The following contains spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has excellent gameplay and offers players an enthralling world to explore, but at the heart of it all is its compelling, thought-provoking, and immensely emotional narrative. JRPGs are known for having deep narratives, but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story is on a different level, primarily due to its personal nature and therefore its ability to connect with players in a way that many other stories in the genre have difficulty achieving. As players progress through Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's narrative, they will find that it is packed with plot-altering revelations about its world and the characters within it, making it engrossing from start to finish.
One thing that is unclear by the end of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story is who its antagonist truly is. Throughout the story, multiple antagonists are introduced, from the Paintress to Renoir to the Nevrons themselves. However, by the end of the story, players might come to realize that none of these are the game's true antagonists. Instead, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's true antagonist is a strong, emotional force at work behind the scenes and influencing the actions of the game's most dangerous characters. That force is none other than grief — an emotion that everyone experiences at some point in their life.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 May Already Have One 2025 Game Award in the Bag
While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 certainly has what it takes to win Game of the Year for 2025, it may have already guaranteed itself one other award.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's True Antagonist Is Grief
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Initially Seems to Feature Multiple Antagonists
From the onset, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's antagonist appears to be the Paintress — a mysterious figure who brings about an annual apocalypse each year that destroys everyone of a certain age. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 calls this the "Gommage," where those individuals are essentially erased and never able to return. In response to the Paintress' destruction, Expeditions are set out each year in an attempt to destroy her and stop the Gommage once and for all.
This is where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 derives its name, as it centers around the 68th Expedition, Expedition 33, after 67 failed attempts of an annual apocalypse that began with the age of 100.
Another antagonist is introduced not long after that by the name of "Renoir," who is initially shown opposing the party for unknown reasons. Throughout Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story, players are forced into battles with Renoir, none of which truly defeat him. Regardless of what happens, it always seems as though Renoir is adamantly against the party and as though he may be the most powerful character in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Additionally, there are the game's Nevrons, which act as the game's most recurring enemies and could therefore be seen as the antagonists.
No matter what Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads players to believe about its antagonist, though, neither the Paintress nor Renoir nor the Nevrons seem to fill that role. Nevrons are only mediary antagonists, as the overarching conflict never culminates into one massive fight against them. Renoir, though he is initially portrayed as an antagonist, is eventually revealed to be more of a protagonist whose only desire is to save and protect his family. But therein lies the truth about the real antagonist of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Grief Is the Motivator Behind Every Destructive Force in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Shortly after the fight with the Paintress in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it is revealed that the entire world is actually fake, painted onto a magical canvas by Verso in the real world. When Verso was killed in a tragic fire, unable to deal with the loss, his mother Aline — the Paintress — entered Verso's canvas and reshaped what he had painted so she could be with him once again. She is thus overcome by her grief, with the Gommage being a complex expression of it and her desire to maintain a world where her son still exists.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's true antagonist is a strong, emotional force at work behind the scenes and influencing the actions of the game's most dangerous characters.
In the end, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's true antagonist is unchecked grief. The game's story shows that grief can be a powerful foe when people aren't willing to let go of those they have lost. It can manipulate, govern, and twist perceptions to the point that people look for artificial ways to prolong their misery if they don't embrace the grieving process by accepting the loss. Grief can lead to decisions that are more harmful in the long run, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's narrative shows how it can even make people the antagonists of their own story if they don't manage it well.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
