the SandFall-Win64-Shipping executable. You can find it in the Expedition 33 folder; just navigate to Sandfall → Binaries → Win64.
- Relaunch the game and see if the crashing problem is fixed!
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Force Expedition 33 to use DirectX 11 (instead of DirectX 12). For some players, the Fatal Error crash happens when playing the game with DirectX 12. To fix this, you can force the game to launch using DirectX 11, which is more stable, and the fix itself is very easy to complete. Here’s what to do:^{[3]
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- In Steam, navigate to the Library tab and right-click on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in the left-hand list of games.
- Select Properties… from the drop-down menu.
- In the new window, select the General tab.
- Under Launch Options, type “-dx11” into the text field.
- Restart Expedition 33 with this new setting!
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Delete or rename the game’s D3D12 file. The D3D12 file—located in the game’s main folder—forces it to use DirectX 12, which is known to cause crashes. Thus, deleting the file can increase the game’s stability quite a bit without you needing to make any adjustments to your in-game settings. Simply complete the following steps:
- Open File Explorer.
- Navigate to Program Files (x86) → Steam → steamapps → common → Expedition 33 → Sandfall → Binaries → Win64.
- In the Win64 folder, find the D3D12 file and delete it.
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Edit the GameUserSettings.ini config file.Disabling certain systems within the game can stabilize Expedition 33. Navigate to C: → Users and find the folder with your username. From there, navigate to AppData → Local → Sandfall → Saved → Config → Windows. In this folder, you’ll see a file called GameUserSettings.ini. Open it with Notepad (or your text editor of choice) and add the following commands to the bottom of the file:
- [SystemSettings]
- r.DynamicGlobalIlluminationMethod=0
- r.Reflections=0
- r.ReflectionMethod=0
- r.Lumen.TranslucencyReflections=0
- r.Lumen.Reflections=0
- r.Lumen=0
  - When you’re done, save the file and close it, then relaunch your game!
- Alternatively, some players report that deleting GameUserSettings.ini fixed their problem instead. You can try this, but save a copy of the file elsewhere before you do!
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Disable the game’s Steam overlay. The Steam overlay is designed to let players chat with their friends or browse online while playing a game, but it can cause issues (and crashes) with gameplay. Thus, disabling it may improve Clair Obscur’s stability and prevent it from encountering the Fatal Error crash. To disable the overlay:^{[4]
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- Navigate to Steam (the drop-down menu at the top-left of the window) and select Settings.
- Go to the In Game tab and toggle the Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game feature off.
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Allow the game in your computer’s antivirus program. Sometimes, your computer’s security might be blocking the game’s executable files from running properly. To fix this, adjust your security or antivirus program to allow Expedition 33 through its defenses. Here’s how to do that for the default security program, Windows Security:
- Select the Start icon and type “Windows Security” into the search field, then open the Windows Security program.
- Navigate to Virus & threat protection → Manage ransomware protection.
- Switch the Controlled folder access toggle on.
- Select Allow an app through Controller folder access.
- Select Add an allowed app → Browse all apps.
- Then, navigate to the game’s installation folder (Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Expedition33). Add the Expedition33_Steam and SandFall-Win64-Shipping executables to the list.
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Switch your computer’s power plan. Your PC has a few different “modes” that basically tell it what to prioritize in terms of power usage. PCs often try to balance power and performance by default, so switching to High-Performance Mode may reduce crashes while you play. To change your PC’s current settings, do the following:
- Open the Settings menu (by typing “Settings” into the Windows search function).
- Navigate to System → Display → Graphics.
- Find Clair Obscur in the list of apps below and click on the arrow to the right (to expand the menu).
- Next to GPU Preference, choose High Performance from the drop-down list.
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Lower your CPU’s performance core ratio. This involves setting your computer’s CPU to run at a slower rate than it’s supposed to, which can, in turn, reduce power consumption and help it run with more stability. You can adjust the CPU performance core ratio in BIOS or the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU), which is downloadable for free. Whichever application you use, try reducing the performance ratio to 50x - 54x.^{[5]
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- See our dedicated article for a more in-depth guide to underclocking your CPU!
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Update your computer’s graphics driver. If your computer’s graphics driver is outdated, this may be the cause of most crashes and glitches in the game. Updating your graphics driver maximizes its compatibility with Clair Obscur and its high-end graphics, improving overall stability. To initiate an update, do the following:^{[6]
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- Click on the Start icon (the Windows logo) and type “Device Manager” into the search function.
- Open the Device Manager and expand its Display adapters section.
- Right-click on your driver (for instance, “NVIDIA GeForce GTX ####...”).
- Select Update driver from the drop-down menu.
- In the new window, select Search automatically for drivers. Then, allow the system to install any updates.
- Alternatively, if your driver is fully updated, rolling it back to a previous version may help. Simply select Roll back driver from the drop-down menu instead!
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Reset the Winsock catalog. If your Expedition 33 crashes are related to network issues, resetting Winsock can fix this. To perform a full reset, do the following:^{[7]
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- Press the Windows key and type “cmd” (Command Prompt) in the search bar.
- Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
- In the new window, type “netsh winsock reset” and hit Enter.
- Restart your computer and launch the game to see if it’s running better.
Finally, this may seem obvious—but it’s a good idea to check and see if there are any patches or game updates that you might be missing. If there’s a patch waiting to be installed in whichever platform you’re using to play (Steam, Epic Games, etc.), go ahead and install it before trying to run the game again. It might contain fixes to whatever issues are causing Expedition 33 to crash.

Section 2 of 2:

What is the Fatal Error crash in Expedition 33?

The “Fatal Error” crash is an issue occurring during startup and loading. For some players, it even happens mid-game during battles! Essentially, it’s a crash that results in a “Fatal Error” notification, which can be quite frustrating for players, especially when they encounter it over and over. While it can happen in different places, this crash is usually linked to system or game settings, your computer’s compatibility with the game, or outdated graphics drivers.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has extremely high-quality visuals, which can be very taxing on a computer and contribute to crashes.
- Additionally, because it’s still on the newer side, developers haven’t worked out every bug yet.