Summary
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33follows a young group of heroes as they attempt to defeat a being known as “The Paintress,” who paints a number in the sky each year, making it so anyone who is that age or older disappears. It’s a harrowing journey, but the ride to the final destination is more enjoyable than you might think.
To achieve their goal, Gustave, Lune, Maelle, and the rest of the party must travel across the Continent, which is full of diverse, immersive, and memorablelocations. While there are plenty of optional areas to explore, there are certain places you must visit to advance the story, and some are certainly more interesting than others.
10Monoco’s Station
Act 2, Second Location
Monoco’s Station is one of the smallest locations in Clair Obscur, but it’s an important one as you’llfind your final party member here - Monoco. There aren’t many snowy regions in the game, so this area sticks out for its chilly atmosphere and icy pathways.
The area of this region that stands out the most is the dilapidated train station at the end. It’s almost creepy how empty it is at first, and it is still strange seeing elements from the real world in this fantastical environment. The place fills up with minor characters after a boss battle, which helps liven up Monoco’s Station a bit.
9Gestral Village
Act 1, Fourth Location
The Gestral Village is the first area you’ll visit in Act 1 that isn’t crawling with enemies, so you’re able to finally catch your breath before moving on to the next zone. It’s the only location on the Continent that feels like a normal city, except for the fact that the citizens want to fight each other all the time.
As you walk around the Gestral Village, you can interact with the locals to learn more about the world around you and can spend Chroma on valuable weapons, Pictos, andcosmetics for your party. The area doesn’t change much as you advance the story, though, so there isn’t much of a reason to come back once you’ve done everything.
8Spring Meadows
Act 1, First Location
Your adventure truly begins in Spring Meadows, the first region in the game that allows you to explore it at your own pace while battling enemies and searching for new gear. It’s almost breathtaking once you take your first steps into the open area, and it sets an incredibly high bar for everything that follows.
Spring Meadows contains everything you’ll see in locations down the road - optional bosses, multiple routes to choose from, and gorgeous vistas that’ll make you want to walk, not run, through every section. This area is theperfect length and difficulty for the beginning of the adventure, and seamlessly absorbs you into the world of Clair Obscur.
7Visages
Act 2, Fourth Or Fifth Location
Aside from the optional areas, Clair Obscur is a fairly linear game until you reach the end of Act 2. There, you can decide whether you want to go to one of two areas in any order to progress the story, though you’re advised to visit Visages before Sirene.
The island is covered with large, unsettling faces that make you feel like someone is watching you at all times. Visages is simultaneously fascinating and horrifying, but it’s one of the easier locations to navigate with easy-to-follow pathways that lead you to three valleys, which represent anger, joy, and sadness.
6Lumiere
Prologue And Act 3
Lumiere is the bookend location for Expedition 33 and acts as the home to both the gripping prologue and the epic finale. Your hometown changes drastically between the two visits, almost as much as our heroes do from when they left to when they finally return.
At the beginning, Lumiere is a beautiful cityfull of lively residents despite their impending doom. It’s colorful and full of life, which is something you won’t really encounter again on your quest. When you finally return, Lumiere is empty and crumbling slowly. It’s heartbreaking, but the perfect spot for the final boss fight.
5Old Lumiere
Act 2, Third Location
One of the first things you’ll notice about Old Lumiere are the golden swords that pierce the ground throughout the area. Without them, this region would be a gray blur of decaying buildings and floating stones. The contrast between light and dark leaves a lot for the imagination and makes Old Lumiere one of the most memorable places in the game.
Walking through the empty buildings here is almost as haunting as playing a horror game like Silent Hill or Resident Evil. There is a sense of mystery and urgency in the air that’s hard to ignore, and the eerie music in the background only heightens the gloomy tension.
4Forgotten Battlefield
Act 2, First Location
Similar to Old Lumiere, the Forgotten Battlefield has an intriguing untold history around it that’ll naturally pique your interest. From the corpses of giant Nevrons hanging over barriers to fields of decayed human bodies, it’s clear that something epic happened here, and you’re just walking through the aftermath.
Forgotten Battlefield might be one of the longer areas in Clair Obscur, but there is so much visual storytelling around each corner that you’ll want to spend a few extra minutes looking around to make sure you don’t miss anything. As grim as it might be, you’ll want to search every trench for hidden secrets and collectibles.
3Flying Waters
Act 1, Second Location
Flying Waters is the second main location in Clair Obscur, and it will instantly blow you away after you’ve taken in your surroundings. Here, your party can walk on the bottom of the ocean floor without any changes to gravity or their movement. It’s essentially Bikini Bottom from SpongeBob SquarePants with fewer jellyfish and Krabby Patties.
This area is consistently dazzling as sea creatures swim above you while you walk by large reefs of coral. The underwater adventure continues as you stumble upon shipwrecks and naval mines while searching for treasure and other secrets. Though you’ll visit Flying Waters during the early hours of your adventure, it’ll stick with you right until the credits roll.
2Sirene
Sirene opens up for you at the same time as Visages, and while you may choose to come here first, the game recommends visiting after the encounter with the other Axon. When you do arrive, you might be left in awe of the massive coliseum in front of you and the imposing boss standing in the middle of it.
Unlike other areas in Clair Obscur, your objective is front and center, and it’s up to you to find a path forward. Though the stadium is falling apart, it also seems to be held together by the plethora of silk cloths that blow in the breeze. It’s impressive how this location almost feels like an extension of the boss as you explore it, yet it remains the same even after you defeat her.
1The Monolith
Act 2, Sixth Location
Your journey through the Continet leads you to The Monolith, the final location in the game before returning to Lumiere for the last battle. It’s easily one of the longest areas in the game because it makes you walk through sections of the other places you’ve visited to reach the end.
From Spring Meadows to Sirene and almost everywhere between, the party will take a stroll down memory lane as they approach their destination. The Monolith does an excellent job of reminding you how far you’ve come since the beginning of the game beforelaunching into an unforgettable climax with The Paintress.
