As first pointed out by The Gamer, YouTuber MrMattPlays interviewed Guillaume Broche, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s creative director, to talk about what’s next for Sandfall Interactive.
During this discussion, Broche explained that Expedition 33 is “not the end” of the popular Clair Obscur video game series.
“Clair Obscur is the franchise name. Expedition 33 is one of the stories that we want to tell in this franchise. Exactly what it will look like and what the concept will be is still too soon to announce, but what is sure is that this is not the end of the Clair Obscur franchise.”
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Broche was relatively careful about what he said during the interview, which is understandable given that he likely cannot reveal too much of Clair Obscur’s future plans at this time.
Regardless, I’m stoked to hear that more is planned for the Clair Obscur franchise, even if I (and anyone else who beat the game) was already expecting it.
SPOILER WARNING: I’ll be referencing the ending of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in this next section, including some huge spoilers. If you don’t want anything ruined for you, stop reading here.
If you beat the game, then it was pretty obvious Expedition 33 was setting up a larger storyline
There are two main reasons why I’ve been expecting more from Clair Obscur— One, the game sold incredibly well while being hailed as one of the best RPGs in recent years, so it makes sense that making more content would be considered. And two, the ending of Expedition 33 left more questions than answers about a larger world that we hardly even got a glimpse of.
⚠️ This is your last warning for major spoilers ahead.
One of the things that I found most captivating about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is that the world felt real, despite its fantastical premise. I had no idea what was going on when the opening cinematic took my breath away, but I could tell that the game was carefully created around a well-thought-out story that truly knew what it was about.
Expedition 33’s plot gets far more complicated, and dare I say Kingdom Hearts-y, as you keep going.
At the start, all you know is that when the people of Lumiere reach a certain age, they disappear into smoke each year after The Paintress (a distant figure across the sea) changes the number on her monolith. You step into the shoes of Gustave as he joins the titular Expedition 33 to travel to The Paintress and put a stop to the annual cycle of death.
However, Expedition 33’s plot soon gets far more complicated, and dare I say Kingdom Hearts-y, as you keep going.
You eventually learn that the world you’ve been exploring is all contained in a magical painting that The Paintress and her family have created. These family members are at odds with each other, with some trying to keep the painting alive while others attempt to destroy it.
This also means that the characters you’ve met are either A, people who were created by The Painters and don’t know they’re in a painting. B, people who were designed by The Painters to represent people from the real world and know they are in a painting. Or C, are the actual people from the real world themselves.
To add even more confusion, some of the real people also have painted dopplegangers, and you don’t always know which person is which when you’re interacting with them.
Have I lost you yet? Yeah, this is giving me flashbacks of trying to explain Kingdom Hearts to people… but back to Clair Obscur.
On top of that, by the end of Expedition 33, the story shifts from focusing on the characters that you started the game with to really focusing on the emotional struggle happening between immediate family members from the real world.
Despite this focus on family sorrow, a handful of cinematics and snatches of dialogue reveal that there is also some kind of larger-scale conflict going on in the real world between The Painters and an enigmatic group called The Writers. However, this conflict is not elaborated on much at all.
Because of this, I’m certain that DLC or a sequel was already part of the plan for Clair Obscur, and that it will dive deeper into this real-world storyline with The Writers.
The question is, which of Expedition 33’s endings is canon?
Given the different endings, where will the story pick up going forward?
If you’ve beaten Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, then you know there is a big decision to make at the end of the game that results in different endings. If you were paying attention, then you know the entire Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 storyline (including its title) focuses on a dichotomy — fighting for what you want and knowing when to accept loss — and that’s basically what this final decision is all about.
The thing is, Sandfall Interactive masterfully had you experience the world from three different viewpoints to help you see things from everyone’s perspective, and that makes this decision incredibly difficult.
At the end, you find out Verso is actually a creation of The Paintress, and that she created him to resemble her son, who died in real life. Because of this, Verso doesn’t belong anywhere. He’s not like the unwitting painted people of Lumiere, but he’s also not a true member of the real-world Painter family.
There is a big decision to make at the end of the game that results in different endings.
By the end, it’s become clear that Verso is basically a sentient puppet who has been used for hundreds of years, and all he wants is to be released from the life that’s been forced on him. What’s more, he knows that his release could help heal the family that created him by allowing them to move on.
On the other side of things, Maelle comes to remember that she is, in fact, Alicia, the daughter of The Paintress and Renoir. Her real-world body was damaged in a fire, but she’s been able to live with a whole body in this painting that her late brother created, her mother has been trying to maintain, and Renoir is trying to destroy it.
However, staying in this world will cause her mind to deteriorate, just like her mother’s.
You have to decide whether Verso or Alicia comes out the winner in a final battle. The thing is, neither ending is perfect.
Alicia’s ending is what I’d call the bad ending, even though it gives players the very thing they were fighting for from the beginning. Everyone in the painting is saved, even those who have already died. However, this ending comes at the expense of Alicia’s mind and Verso’s enslavement.
Meanwhile, siding with Verso makes it so that the painting and everyone in it are destroyed. However, Alicia’s family comes to know peace and truly mourns Verso’s passing.
My guess is that a sequel would consider siding with Verso to be the true ending. This would also allow us to leave the painting and learn more about The Writers and whatever trouble they’re causing.
Of course, watching Alicia slowly slide into insanity as she stays in the painting and deals with news about The Writers could also be interesting.
Regardless of what comes next, I cannot wait to see what Sandfall Interactive comes up with.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a masterpiece that is as artistic as it is captivating. You and a group of people set out to stop The Paintress, in an effort to stop an annual cycle of death from occuring. Turn-based combat with real-time mechanics make battles extremely satisfying, too.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Mirror Edition
The Mirror Edition of Expedition 33 gives buyers exclusive collectibles including a tuckbox, steelbook, and art cards. The base game on a disc is also included with this purchase.
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