Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 rocked the gaming world when it was released in April. Besides some minor patches, developer Sandfall Interactive has been quiet on anything relating to the game in a big way. Recently, though, they announced a major upcoming update that will tweak some mechanics and add a new area, new costumes, and more.
There is no word on when this update will be released for the game, but fans remain excited. Hopefully, it won’t turn into a Hollow Knight: Silksong example and get delayed for years. So, let’s get into some questions that were left hanging in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and how this update could answer them.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Every Playable Character, Ranked
With six battle-ready characters, who among them reigns supreme in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?
There will be spoilers for the game.
Are There More Like Esquie Out There?
A Balloon-like God Among Men
One of the strangest and strongest characters in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is Esquie. Players will meet him, hoping Esquie can escort them across the world, but he needs a rock first. In his den, there is another entity of the same caliber, Francois. It’s all a rather odd meeting.
Both of these characters are supposed to be some of the strongest in the world, and this is especially true for Esquie once all of his abilities are unlocked. They seem to have no equals, but an update could have Esquie reveal there are others like him in a faraway sky kingdom. This update could shine more light on Esquie and give players a cool new area to patrol that would make sense to have been hidden.
Experiencing The Past Expeditions
Tomorrow Comes
Sandfall Interactive already has the blueprints to make thirty-two compelling sequels if they wanted. That’s because Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 followed the adventures of the thirty-third expedition to go after The Paintress, meaning thirty-two came before. Future sequels could all be prequels, but fans probably want to see more than failed missions.
8 Strongest Characters In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Ranked
From NPCs to party members, these Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 characters can demolish small cities if they want.
Still, prequels are great when done right, like in the case of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7. The same could be true of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Sandfall Interactive could give players a taste of what a prequel could do for the franchise in an update. The team could discover a way to communicate with the dead or relive past events in a limited capacity through time travel. In a world filled with paint, anything is possible.
The Original World Of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
What Was It Like Before The Paintress?
There’s another idea that would be cool for players to experience through time traveling. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 borrows from the best JRPGs around, like Final Fantasy and Super Mario RPG, so why not Chrono Trigger when it comes to time travel? Seeing the world before The Paintress took over would be interesting.
This is a time when Maelle was herself, Alicia. The real version of Verso was alive, Monoco was more complete, and so on. It was a time for carefree adventures. This new area of the game wouldn’t necessarily have to use time travel to let players see the past. The party could dive into Maelle’s mind instead, sort of like the Palaces of Persona 5. Likewise, if this update is on the nose, then perhaps Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could get Persona-themed costumes with Atlus’s approval.
Clea And The Real World
Managing Her Family And The Writers
There are many shocking moments in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the biggest of which reveals that Alicia and Maelle are the same person. Not only that, but Maelle comes from the real world, Paris, and every aspect of the world players traverse in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is just an imaginary painted world. It’s like discovering an entire movie was just a dream.
While Maelle was in the painted world along with her mother and father, Maelle’s sister Clea took care of things around the estate. She conducted business, drove away an organization called The Writers, and helped everyone within the painted world survive through body maintenance. Getting to play as Clea in the real world would be a twist from a gameplay perspective, or perhaps this section could be a deep dive into someone's mind as well: Clea’s.
Exiting The Canvas
The Painted World In Paris
Beyond seeing what Clea is up to in the real world leading up to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s ending, perhaps the update could further the story instead. It seems pretty clear in the “good” ending with Verso that the painted world was destroyed to save Maelle and to preserve the memories of everyone involved. It’s the better of the two main endings, albeit a sad one.
Most Overpowered Skills In Clair Obscur Expedition 33, Ranked
Party members in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be more than just well armed with these downright overpowered skills.
But nothing is ever written in stone, and Sandfall Interactive could easily make a case for a character or two slipping through the canvas and into the real world. Is it even possible for characters created on canvas to live in the real world? Would they need food, oxygen, or any other basic human necessity to stay alive? This idea seems worth exploring in a sequel, but the updated content could serve as a prequel for things to come. Sandfall Interactive is being cagey on details, so anything is possible.
Exploring The What-If Of The Ending
Make A Bad Choice, Live With Your Consequences
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s ending with Maelle, which is considered to be the “bad” ending, could be the focus of the update. Rather than forwarding the timeline in the “good” ending’s universe, or giving players more to do in the base game, Sandfall Interactive could decide to be a bit wacky. By sticking with the “bad” ending, they could take Maelle and make her into a Paintress-like entity who forms a new final dungeon.
Players could then take Verso and the others to finish her off, which would perhaps intersect with the original game’s “good” ending. This way, Sandfall Interactive could be more experimental with the updated content while tying all timelines together. It’s not a perfect scenario, but it could answer some more questions about Maelle’s past and how she connects with her real-world self, Alicia.
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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
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
