Expedition 33’s Endgame is Exactly What It Needs to Be, Nothing More and Nothing Less

Given Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Game Awards 2025 sweep, it’s practically undeniable that the game is a masterpiece across the board. An emotional, interesting story? Check. Brilliant performances from the Clair Obscur cast that elevate its strong writing to new heights? Check. Unique gameplay that modernizes turn-based combat through dodges and parries, ensuring even the biggest haters of the genre can enjoy the game? That box can be ticked off as well, as can the ones for stellar music and beautiful visuals. Still, no game is perfect, something that applies to even The Game Awards’ winning-est title ever.

While issues with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are minor, they do exist. The Gestral mini-games are a good example of this, as while they were made intentionally frustrating to call back to classic Final Fantasy activities, that doesn’t really excuse how lackluster they are. And if someone doesn’t have a fondness for Final Fantasy, they won’t even see the volleyball or platforming as a loving homage, but rather a tedious barrier to 100%. Awkward jumping and platforming animations are also a nitpick one could make, and in the minds of Clair Obscur’s own developers, the endgame format is another valid criticism. However, there’s a case to be made that the way the endgame is handled is perfectly fine as is, with it having a different issue than the one the studio mentions.

In Defense of Clair Obscur’s Endgame Approach

In an interview with Edge Magazine, Sandfall Interactive’s Lead Game Designer Michel Nohra said the following about endgame content. In short, the team feels the immediacy required to have a challenging final boss fight wasn’t communicated well enough, meaning players would crush them if they did all the side content.

At face value, this is a fair argument from Nohra, as it echoes a criticism other players have had about steamrolling the final boss. However, much like Sandfall Interactive underestimated how much gamers and reviewers would love Clair Obscur—in the same interview, lead programmer Tom Guillerman said that Sandfall’s developers “weren’t sure our game would be good”—this stance underestimates the awareness of players. RPGs have been around for decades, and in that time, most have become fully aware of the concept of overleveling and outpacing the story through grinding or completing hard side content early. When experienced players took their newfound Esquie abilities and completed all the optional content in Expedition 33, they were likely well aware that they would be overleveled for the finale. Even newcomers to the genre likely would have expected as much.

Sure, gamers as a whole may need some handholding via climbable ledges being marked yellow or follower characters giving puzzle hints, but still, many will have surely known what they were getting into by saving the confrontation with Renoir for last. And realistically, it doesn’t matter if he’s a pushover; given the painting power of his daughter Maelle by that point, not to mention the rest of her party, it almost makes sense for her father to be quickly overpowered. Some people may laugh at how easily they win the fight if they’ve encountered optional content like Clair Obscur‘s Clea beforehand, but they’ll quickly refocus on the brilliant story unfolding before them.

Why The Final Boss Being ‘Easy’ Isn’t a Big Deal

Image via Sandfall Interactive

While it’s true that a handful of players may have expected the final boss to scale, wishing for a hard fight, the reality is that a vast majority of players likely used the story’s ending as a reward because of the quality of the narrative up to that point. They will have wanted to end their journey when the credits rolled, with their time in the world of Clair Obscur concluding when the characters do. With the story being such a high point throughout, it was the real reward players were holding off on claiming. The fight itself will have been an afterthought for many going in. The music, the dialogue, the plot: that was the actual carrot on the stick for players who did side content first, some of whom may have even wanted to go in overleveled so they could see the story play out with minimal interruption, as it was just that good.

On top of this, there’s little reason to feel cheated out of a good boss fight with the true version of Renoir, given that the Endless Tower exists. Here, players can battle Painted Love, a more powerful version of the true Renoir that fights side-by-side with the Paintress. So while the main story’s final boss may have been “disappointing” in theory, if players did all side content first like Sandfall is saying, then they will have already battled a better version of Renoir through the Endless Tower and seen the fight at its best. With that battle fresh in their minds, it would be even harder to feel let down by a version they surely knew would be weaker going in. Add on the fact that the actual final boss of the game—Maelle or Verso—is always a breeze, yet nobody complains given the emotional intensity of the fight, and it’s clear this endgame flaw Sandfall is pointing to really isn’t all that significant.

Clair Obscur’s Endgame Has a Different Problem Holding It Back From Greatness

While Sandfall doesn’t regret letting players loose in Act 3 to complete all the side content or finish the story, and it really shouldn’t, that doesn’t mean the endgame content is perfect. Completionists may not have needed a warning to fight the final boss ASAP for intended difficulty, but a different warning would have been beneficial. After beating the story, Sandfall could have appealed to non-completionists by directing them to some of the best endgame content they’d miss if they stopped once credits rolled. Those who go straight through the story and do nothing else will miss out on things like Flying Manor or Verso’s Drafts (added after launch to celebrate Expedition 33’s Game Awards success), some of the most content-filled and enjoyable dungeons in the entire game. Instead of appealing to the hardcore fans who want to do everything, pointing those who just rush through the story to see some of the best content would be a worthy endeavor.

In addition to highlighting standout endgame content to Clair Obscur players, it’s impossible to tell if players will be entering a side area with huge story implications or a tiny zone containing nothing but a random music disc, which could discourage casuals from exploring thoroughly. There’s also the topic of Simon. This endgame boss is arguably one of the hardest enemies in video game history, but not in a good way. While he was meant to be an ultimate final test for players, Simon is terribly overturned, forcing players to change their playstyle in ways they may have no interest in and throwing unblockable moves their way. Issues with Expedition 33‘s Simon include:

• An absurd amount of health and one-shot kill potential
• The ability to pull downed characters off the canvas so they can’t be revived
• An unblockable attack that wipes the chosen party and forces players to finish the fight with their reserve squad
• Extremely long, hard to read combos that get longer with each phase
• Ignores stuns, preventing counterplay

To be clear, there is fun to be had with Simon; parrying the rapid barrage of attacks he levels at the player as his health gets low, with his epic boss music blaring, is immensely satisfying when actually pulled off. Yet, much like Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s final boss takes the difficulty too far to the point of being unfair, forcing most players to break their own rules and change builds just to win, Simon is so overtuned that most players simply make one-shot builds in Expedition 33 to skip his final phase.

This is a shame, as a vast majority of players are essentially choosing to skip a large chunk of a fight that should be the most rewarding in the game. Simon could have worked with a bit less power at his disposal. Perhaps stunning him could actually matter, and he couldn’t do the attack that forces players to finish the fight with their backup characters (which may be underleveled, requiring boring level grinding to accommodate). As is, he can leave players annoyed with an otherwise well-balanced game, which is a significant problem.

Fortunately, the new Verso’s Drafts zone offers a much better endgame boss in the form of Osquio, who is brutally challenging but far more fair. Yes, those who want the Platinum trophy for Clair Obscur will still have to endure Simon, but at least they have a better-balanced encounter to enjoy with their maxed-out parties after.

Ultimately, Clair Obscur’s endgame is good, and it’s a worthy part of a spectacular game. Giving players the freedom to explore in Act 3 was a good decision, and the lack of warning isn’t as big an issue as Sandfall may have thought. Other problems do exist, such as a lack of direction to must-see endgame content and Simon as a whole, but nothing’s perfect. Not even the best game of 2025. Still, Expedition 33’s endgame gets the job done, with the pros outweighing the cons and the content being worth players’ time.

Released

April 24, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Developer(s)

Sandfall Interactive

Publisher(s)

Kepler Interactive