Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 almost immediately cemented itself as a cutting-edge RPG when it launched this spring, and developer Sandfall Interactive looks set to capitalize on that. Sandfall has actually more or less confirmed that one Clair Obscur sequels or spin-offs are on the way, making it clear that the studio isn't done telling stories in this world just yet.
Major spoilers ahead too Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
One of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33s best and riskiest narrative move is its Matrix-esque twist, which reveals that the world of the expeditions is nothing more than a fading simulation created by a young Verso before his tragic death at the hands of the writers, about whom we still know very little. It would have been easy for this “it was all a dream” twist to trivialize Clair Obscur world, but it actually expanded it and introduced a larger, more mysterious conflict between different artistic clans in a “real world”.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 knows the power of a personal story
One of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's best features is its story, but the reasoning behind that is because it touches on a universal experience.
Future Clair Obscur games probably won't include expeditions and Lumiere
Now that we know that Lumiere, The Paintress, and every character except Maelle/Alicia are manifestations of Verso's painted world, the illusion of the expeditions is completely shattered: Lumiere's citizens are not “real” and that dream of conquering the Paintress is depressingly pointless. It's not even she who causes Lumiere's people to die younger and younger – she tries to prevent this phenomenon.
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Thus, each story centered around a different expedition is doomed to be underwhelming and derivative. This is especially true when you think about it, regardless of which Clair Obscur the end is made canon, Expedition 33 is the last of its kind: the canvas is either destroyed, or it lives on, but without the need for expeditions. It might be interesting to see, for example, Verso's relationship to previous expeditions, but this concept would generally not be conducive to an interesting, or even comprehensible, story. Yes, any way Clair Obscurs sequel moving forward, it's extremely likely that the Expeditions, including beloved characters like Verso, Gustave, and Esquie, will never return—at least not in any traditional sense.
What path might future Clair Obscur games take?
The most obvious next step for Clair Obscur franchise would be to explore the enigmatic writers and their conflict with the painters. This is the most prominent and pressing conflict in the game's world, and is very much not resolved by the end of Expedition 33. Since the writers' assault on the Dessendre household, and the subsequent death of Verso, is essentially the catalyst for everything that happens in the game, further exploration of the feud would arguably be the most satisfying and logical continuation of the story. And again, we now know that any conflict within the canvas is, for lack of a better term, fake, so it makes sense to follow the “real” conflict forward.
The powers of writers are not well defined yet, but we can assume that they have powers similar to the creative powers of painters. Maybe they can create advanced simulations from books rather than canvases, for example. Next Clair Obscur The game could focus on characters like Alicia and Clea as they continue to fight the Writers, perhaps getting lost in a deep, labyrinthine Writer simulation along the way. Of course, this kind of development would have to be a massive departure from the first game, as the construction of the canvas of the universe would be irrelevant. Clair Obscur Writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen has said that there is no “canon” ending, so perhaps the next games will be more like spin-offs than direct sequels – they likely won't feature Expeditions.
How future Clair Obscur games may still feature expeditions
For the sake of speculation, it is worth discussing how expeditions might return in the future Clair Obscur games — at least the potentially interesting ways. One possibility that comes to mind is making the end canon A Life to Paint. This is strongly implied to be the “bad” ending, as Maelle succumbs to the delusion that the canvas is real and descends into insanity, keeping the fake world going against the will of her family and at least one of its inhabitants. It can be interesting to invert Expedition 33 dynamic in a sequel that follows the familiar faces from the first game as they try to defeat the now insane Maelle and end their doomed existence.
Alternatively, the characters can from Expedition 33 could return through a simulation created by the authors. If the writers got wind of Maelle/Alicia's adventures on screen, they could mock, manipulate or psychologically torture her by creating renditions of the same characters in a new simulation. The possibilities for recontextualization are almost endless here, and such a narrative premise could help to deepen Clair Obscurs comments on the nature of reality.
That said, my gut still tells me that next Clair Obscur The project will offer a clean break from the expeditions, as they have already served their purpose. When discussing the possibility of the future Clair Obscur game last summer, said Sandfall Interactive founder Guillaume Broche, “Expedition 33 is one of the stories we want to tell [the Clair Obscur] franchise,” suggesting that this particular actor's journey will tie into its eponymous game. Med Clair Obscurs lore expands so much at the end of Expedition 33s campaign, the sky's the limit for more inventive storytelling, and all signs point to Sandfall trying something new with upcoming sequels or spin-offs. This is a good thing, because this philosophy is what created Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 so loved in the first place.
- Released
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April 24, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer
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Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher
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Kepler Interactive
