Summary

Thanks to its combination of traditional RPG turn-based combat with precise action prompts,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33becomes not only one of the most unique RPGs, but also one of the most challenging.

While there is a skill curve that you’ll eventually master, each new Nevron provides a different challenge, with new attack patterns to deal with. This challenge only gets steeper when you consider the dedication needed to collect every achievement in the game, but which are the toughest?

Monoco at camp in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

10Feet Collection

Monoco Tarantino

As thefinal member to join the party, you might think that Sandfall would have run out of ideas for unique character mechanics by the time Monoco’s added, but he instead ends up being the most unconventional character in the game.

Unlike every other party member, Monoco doesn’t unlock his skills on a skill tree, but instead needs to defeat select Nevron’s in battle to then collect their feet, unlocking a unique skill each time. While not every Nevron provides Monoco with a new power, plenty of them do, so collecting all of them requires plenty of active effort, especially if you haven’t been using Monoco as an active party member.

gustave slays a mime in clair obscur: expedition 33.

9A Peculiar Encounter

Very Early Challenge

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, while a tough challenge, usually plays fair, but it does break one cardinal rule. Usually a prologue is your chance to get accustomed to the game’s world with low stakes, and ease yourself into the gameplay and narrative, and in this aspect, Clair Obscur excels, with the heartbreaking Gommage scene being one of the most memorable in the game. However, there’s also a completely optional challenge off the beaten path that’s incredibly easy to miss.

If you weren’t exploring thoroughly enough, you might have completely missed the optional Mime enemy hiding away to provide a tough early challenge for a fresh-faced early-game Gustave. It’s a tough obstacle on your first run through, especially if you stumble upon it accidentally. In spite of this, it’s easy to start a new save file if you missed it, since it’s right at the beginning of the game after all.

Sciel leaning of Lune’s shoulder in front of the campfire in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

8Connoisseur

Not So Easy Listening

The campsite is one of the most relaxing areas in the whole game, and it’s where some of the most emotional scenes take place. These moments can be made even better by playing different collectible tracks on the record player.

You’ll stumble across a few of these just by playing the game, but there’s a staggering 33 to collect in total, and a lot of them require plenty of active effort to acquire. Records can also come with a heavy Chroma cost, so make sure to save up.

A Gestral Merchant at the Gestral Village in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

7Gestral Games

Friends On The Continent

Thanks to the incredibly bare-bones map of Expedition 33, there are plenty of secrets all around the Continent that you can easily miss if you don’t know where to look for them. Just one set of optional challenges you can easily gloss over are the various Gestral Games.

This includes both the Gestral Arenas and the Gestral Beaches. While the arenas, as you can imagine, test your combat proficiency, the beaches will test your platforming skills, something you might be pretty rusty on given that it’s not really a focus anywhere else in the game. Finding and completing all of these will be a multi-faceted challenge, but you at least get an achievement for your efforts.

sprong winds up to attack the party with an overhead smash in clair obscur: expedition 33.

6Survivor

Grind Time

It’s impressive just how much side content is included in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but to beat the main story of the game, you can essentially ignore all of it, since on standard difficulty the main story areas will be perfectly scaled to avoid any need for grinding.

On a standard playthrough, you may beat the final boss at around level 50, so you might be shocked to learn that your party member’s levels can go all the way to 99, mostly to facilitate the array of challenging secret bosses. Getting just one character to this level will require copious grinding (time to find a podcast), but you’ll at least net the Survivor achievement for the trouble.

verso and monoco have a conversation at camp in clair obscur: expedition 33.

5Wheel Control

Mask For Every Occasion

With Monoco beingthe last member to join the party, and with his unconventional play style and method of acquiring new skills, there’s a likely chance that you might’ve benched him. We don’t blame you.

However, with effort, Monoco can be built into an absolute monster, but you’ll still need to manage to work with his occasionally random-feeling Bestial Wheel system. If you can adapt to Monoco’s playstyle, equip the right skills, and keep on top of his AP, you can unlock the Wheel Control achievement by using Mask-enhanced skills four turns in a row.

Esquie flying into the entrance of the Endless Tower in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

4Endless

Tame The Tower

Running, swimming, and eventually flying through the beautiful Continent of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with Esquie will present you with plenty of distractions and beautiful landmarks that grab attention, and one that immediately stands out is the Endless Tower.

As the name implies, the tower (which requires Act 3’s power of flight to access) contains an endless-feeling series of challenges to complete. The 33 trials require plenty of effort and overall mastery of Clair Obscur’s mechanics to complete, but it’s worth it for the unique Pictos, new outfits, bevy of consumables, and, of course, the Endless achievement you’ll get for completing it.

the axon sirene prepares to attack in clair obscur: expedition 33.

3Professional

My Perfect Victory

Thanks to the nature of Expedition 33’s narrative, there are plenty of circumstances and moments in the story that can’t be repeated, a prime example being boss encounters, and that’s part of what makes getting the Professional achievement so tough.

You’ll need to make it through a boss encounter without taking any damage, and with how tough most of Clair Obscur’s bosses are, this is no easy feat. However, an easier target for this mission is the Monoco rematch during his relationship chat, since he isn’t much more difficult than his first encounter, and his attacks are relatively easy to parry, but it depends on how well-built your Verso is.

Gustave writing in his journal in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.

2Follow The Trail

For Those Who Come After

While the dungeon-like areas of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 aren’t too open-ended, they provide you with plenty of opportunities for exploration, and there are more secrets hidden than you might initially expect.

One of the toughest collectibles to find are the logs from previous Expeditions. While you’ll come across some of these lore-drops in obvious areas, plenty are well-hidden and some even require reaching the end of different quest lines to even access. You’ll need to find all of them to get the Follow The Trail achievement.

simon rests his sword on his shoulder in clair obscur: expedition 33.

1Peace At Last

The Ultimate Challenge

No offense to the RPGs that don’t meet the quota, but is it really an RPG if there isn’t an insultingly difficult secret boss? Clair Obscur is fully aware of this requirement, and the mysterious haunt from Expedition 0, Simon, provides a more than worthy challenge.

If there’s one reason to reach level 99, it’s to beat this boss, since you’ll need all the help you can get. With a perfectly balanced team,the best Pictos and Luminasyou can find, and lightning-quick parries to combat each of his varied moves, you might gleam a chance at taking down this final hurdle, but don’t bet on it.