Clair Obscur: Expedition 33is a pretty straightforward RPG, without a lot of opportunities for the player to make story choices - until the very end, that is. That’s not to say its story is anything but excellent.Clair Obscurearns its high Metacritic ratingin no small part due to its tragically beautiful story, which follows the members of a perilous expedition in a doomed world. Every year, a distant entity known as the Paintress paints a number in the sky, and, a year later, everyone of that age dies. You control an adventuring party sent to stop her.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for theending of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.]Expedition 33 quickly encounters disaster when most of its fighting force is killed by an old man immediately upon landing on the Continent’s shores. That old man, we soon find out, is named Renoir, and, along with the Paintress and the expeditioner Maelle, he originally comes from a world more like our own. They’re only in this world by the grace of a magical canvas of Verso’s creation, which allows them to preside over the painted world as gods. After defeating the Paintress and Renoir, you’re givena final decision to determine the fate of the canvas.
What Happens If You Fight As Maelle?
Pros & Cons Of Choosing Maelle
As Verso quickly realizes,Maelle is falling into the same destructive pattern as their mother. Consumed by her guilt and grief over Verso’s death, as well as the potential loss of her friends and family inside the canvas, she wants to keep it alive. There, she can continue to paint her version of Verso’s memory, immersing herself day and night in his creation to prevent grief from taking hold.
This decision primarily affects which epilogue you see- there’s very little gameplayand certainly no explorationleft at this late stage, apart from the ensuing battle. If you choose Maelle, she’ll defeat Verso, and decide to continue living inside the canvas. All you’re able to do is make your choice and watch the results unfold.
If you choose Maelle, it’s first implied thatshe was able to permanently resurrect much of Lumière, including all of her loved ones. Esquie remains permanently in Lumière as well, presumably becoming some sort of therapist, with people lining up to share their problems with him.
More importantly, though,Maelle is able to keep the members of Expedition 33 alive- not only Lune and Sciel, but Gustave, too. She’s also resurrected their dead loved ones, including Sciel’s husband Pierre, and Gustave’s ex-girlfriend Sophie. It’s also implied that Gustave and Sophie were able to rebuild their relationship, as they’re seen holding hands in the epilogue. These characters are given a second chance at life in this ending, and, for all intents and purposes, have a happy existence inside the canvas.
Leading a child by hand - one of Gustave’s apprentices - Maelle goes to Lumière’s opera house, where she sits in the front row alongside all her friends. They watch as Verso takes the stage and sits down at a piano. But before he touches the keys,Verso pauses for a moment. While he doesn’t speak, it’s a meaningful pause - it’s as if this version of Verso retains some of his memories, and regrets Maelle’s decision. Regardless, he has no authority, and begins playing his piece.
We listen to Verso’s piano concerto for a time before the scene cuts back to Maelle, watching along in the audience. A half-smile on her face,her eyes are splattered with paint, making her look much like her mother at the peak of her obsession with Verso’s canvas. The implication is that Verso was right - Maelle has fallen into the same unhealthy coping mechanisms, and is keeping the canvas alive at the cost of her own well-being and Verso’s happiness. This final shot is framed as a jumpscare, and definitely represents the bad ending ofClair Obscur.
What Happens If You Fight As Verso?
Pros & Cons Of Choosing Verso
On the other hand, if you choose Verso,you’re choosing to destroy the canvas. You first witness everything that comes along with that: Verso defeats Maelle, ejecting her from the canvas. Verso says a brief goodbye to Esquie and Monoco, who give him a brief group hug.
Verso then takes the hand of the painter boy spirit - implied to be a part of Verso that remained inside the canvas after his death - and gently tells him that it’s time to stop painting. The boy agrees, andwe watch as all the surviving members of the Expedition fade to dust. Sciel and Lune don’t speak in their final moments, but they do look somewhat bitterly, though not outright angrily, at Verso. Finally, Verso himself fades away, along with the painter boy.
The scene cuts to the real world, where Maelle/Alicia and her family mourn over Verso’s grave. (Notice that Maelle is holding a little Esquie doll in this scene.) They stand in silence - the scene is undeniably tragic, but not without its comforts, as Aline leans her head on Renoir’s shoulder, implying they’ve begun to repair their relationship. One by one, the family heads inside, sharing meaningful looks with Maelle, who remains at Verso’s grave.She briefly sees a blurry apparition of her Expedition 33 friends- including Verso - before they fade away.
The implication here is thatVerso has finally found peace- he’s not forced to go on living just to keep his loved ones' fantasy alive. Although Aline, Maelle, Renoir, and Clea still feel sorrow at his passing, they’re able to cope with it more healthily, by relying on each other and their happy memories of Verso and his creativity. However,this does result in the death of everyone inside the canvas.
You Should Fight As Verso
The Best Ending
Ultimately, I’d argue thatyou get a better outcome from choosing Verso at the end ofClair Obscur. The ending presents you with a sort of trolley problem where there’s no one perfect answer. Either way, someone’s going to be unhappy: the question is, would you rather force Maelle to live in denial, her family to grieve her, and the painter boy/Verso to toil away eternally, or would you rather destroy that world so its people no longer have to suffer?
In the end, I came to prefer Verso’s argument because he makes an excellent point near the end of the game: the entire world inside the canvas exists under false pretenses, and its people are forced to suffer eternally because his family - first Aline, and then Maelle - is unable to process its grief. Choosing to fight as Verso ends that suffering, putting the best end toClair Obscur: Expedition 33.
