The following contains major spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been making some massive waves since its release, with almost every aspect of the game garnering praise to some extent. However, while Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 certainly has a lot of things going for it in its gameplay, music, and worldbuilding, it arguably wouldn't be as successful as it is without such a gripping, emotional story. Set in a world where an annual apocalypse called the "Gommage" jeopardizes their existence, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 pulls players into a story where the characters face an ongoing threat brought about by an entity simply known as the "Paintress," whom they set out to stop once and for all.
This means that the majority of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story builds up to one moment, where the game's main characters finally confront the Paintress in battle. While the story continues even after the battle, the fight with the Paintress represents a massive turning point in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's narrative, as it essentially concludes one story and begins another. The Paintress isn't a typical antagonist, though, and that much is revealed once players finally face her. As the fight with the Paintress comes to a close, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 pulls a fast one on players with a mechanical shift they likely never saw coming, and it helps give heart to the being the game's world once portrayed as heartless.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a rare RPG that feels mechanically bold, emotionally grounded, and unforgettable long after the credits roll.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Paintress Fight Is Emotionally Devastating
Clair Obscur's Paintress Fight Takes an Emotional Turn Near Its End
The entirety of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story is incredibly emotional, pulling on players' heartstrings at every possible chance with plot threads that are so gut-wrenching because they are so relatable. However, one of the game's most heartbreaking moments happens during the fight with the Paintress, particularly in her final phase. Once players whittle down the Paintress' health bar and trigger her final phase, her mechanics change drastically, to the point that players might wish to stop fighting her altogether.
The story continues after the fight with the Paintress, but since Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's narrative revolves around the Paintress, it makes the fight with her one of the game's most important encounters.
Rather than becoming even stronger during her final phase as most RPG bosses tend to do, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Paintress admits to her defeat and begins healing the party rather than attacking them. Naturally, this mechanic is expected to tap into the psyche of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's players by potentially convincing them to give up and stop fighting. Unfortunately, not only is there no way to flee the fight, but no matter how long players don't attack the Paintress, they will eventually be forced to deliver a final blow and end the battle.
The Paintress Fight's Healing Mechanics Tell the Story of a Loving Mother
This ultimately accomplishes so much more than simply being a unique boss mechanic and instead effectively attaches the player to the character of the Paintress, who is actually the heart and soul of Verso's mother, Aline Dessendre. One of the biggest revelations in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's story is that Lumiere and the surrounding world are not real and have instead been painted onto a magical canvas by Verso himself, after which the Paintress expanded and reshaped it to immortalize her son's memory after his tragic death. She then entered the canvas to be with him again, even though her body remained outside the canvas.
As a member of a special group of individuals known as "Painters," Aline, Verso, and the rest of the Dessendre family can paint entire worlds onto a canvas and see them come to life within the canvas. In the case of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Lumiere and the world that surrounds it, Verso painted it all before his passing and Aline reshaped it in an effort to be with him again. This is why things shift so dramatically during the fight with the Paintress in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, as she eventually stops resisting and instead does whatever she can to keep the memory of her son and his companions alive by healing them.
Rather than becoming even stronger during her final phase as most RPG bosses tend to do, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Paintress admits to her defeat and begins healing the party rather than attacking them.
In the end, the fight with the Paintress tells the story of a loving mother who has simply been unable to cope with the loss of her son. Rather than defend herself against the memory that she preserved within the canvas, she used every ounce of power left in her to try and keep that memory alive. It likely wasn't only for selfish reasons, however, and her sudden healing mechanics are also just Aline trying to show her love for her son. It's arguably one of the most tragic moments in RPG history, but it's just another sign of how Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has potentially changed the genre forever.
-
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
