Even though the main story ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33is relatively linear, there are still plenty of opportunities to explore off the beaten path and find hidden areas. The overworld of the Continent is massive, and throughout the game you’ll unlock new traversal abilities to make finding different areas possible.

With how infrequently these traversal abilities are doled out, it’s hard to keep track of where you have and haven’t been, especially when you consider Expedition 33’s incredibly minimal navigational features. While some areas are easy to spot, there are some that are much trickier to find if you don’t know where to look.

Entrance for The Crows surrounded by dead trees in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

10The Crows

Accessible In Act 2

The middle portion of Clair Obscur’s second act is spent fighting the two main Axons at Visages and Sirene, and if you’re focused on this, then you might forget to explore the areas surrounding these islands.

Nearby Visages, one spot inconspicuously found amidst other more obvious locations is The Crows. It’s hard to work out exactly what you need to do here, but this area hides a rare shooting challenge, and if you beat the secret boss hidden here, you’ll find some useful items to make the rest of your journey a little easier.

Esquie and a Gestral Merchant standing by the entrance to Sirene’s Dress in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

9Sirene’s Dress

Accessible In Act 3

Sirene’s island is absolutely massive, and you’ll spend hours in Act 2 exploring the sprawling dungeon and making your way to the challenging Axon boss. The design of the island pulls you towards the main entrance you’ll use in Act 2, but if you closely circle to the back of the island on Esquie, you can find another entrance labeled as Sirene’s Dress next to a Gestral merchant.

While you’re able to technically enter this zone during Act 2, you won’t be able to access the main portion of it until you’re near theend of Lune’s relationship questin Act 3. As part of this quest, you’ll be directed to find this spot and defeat the boss inside, and you’ll be rewarded for your effort with some handy Pictos and an Expedition log.

Esquie flying into the Hidden Gestral Arena entrance in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

8Hidden Gestral Arena

Accessible In Act 1

To proceed with the story in Act 1, you’ll need to find the Gestral Village, compete in the arena, and beat all the challengers thrown your way. It’s not too tough of a challenge, but you might not know that it is far from the only Gestral arena in the game.

The best hidden arena happens to be the one you can find the earliest. Hidden behind a mountain range west of the main Gestral Village is the Hidden Gestral Arena. It’ll provide a tough challenge, especially if you attempt it during Act 1, but it’ll reward you with a series of Pictos designed to help you out in one-on-one fights.

Verso and Maelle in the hidden Manor room in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

7Manor Dining Room Crawl Space

When reuniting with Maelle in the first act of Clair Obscur, you’ll find her in the mysterious Manor, which you’ll later discover can be accessed from multiple different doors hidden throughout the Continent.

While the Manor is full of secrets, one you’re able to find during your first visit is the secret room connected to the Dining Room. Throughout the ornate space, you’ll find four hidden switches, and once they’re all activated, you’ll open up a crawl space next to the fireplace. The rewards are minimal for the effort, but it’s a nice secret if you know where to look.

The frozen carousel distorted by the entrance portal as Esquie approaches The Carousel in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

You’re on a tight path for most of the second act, at least before Monoco’s joined the party, and this might discourage you from exploring the snowy central portion of the map around Monoco’s Station, where you’ll find The Carousel.

The small area features, if you may imagine, a giant frozen carousel, and a Grandis who is looking to break the ice that is stopping it from moving. There’s a specific ability needed to break the carousel free, but you’ll need to keep an eye out for missing Gestrals to unlock it, but it’s worth it for the unique rewards you’ll get for completing this side story.

Esquie surrounded by blue-lit mountains at the entrance of the Sacred River in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

5Sacred River

The Gestrals are some of the most entertaining side characters you’ll meet throughout Clair Obscur, and the first you’ll come across is Noco. In the second act, you learn that Monoco is Noco’s guardian, but unfortunately, soon after, Noco is a casualty to Renoir’s attack in Old Lumiere.

This is a sad moment for the entire party, especially Monoco, but you’ll actually get a chance to revive Noco if you find the Sacred River. It’s an area you can find in the overworld if you can spot the glowing blue garlands that surround it; however, you can only revive Noco if you’ve progressed far enough in Monoco’s relationship.

Esquie about to fly into the entrance of the Flying Manor surrounded by empty canvas' in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

4Flying Manor

During the twist-filled beginning of Clair Obscur’s third act, you’ll be introduced to a whole new host of characters outside the canvas, one of the more notable being Clea. Alicia’s blunt older sister clearly has more depth than we get to see in the main story, and to learn more about her you’ll have to delve into secret areas and side quests.

While you’re given a chance to free roamonce Esquie has learned flightat the beginning of Act 3, it’s tempting to want to head straight to the end of the story in Old Lumiere. However, it’s worth visiting the Flying Manor (after grinding to at least Level 70) to complete a whole new dungeon, take on a host of mini-bosses, and finally take on Clea directly.

gustave slays a mime in clair obscur: expedition 33.

3A Peculiar Encounter

Accessible In The Prologue

The prologue of Clair Obscur is pretty linear, and mostly just gives you a chance to look around Lumiere before and after the Gommage, and get to meet most of the main cast. However, there are a few side objectives that you’ll have no idea about unless you explore.

One of the easiest to miss is the very first mime enemy, hidden near the dancers on stage. The hidden spot is so early in the game that Sophie is still in the party, and if you manage to take it down, you’re able to get some unique rewards andeven an achievement.

Esquie about to dive into Renoir’s Drafts entrance in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

2Renoir’s Drafts

Accessible In Act 3 After Esquie Relationship Rank 6

While unlocking flight with Esquie at the beginning of Act 3 might seem like a natural final stage to his traversal abilities, if you manage to level up his relationship far enough, you’ll find his last rock, Urrie, and unlock the ability to dive underwater.

For the most part, this isn’t particularly exciting since it’s primarily used to interact with glowing water spots and just pick up collectibles, but a notable exception is the easily missable entrance to Renoir’s Drafts. This is an area you should probably avoid until you’re deep into the post-game, since it contains the hardest secret boss, Simon.

Verso in his swimsuit looking at the hidden dog gallery in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

1Into The Painting

When you first visit the Manor in Act 1, you might spot one of the switches to enter the passageway in the Dining Room, making it one of the simpler hidden spots to find, but you might be surprised to learn that this isn’t the only secret in the Manor you can access during you first visit.

Much less obviously, if you keep an eye out for a certain painting lining the corridors of the Manor, you can jump up and through it, Mario 64 style, and find a hidden room full of portraits of the developer’s dogs, and a handy extra Revival Tint.