Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Perfect Endings and What They Mean

Following on from the battle with Renoir as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dips into its impassioned climax, Verso is seen walking towards a young monochrome boy with no face, who is keeping the world of the Canvas alive with constant painting. Verso talks to the boy and persuades him to stop. As Verso then begins to decay and fade away, just like those that suffered the Gommage before, this is when Maelle steps in. Their conversation is brief but heated. Verso quotes their father by saying: ‘see things as they are, not how you want them to be’, and this sums up the crux of the choice that the player must make next.

To play as Verso is to accept the reality that Verso died to protect his sister. As he fights Maelle, she stays true to her convictions that she doesn’t want the Canvas to die, that she’ll stay and be corrupted within it’s brush strokes so she doesn’t have to acknowledge her crippling grief and guilt over her brother’s death.

Verso fights her because he is tired of this false reality, and he wants to free his sister before she ends up destroying herself with it. In the end, as Verso holds a dying Maelle, she begs him not to leave her again, but Verso’s answer to this is to tell her that she’ll never have to suffer a life she doesn’t want in the Canvas for him.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s following epilogue does a masterful job of exploring what coming to terms with death and grief can really mean for someone. Alicia is pictured with Aline and Renoir over Verso’s grave, and though they’re clearly still sorrowful of Verso’s passing, they all seem happier for the changes that have been allowed to come about in their lives. Alicia is able to look out over her reality without fear, with her burn scars proudly on display. It’s a satisfyingly cathartic ending that parallels the feelings of the player as they finish Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and have to leave the story behind.

Not How You Want Them To Be

By the time the end of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is in sight, we’ve spent so much time exploring this world with Maelle that it seems prudent to choose to play as her as the game draws to its dramatic conclusion. We want to see her story through to the end, to see her triumph over the stale memory of her brother so that we can understand what fate has in store for her and while neither of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s endings are portrayed as particularly right or wrong, this is definitely the path that carries forward the most tragedy.

As Verso begins to fade away, he begs Maelle to reconsider what she’s doing, repeatedly telling her: ‘I don’t want this life’ before pleading with the painting boy to help him. Maelle is stubborn, though, and the world of Lumiere is seen as having been restored. At the beginning of the game, the reveal of this Belle Epoque, dark fantasy setting was thrillingly breathtaking, but after watching Maelle’s delusional mentality triumph, it seems chilling next to the ‘A Life to Love’ ending that we get if we play as Verso.

Maelle is seen with the cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 preparing to watch a show and as Verso steps on stage, there is an instance where the player is treated to a view of Maelle with a corruped eye as she begins to transform into the new Paintress, coupled with the haunting sound of Verso’s hard, trapped breaths.

The Good, The Bad and The Painters

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a rare gem of a game in that it doesn’t disappoint its audience in any element. The gameplay is innovative and exciting, the world flawlessly beautiful and engaging, and of course, in true JRPG fashion, the story is strongly thought-provoking. The two endings that the player can choose from highlight the themes explored perfectly, giving real weight to the notion of what life and death really means and how immortality can be just as much of a burden as the idea of dying tomorrow.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is currently available on PS5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.