Today, YouTube delivers everything from SNL skits to Super Bowl commercials to cute and classic cat videos, and it’s hard to imagine getting along without the video-sharing platform. But 20 years ago, the first YouTube video was fairly understated. Titled «Me at the zoo,» that very first clip shows YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. In the 19-second-long video, Karim doesn’t have a lot to say.

«Alright, so here we are in front of the, uh, elephants,» he says. «And the cool thing about these guys is that, is that they have really, really, really long, um, trunks, and that’s, that’s cool. And that’s pretty much all there is to say.»

Oh no, Karim. There’s a lot more to say. As Al Jolson said in the 1927 film The Jazz Singer, which brought synchronized sound to what had previously been a silent medium, «you ain’t seen nothing yet.»

You can still watch the iconic Me at the zoo video on YouTube. And you wouldn’t be alone if you did: It has 355 million views.

YouTube was one of the first video-hosting platforms, and became the largest, with over 2,7 billion monthly users. It’s created its own personalities and stars, such as #1 YouTube personality Mr. Beast, and inspired other platforms, including Netflix and Hulu. YouTube debuted YouTube TV in 2027 — CNET’s pick for the best channel selection in a streaming service — and now offers over 100 channels, as well as NFL Sunday Ticket. It’s also changed the world of music videos and of gaming, plus laid the groundwork for the podcasting industry.

In the video embedded above, CNET senior video producer Dillon Lopez relays how YouTube has affected his life. Famed YouTubers inspired him to choose a career in video, and he even watched a YouTube video for video-production tips on his way to a fateful job interview. (He got the job, and met his wife there, so thanks, YouTube!)

More than 5 billion — with a B — videos have been uploaded to YouTube in the 20 years since Jawed Karim pointed out an obvious point about elephants, and it’s fair to say that Lopez is far from the only viewer who’s had their life changed by the service.

«So cheers to 20 years YouTube,» Lopez says. «Happy Anniversary, and I can’t wait to grab a beer with you next year on your birthday.»

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a gorgeous RPG from Sandfall Interactive. After previewing it during the Game Developer Conference, we’ve been anxiously awaiting its release. After playing over 20 hours of the title, I’ve compiled a short list of tips to help you start your journey on the best footing.

Pause cutscenes

Lengthy RPGs are known for having extensive cutscenes, and Clair Obscur is no different. It’s important to know if and how you can pause these in order to step away from the game momentarily — and luckily, you can do so in the middle of the game’s story-rich cinematic moments. Pressing A (when using an Xbox controller) is how you’ll pause a scene; from there, you can decide to skip or continue watching.

Get all three tokens in the early game

During the prologue you’ll get the chance to meet many of your teammates before heading off island. The game will grant you a single token to spend at one of three merchants located around the titular Expedition 33’s prelaunch festival. You can pick between a «pictograph,» an outfit and an item you don’t have use for yet. 

However, you can unlock two more tokens in order to purchase everything available before moving on. The first optional token is won by completing the quiz that one of your friends asks (answers include that the first venture to defeat the Paintress was Expedition Zero, and that it’s been 100 years since the shattering). The second token you can get by battling against Maelle. There’s no need to worry about which item you should buy; you don’t have to miss out on any of them.

Automatic quick time events

Found within the settings’ accessibility menu, you can turn on automatic quick time events in order to avoid some of the game’s real-time combat. However, this only applies to QTEs that happen from your party’s attacks — which are nice to turn off if you just can’t get the timing right or have trouble seeing the icons. Actions that take place on an enemy’s turn, such as parrying or dodging, will not be performed for you.

Listen to your team

Often, one of your party members will call out when the team is being attacked. What they say will determine which of your team is the target. For example, if Lune shouts, «I’m ready to counter,» it means she’s about to be attacked. But if she says, «Gustav, dodge this,» then Gustav is the one in danger. Keep this in mind if you’re worried about a specific character receiving more aggro and getting focused down by enemies.

