Clair Obscur: Expedition 33has been one of the biggest success stories of the decade in gaming, combining an unbelievable story behind the game’s development with a title that has brought turn-based combat to the modern era in an innovative way. Even those who typically don’t enjoy turn-based combat loveExpedition 33because of how active it is, but this isn’t the only part of the game receiving massive praise. The music is astounding and, when combined with a world unlike any other, it creates an experience that many have gravitated toward even if they aren’t fans of the genre.
This is all tied togetherwith a mysterious yet heart-wrenching story about trying to overcome grief with a hook that pulls players straight in, yet as the game progresses, there are still just as many questions as there are answers. Even after Act 2 and the nature of the world are explained, this expansion opens many doors that lead to more mysteries, and with Sandfall Interactive possibly looking at adding more content, exploring these mysteries could be a way of getting moreExpedition 33. Perhaps a walk in the past could be the perfect way to uncover these mysteries.
Sandfall Could Be Making More Content For Expedition 33
Although What This Content Could Be Is Vague
A part of what has made Sandfall Interactive so likable duringExpedition 33’s development is how openly the studio has communicated with its fans, and the officialExpedition 33X account has updated fans that the studio is exploring ways to improve the game. WhileExpedition 33is a very polished experience, especially in the modern gaming scene of buggy and incomplete releases, it has already received some tweaks. One of the main oneswas a challenge mode to give players craving higher difficulty beyond expert mode after one-shotting every Nevronin sight despite nerfs to Maelle.
What makes this particular update so exciting is thatSandfall is looking to add new content toExpedition 33, although it isn’t known what this means. This could just be some tweaks to bosses, adding a few enemies, or a full-blown expansion, but Sandfall is keeping it vague for now as it explores what the best options are. It wouldn’t be the most bizarre thing to expectDLC afterExpedition 33’s success, or for it to have some added scenes and content similar toBaldur’s Gate 3’s road after its release.
Sandfall is famous for its small team, but the studio made space for a Happiness Manager, Monoco the Dog, who Monoco the Gestral is named after.
The problem with this would beClair Obscur’s ending. While there are still plenty of questions to address beyond the game’s endings, there isn’t much of an avenue to explore them,especially after Verso’s ending erases the Canvas and neatly moves both the game and the Dessendre family on from his death.Clair Obscurwill find it extremely tricky to add more content to its ending, although a glimpse into the past might be the better avenue, especially since the game’s third act is where it hides themajority of its optional content.
New Content Could Give Players A Glimpse Into The Past Of Verso’s Canvas
Cutscenes Where Painted Verso Thinks About Real Verso’s Childhood
Although the Verso player gets to know is not the real deal,it is stated that he has all the real Verso’s memories, and makes a few statements about the Canvas' creationfrom when he was a child. One example comes after the party manages to beat the mighty Sprong, who Verso states was one of Clea’s first creations, and it could be interesting to see more of Verso and Clea’s childhood when making the Cavnas. From what the player is told, Aline (The Paintress) and Renoir’s involvement changed the Canvas dramatically.
It would be neat to know what Verso’s Canvas was like before this, especially before the Fracture, and while there are little snippets here and there, a clear picture isn’t painted, ironically. Humans weren’t around before Aline came into the Canvas, and Verso was responsible for the Grandis, Gestrals, and Esquie, while Clea made the Nevrons, but beyond this,the extent to which Canvas was changed is known, especially in the time period prior to the Fracture but after Aline’s arrival. Knowing what the Canvas was like during Clea and Verso’s childhood could help this.
It is assumed that the Paintress, not Clea,created by the White Nevrons, which is why they are friendly to the Expedition.
Perhaps new enemies are added that were some of Clea and Verso’s first creations, and when they are beaten,Painted Verso reminisces about how the Canvas has changed, maybe with a cutscene from his childhood. Painted Verso could even reminisce about when he came into existence and the moment the Fracture happened after fighting a boss that was part of Expedition 0, similar to Simon. The real Clea is stated to have tried to destroy Expedition 0 when they refused to aid her, and maybe she could act as an extremely difficult flashback boss to give her more scenes in the game.
Clea Deserves More In Expedition 33
And More Content Could Be Used To Alleviate This
Although Clea was responsible for painting half the Canvas (that’s what she claims, at least),she is the only member of the family who doesn’t get actively involved in the Canvas during the story. Quite frankly, she has better things to do, and while this is reasonable, it does paint her out of the story, and she has the least to do in the story out of the members of the Dessendre family. It would be great to see more of her, especially since she is the only one who can paint over someone else’s work, making Simon one ofExpedition 33’s hardest bosses.
Clea has remained a bit of a divisive figure,mainly because of how direct and cruel she can be, from being dismissive of Alicia to changing her painted self into a Nevron making machine. Perhaps seeing her when she was a child, playing and making Nevrons with young Verso could help players understand how much this Canvas meant to her and how it possibly hurts her to see how much her family has ruined it. Given how close they were in age, I assume that Verso’s death hurt Clea as much as everyone else, even if she did well to hide it.
While Clea is probably the best avenue forward for a potential sequel,that doesn’t mean more of her shouldn’t be shown inClair Obscur: Expedition 33. Seeing into the Canvas' past, as well as more of her in her younger years with Verso, could be a great way to add more content, making cutscenes accessible after taking on even tougher Nevrons. Despite how difficult he was, everyone loved Simon as a boss, and more of that could be what Sandfall Interactive has in mind.
