Summary
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is tough, with difficult optional bosses even on easy mode.
- Different bosses like Grosse Tete and Golgra have unique challenges that test player skills.
- Advanced bosses like Simon and Serpenphare require optimal gear and strategy to defeat due to high difficulty.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a lot in common with Soulslike games, from the Expedition Flag outposts being like bonfires to the refillable Tints. Most of all, this game is beyond tough. The critical path won't be that challenging if players keep up with levels and try to find at least everything in the story-focused dungeons.
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There are also difficulty levels to make things a bit easier for beginners in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. That said, the game's optional bosses will not let up even on the easiest difficulty. They are some of the hardest bosses in any turn-based RPG, so let's go through the ones that can give players the most trouble.
A quick nod to the Endless Tower, featuring a barrage of difficult fights and recurring bosses. The final trial is challenging, but the overall difficulty is well paced, and it’s a great way to level up for some of these other fights, which require a bit more planning.
7 Grosse Tete
Test Those Controller Skills
- Location: Outside Coastal Cave
Grosse Tete is mostly a giant face attached to tiny arms and legs in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It's located outside of the Coastal Cave, which is on an island near the West side of the map. Grosse Tete looks like a reject angel enemy from the Bayonetta series, and he doesn’t have a lot of diverse attacks, but he will give players a workout with their hands.
He will attack the party on every turn, and it’s easy enough to counter at first. However, his combo gets increasingly stronger, faster, and adds more attacks the longer the fight goes on, with players having to counter upwards of twenty times or more in a row. With a large HP pool, players will have a hard time whittling this boss down without cramping their hands on the controller.
6 Sprong
A Frightening Kaiju In The Sea
- Location: North Of Sirene
Sprong is chilling out in the ocean, somewhat close to a beach north of Sirene in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Its approach and gait are reminiscent of waiting for Diamond Weapon to arrive at its beach in the original Final Fantasy 7. Like Grosse Tete, Sprong has a lot of HP, but its fight will not cramp hands as much.
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Most of its attacks will go after the whole party, and the lumbering nature of Sprong’s arms can make its attacks hard to judge initially. With enough leveling up and good gear, players should eventually be able to plow through this one.
5 Golgra
The Number One Chef
- Location: Gestral Village
Golgra is the chief, or Chef in French, of Gestral Village in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and can be fought several times. If players talk to her as Monoco, she will insist on a duel, and then Monoco has a relationship quest that will result in a fight, but Verso can join that one.
While challenging, those fights are nothing compared to the one players can optionally initiate within Gestral Village with characters except Monoco, which will be a one-on-one fight. Her speed is quick, meaning her attacks are hard to judge, and she gets a lot of turns in a row. There’s a reason why she is the Chef, and this fight will prove that.
4 Mime
Unlike Other Clowns
- Location: Sunless Cliffs
There are a lot of Mimes players can fight in the game, and they can all be tricky, but their challenge will whittle down with time as players figure out their gimmicks. Most Mimes are squat and silly-looking, but then there is the Mime located in Sunless Cliffs, which is approximately southeast of Sirene.
Deep below, players will find a door, and then they will have to choose one character to use against the Mime once they enter said door. What makes this fight difficult beyond the solo venture is that the Mime’s attack and defense stats are god-tier, meaning that players will need to have a lot of patience to see this one through, and the ability to use Break in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wouldn’t hurt, either.
3 Serpenphare
Serpent Of The Skies
- Location: Floating Above The Lower Middle, East Side Of The Map
Serpenphare is on the next level of difficult boss fights in the game, leaning towards the unfair side. This floating dragon can be seen flying around the east side of the map, near one of the bigger open bodies of water disconnected from the land. Serpenphare has speed, meaning it can take a lot of turns, but its ability to sap AP from the party is more troubling.
Without AP, the party cannot use any skills, from healing spells to offensive attacks. This makes the fight more challenging, as players will mostly have to rely on using normal attacks and items in a pinch, which can take a while.
2 Clea
Healing Is A Cheap Trick
- Location: Flying Manor
Clea can be located in the Flying Manor, an otherworldly version of The Manor located around the lower to middle part of the map accessible via Esquie in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. What Simon has in strength, Clea has in healing, as she will not attack the party directly.
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Instead, she will summon a wide array of monsters, making it hard to judge their attacks. There are so many varieties to account for, and their ghostly visages can be hard to see. If players do not counter these attacks, Clea will heal around half a million HP. This means, like Simon, no mistakes can be made; otherwise, players will essentially have to start from scratch, which can be disheartening.
1 Simon
A Missing Expedition Member
- Location: Renoir’s Drafts
The first group of bosses listed here are in one tier, Serpenphare is in another, and then the last two bosses are miles above the competition as some of the hardest bosses in RPG history. Simon can be located in one of the most haunting locations in the game below Renoir’s Drafts, which can be accessed via a sea portal that shouldn’t be too hard to spot in the upper region of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s map.
One hit from him can easily deal anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 damage, and that’s not from a combo attack. That’s just one attack in a series of about seven. This means players need the best gear, must be at max level, and have to adapt to Simon's move set to be able to Dodge or Parry in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Simon is so tough that Dark Souls bosses would be scared to face him, which saps the fun out of participating in this battle.
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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
