Expedition 33 is what happens when a Final Fantasy story doesn't pull its punches

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been relentlessly compared to Final Fantasyand rightfully so. Not only was it designed to resemble the tone and world-building of classic JRPGs, it consciously channels the spirit of those games in both its turn-based combat and character-driven stories. Final Fantasy 10in particular, has often been cited as a close cousin to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for its ensemble cast, emotional storytelling, PS2-era JRPG feel, and even its minigames. However, even though they unashamedly dug their roots in Final Fantasy, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 engages in something that many stories from Square Enix's beloved franchise have feared.

Final Fantasy has never been a stranger to tragedy, but in its modern era it has had great trouble committing to some of its most tragic beats. It can still reach loss, sacrifice, or death as emotional turning points, but it tends to play the Uno Reverse card and undo those moments by either reviving deceased characters or softening their departure in some way. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33in contrast, includes finality in a way Final Fantasy has become increasingly difficult to do. Instead of reversing the tragedy, it asks its players and characters to sit with it and accept it, letting the grief linger and putting an end to the most heartbreaking plot points.

Final Fantasy has had trouble committing to its toughest stories

Final Fantasy has never been afraid to let characters die or depart, but it's also shown to be afraid to let them be gone. One way or another it seems Final Fantasy characters are often resurrected or brought back, or their deaths are at least mitigated by ambiguity. One of the most recent examples of this is Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

In the original Final Fantasy 7Aerith dies and her death is final. After Sephiroth kills her, the party mourns her loss, and she is no longer a playable character from that point on. However, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirththe second game i Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, softens the blow of her death by clouding it in ambiguity. Instead of leaving players with a moment of finality upon her death, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth briefly presents a version of events in which Cloud appears to save Aerith, and then that moment breaks across overlapping realities and perceptions. Afterwards, Cloud continues to see and talk to her, even as the rest of the party mourns, creating a sense that Aerith is both gone and not completely gone at the same time. It's not the same as reviving her, but it does make her death less painful – one of the defining features of the original game.

Final Fantasy 16The story is another recent example of this. After witnessing his father's death, Joshua Rosfield awakens as the Phoenix and begins attacking those around him indiscriminately. In response, his brother, Clive Rosfield, then awakens Ifrit to fight the Phoenix, not knowing at the time that it was his brother. In the clash, Ifrit appears to kill Phoenix, eventually leading Clive to believe that he is responsible for his brother's death. The dispute, however, is that the nature of the Phoenix actually allows Joshua to survive the encounter. It is later revealed that Joshua's body was driven away by a secretive group called the Undying, and he later regains consciousness years after the Phoenix Gate, so he is not really dead despite the appearance of that fight.

It wasn't just Final Fantasys recent game that observed the resurrection trend either, which Final Fantasy 10 and 10-2 did the same thing from 2001 to 2003. In Final Fantasy 10Tidus effectively “dies” at the end of the game's story, as he ceases to exist in Spira's world after the final battle due to how his existence is tied to Fayth's dream and the summoning of Dream Zanarkand. After the party defeats Yu Yevon and completes the Sin cycle, Fayth stops dreaming of Zanarkand, meaning that Tidus' existence in Spira also collapses. So in the original Final Fantasy 10 story, Tidus' disappearance is essentially his “death” or permanent departure from the world that Yuna and her friends live in after Sin's defeat.

Then came Final Fantasy 10-2 with the obvious goal of somehow bringing Tidus back. Final Fantasy 10-2 begins after the events of 10, with Yuna still haunted by Tidu's disappearance. As she and her friends hunt for orbs and uncover more of Spira's history, they come across hints and memories of him, suggesting the possibility of his return. If players meet certain conditions, Final Fantasy 10-2The perfect ending plays out, where Fayth decides to grant Yuna's wish to see Tidus again, and he returns to Spira as a living presence instead of a dream. Here, Tidus is reunited with Yuna, and they even go to the place where Tidus first arrived on Spira to confirm that he does not immediately disappear, implying that he has become real in a way that he was not before.

Final Fantasy games that revive fallen characters

• Final Fantasy 2 – Characters who die in the main game story appear as playable in the optional Soul of Rebirth bonus scenario
• Final Fantasy 4: The After Years – Characters believed to be permanently gone (like Kain and others) in the original FF4 return
• Final Fantasy 10-2 – Tidus
• Final Fantasy 13-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 – Several characters return after apparent death or near death during the sequels, including Lightning, Serah, Vanille, and Fang
• Final Fantasy 16 -Joshua Rosfield
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – Aerith Gainsborough

What this “resurrection trend” ultimately does to Final Fantasy stories dilute the power of their most emotionally charged moments. When the death or departure can be looked back or reversed later, these moments lose their impact, and they begin to feel more provisional in nature. Tragedy becomes something the series gestures toward rather than something it fully commits to, allowing players to expect that no loss is truly permanent, and no goodbye is completely final.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 kills Gustave and sticks to it

Unlike many Final Fantasy game, however, one of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33s most painful stories happen, and the game never apologizes for it, and it never tries to undo it. That beat is none other than the moment Gustave is killed by Renoir at the end of Act 1, and it's one that no one saw coming because the play not only hides it well, but once it's done, it's done. Almost expertly, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leaving players in denial throughout the game, as it even gave Gustave a skill tree larger than his lifespan. This created the illusion that the beloved character would eventually return, but he never did. Just as Aline Dessendre is expected to accept her son's death and Alicia (Maelle), her brother, the players are expected to accept Gustave's death.

What does Gustave's death do in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 work is precisely that it refuses to alleviate the discomfort it creates. Over 35 years Final Fantasy conditioning has taught players to expect an escape hatch, either through uproar, revelation, or reinterpretation, so the game intentionally leaves room for denial and then never fills it. Gustave does not return in another timeline; his death is not void, and there is no later twist designed to mitigate the loss or leave it in ambiguity. By forcing players to accept his absence, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 makes death final in a way that many Final Fantasy stories avoid. It trusts its players to endure grief without having to reverse it, and in doing so proves that finality can be more satisfying than resurrection.

Released

April 24, 2025

ESRB

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

Developer

Sandfall Interactive

Publisher

Kepler Interactive