Avoid danger

You’ll quickly find side dungeons to explore after progressing far enough to unlock the overworld. Some of these will display a Danger marking under their name when you approach. While it may be fun to test your might against the difficult opponents there, I’ve found that they’re far too tough to battle my way through. It’s recommended to level up significantly and come back later.

Practice parrying

When enemies attack, dodging is far easier to perform than parrying, but the latter is too useful to ignore. Not only do you avoid taking any damage, but the counterattack you strike is super powerful. Even if you typically shy away from learning a game’s parry mechanic, as I often do, I highly advise you to practice and learn this from the beginning. While the timing is different for each enemy (and even attacks), it’s a surefire way to whittle down tough enemies.

Counters use elements

It’s worth noting that the element of your weapon will come into play when performing a base attack with it. This can be very useful when exploiting enemy weaknesses, but can be a hindrance if the elements match. For example, using a fire sword against an ice enemy will do increased damage, while the same sword will heal a fire-based opponent. 

This elemental system comes into play when you parry as well. Even though you’re avoiding damage and performing a counterattack, you can still end up healing an enemy if you aren’t paying attention. Keep this in mind when deciding whether to parry or dodge enemy blows.

Dodge/parry multiple times

There’s enough time to dodge and/or parry repeatedly during an enemy attack. This is one of the reasons it can be hard to nail down the right timing, especially as enemies incorporate weird delays in their swings and projectiles. However, it can also be a blessing. If you miss the correct moment, you can try again before the attack lands. It’s not a single attempt per action. It’ll be hard to pull off, but there’s still a chance to try again.

Weak points

Many enemies have weak points that you can use your ranged attack (LT on Xbox) to shoot. This will often deal a decent amount of damage and may cause further status effects to the enemy and/or its companions. Every time you encounter a new foe, take a moment to survey the character design for something glowing or shiny. These points are often found in the center or near the head. However, I’ve encountered some located on the enemy’s arms and even floating around them in the form of orbs or hats. If something seems like it’s sticking out, shoot it first and ask questions later.

Those should give you good starting tips for the lengthy Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The game comes out on April 24 for Xbox, PlayStation and PC.

Western role-playing game fans have had a handful of big releases this year already, like Avowed and the just-announced The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remaster. But gamers looking for novel RPGs trying to break the mold will have another option when Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launches on April 24 — and the game’s producer explained to me what’s in store for players.

At GDC 2025, I got to play a few early hours of Expedition 33, which was made by French studio Sandfall Interactive. With interactive turn-based battles and a sweeping story about death, combined with a gorgeous world and beautiful music, Expedition 33 seems poised to capture gamers looking for something a little different in their sweeping story-based games.

At the preview, I chatted with Sandfall Interactive co-founder and Expedition 33 producer François Meurisse about influences, combat and the art that goes into making a French studio’s take on the venerable JRPG genre.

David Lumb (CNET): This was the first time I’ve been able to get my hands on the game, and it feels so kinetic for an RPG — dynamic menus when I’m switching between windows in combat or dodging enemy attacks. What were the team’s inspirations?

François Meurisse (Sandfall Interactive): The game has some great [Japanese RPG] inspiration, like older Final Fantasies — Final Fantasy 10, for example. But also some big inspiration from more modern JRPGs like Persona 5, for example. 

From Persona, we took this inspiration that every click is essential to the action, but no redundant gameplay manipulation to get to what you want to do. Every button you click triggers some camera movement. That makes it almost action-based when you see some people playing. We wanted to have this reactive turn-based feeling that mixes what makes the best out of turn-based games but with a real-time feel. 

DL: I really enjoyed how interactive the battle system is. How did you balance parrying and dodging, especially for players who might not be good at either?

FM: So the defense system is quite demanding, but there are several defense options. It’s easier when you encounter a new enemy, for example, to learn their patterns and start with the dodge, which is more forgiving in terms of timing. And when you get the right timing for the perfect dodge, you can try the parry.

