Two PC problems in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have no published fix in the official patch notes we could find. In December 2025, Sandfall said Windows Smart App Control could stop the game from launching on Windows 11, and advised against turning it off. In the 1.5.6 notes (June 30, 2026), it listed a crash when loading into the Reacher or leaving the Manor on some PC configurations, with a workaround: Global Illumination below Epic. So what happened on your PC?
Video: “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Thank You Update Trailer”, official Sandfall Interactive channel, December 12, 2025 (5:05 AM Paris time), 1 min 22. It is an update trailer, not a technical tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Gp_ZHwaUQ
What the official sources say (read on November 12, 2026):
- Hotfix 1.5.1 (December 18, 2025) fixed one Windows 11 launch problem: Windows Security false positives. For the second one, Smart App Control, Sandfall did not recommend turning it off (it warned this would remove the feature permanently) and said it was investigating. Patch notes 1.5.3, 1.5.5 and 1.5.6 do not mention a fix.
- Microsoft’s Smart App Control FAQ (updated August 17, 2026) now says recent Windows updates allow it to be turned back on without a clean installation, and that there is no way to allow a single app through.
- Patch 1.5.6 (June 30, 2026): crash when loading into the Reacher or going out of the Manor, tied to “some specific PC configurations”; temporary workaround: set Global Illumination to anything below Epic.
Questions for players:
- Is Smart App Control on or off on your PC (Windows Security, App & browser control)? Was the game ever blocked at launch, and on which version of the game?
- If you turned Smart App Control off, did you manage to turn it back on later, as Microsoft now says is possible?
- Did you hit the Reacher or Manor crash? Which GPU, driver version and Global Illumination setting were you on, and did lowering it below Epic fix it?
- Did you see a visible difference in image quality after lowering Global Illumination?
- Steam, Epic Games Store or another PC store: does it change anything for you?
Please share your Windows version (Settings, System, About), GPU, game version and what you changed. Do not post account details or full system reports.
Full guide with Sandfall’s official fixes: https://tricknfix.com/articles/clair-obscur-expedition-33-pc-crash-wont-launch-windows-11-smart-app-control-global-illumination-sandfall-official-fixes/
Version française du guide : https://tricknfix.com/fr/actualites/clair-obscur-expedition-33-pc-crash-wont-launch-windows-11-smart-app-control-global-illumination-sandfall-official-fixes/
Sources (read November 12, 2026):
Sandfall Interactive on Steam, Hotfix 1.5.1 (December 18, 2025): https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1903340/view/1819386365089217
Sandfall Interactive on Steam, Patch v1.5.6 (June 30, 2026): https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1903340/view/1836506165561853
Microsoft Support, Smart App Control FAQ (updated August 17, 2026): https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/what-is-smart-app-control-285ea03d-fa88-4d56-882e-6698afdb7003
Sandfall official bug report form: https://sandfallinteractive.typeform.com/coe33
Image: official Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 screenshot (Steam store page), Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive, all rights reserved.
Version française de ce sujet : https://tricknfix.com/fr/sujet/clair-obscur-expedition-33-sous-windows-11-bloque-par-smart-app-control-ou-plantage-au-reacher-avec-l-illumination-globale-en-epic-qu-avez-v-4a889da686/