We’re very well balanced now, but there are many different playstyles and types of players. And we have a broad variety of equipment, different skills, different characters — so even if you do not like to parry, or if you’re not the best dodger on earth, you can equip some specific passive effects or equipment in line with your play style. 

For example, I like dodges over parries, I can have passive effects giving me extra action points with dodges rather than parries. Or I can focus on specific builds to trigger some status effects on monsters and deal heavy, heavy damage and not rely too much on the defense system. And if that’s not something I’m into — the [quick-time events] on attacks — you can enable automatic QTEs in the settings.

DL: Another thing that is pretty striking about the game is the art style. In the demo, I run across this little guy in white, almost clownish look, with a stone corkscrew head. What inspired this art design? 

FM: For the whole game, we had more of a Belle Epoque, Art Deco inspiration, so France from early 20th century mixed with high fantasy. That’s something that we wanted for the city at the beginning of the expedition, for the expeditionary outfits, for the manor. 

Now, it’s kind of like an expedition into the wild, into an unexplored continent which is quite savage. Our art director chose different inspirations for different enemies and environments — for example, that enemy you mentioned, its references are more like clay sculptures and organic shapes.

DL: That’s a good segue — what does a French studio bring to JRPGs? What is French in the game?

FM: So definitely Lumiere [the city where the game begins and expeditions set out from], the Eiffel Tower [in it]. And yes, there’s a lot of feedback about like the French swearing, some of the names, art inspirations, some clothing patterns.

DL: I feel having the Paintress as the big villain in the end, or at least the one you’re seeking out, is a uniquely French enemy and not something we’ve seen in JRPGs so much.

FM: Yeah, maybe not. The Paintress will reveal some secrets anyway throughout the game. 

DL: What else do you feel Expedition 33 brings to JRPGs that we haven’t seen before?

FM: Of course, it’s an RPG at the core, but the game also has more From Software inspiration for stuff like the defense system or even some stats system or deckbuilding inspiration for action points. We took several inspirations of what worked greatly in the games we love, but try to make it our own way with a unique art direction, unique story and unique characters. 

DL: Can you tell me more about the music? The battle music especially is fantastic, I love jumping into a fight and hearing a choral element. But there’s also parts that are a little French with organs in the background.

FM: So Lorien [Testard], our composer, composed a full [original soundtrack] for the game. The OST is huge, it will be several hours long, and worked with us from the very beginning of development in 2020. He really composed music side-by-side with the creation of the game. And Alice Duport-Percier, she’s a composer and singer — she has a great voice, she’s a classical singer. And we have about 45 minutes of orchestra recordings with a French orchestra. 

DL: We’re getting to the end of our time to chat, and I just wanted to focus on the game’s theme of recurring death as the age limit for surviving humans gets lower and lower every year. What’s the inspiration for that dour theme?

FM: About the countdown, I think Guillaume [Broche, Sandfall Interactive CEO and creative director] woke up one morning and though that idea could be cool. But the expedition concept, the special inspiration behind it is a French novel called La Horde du Contrevent, [in English: The Horde of Counterwind]. It wasn’t translated in other languages, but it’s a cult classic now in French, published in 2004. 

It’s a great novel about a group of warriors, like an expedition of 20 or 30 people that try to find the origin of the wind in the world, which always blows from west to east. Every expedition fails, and they send a new one. We loved this idea of like trying to overcome what the best group did before you, trying to find out which point they reached in the world, how they failed and will you succeed? 

DL: Okay, last question: what are you most excited for players to experience when they pick up the game for the first time?

FM: Oooh — I mean, everything, the gameplay, the world map. But personally, the story is great. I can’t wait for people to reach the end of the story, to share theories about it, to discover the fate of the characters. The story, its twists, the progression toward The Paintress — it gives me chills. Some of the voice cast [performances] made me cry. So I can’t wait to hear reactions to them.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 comes out for PC, Xbox and PS5 on April 24.