In Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is unclear from the start, although the hints are often so clear that they practically jump in your face.
The story of Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is quite complex and multilayered, but at the same time extremely well done. The whole game is full of hints and references that you don’t even recognize as such the first time until the realization hits you and it’s like scales fall from your eyes.
We have looked at a number of these aspects whose significance one only realizes much too late in the game – at least that was the case for us.
Spoiler Alert: If this hasn’t been obvious until now – there are massive spoilers for the entire plot of Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Gommage
That there is a Gommage becomes clear in the first moments of Clair Obscur. But for most people who do not speak French, it was probably just a pleasantly sounding fantasy word for an annual “celebration” where one bids farewell to those who find death this year due to their age.
However, the fact that Gommage is simply a real existing French word that simply means “erasure” (of an image) or “scaling” (of paint) makes it clear much earlier what is actually happening in the story of the game.
Because an erasure is exactly what is taking place in the story. Renoir erases Aline’s oldest creations from the canvas – and because Aline’s strength is waning, Renoir can increasingly destroy more people.
Gestrals
When you encounter the first Gestral of the story, Noco, you can’t help but smile. He is small, cute, and looks like a lively wooden puppet. The urge to fight and his somewhat clumsy behavior contribute to making him instantly likable.
It only becomes clear later in the story what Gestrals actually are: brushes full of paint.
This is even reinforced by the fact that they can be brought to a river for rebirth – a colorful river full of colors. Because of course, when you dip a brush into new paint, it becomes lively again and can once again influence the canvas.
The Terminology of the World
The same goes for all the terms in the game world. It becomes clear quite early on that in Expedition 33, apparently different laws apply than in the real world. For example, the healing potions are called inks. At first, this seems a bit absurd – but as soon as you realize that all characters in the game world are just painted figures in a painting, it makes sense. When you give a character „more color“, it comes alive again. So always apply the ink.
This is not limited to the menus and items. The characters also talk about all these elements as if they are a completely natural part of the world – because they are. They talk about Chroma as life force and currency or discuss Gradient attacks. But it also becomes evident in the battles time and again. Especially Maelle stands out here, because instead of starting a fight with “Let’s spill some blood!” she always energetically says “Let’s spill some ink!”.
Renoir and Aline
One could probably fill an entire book with the many details surrounding Renoir and Aline. First of all, it should be mentioned that Renoir, while a fictional character, is heavily based on the real French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who lived from 1841 to 1919.
The parallels become even clearer when you know that he had a mistress named Aline, whom he later married. Aline was a dressmaker before marrying Renoir – something we also find referenced in the game, namely in the Axon Sirene. There is a huge room with an optional boss where the Axon’s dresses are woven.
Another very interesting detail about Renoir and Aline in the game is the piece of music that plays during the boss fight against Renoir in the monolith. Those who are proficient in French might already get some spoilers about the future course of the story. Because in the soundtrack, Renoir and Aline sing against each other and try to prevent each other from continuing to paint. There are also references to the deceased son Verso and the grief from which Renoir wants to free Aline. But the music piece Une vie à t’aimer
speaks for itself, just check it out with the English lyrics:
Clair Obscur
The term Clair Obscur is also not a word invented by the developer Sandfall Interactive. It is – who would have thought? – a term from painting. Another term for Clair Obscur is “Chiaroscuro” or the significantly catchier, blunt German term: light-dark painting (via wikipedia).
This refers to images in which the individual elements have a particularly strong contrast to each other that occurs rather abruptly.
Many of the creations on the canvas have a style, especially the enemies with the same name, which literally consist of a light and a dark side or show only one side and thus only part of the name (Clair or Obscur).
In the game, this style of painting is also depicted in the story. Aline symbolizes the whitish, lively colors, while Renoir represents death with the darkness that tries to erase the image. Especially the endgame area “Renoir’s Draft”, where you can also meet the secret final boss Simon, is completely in the contrasting Chiaroscuro style.
A little fun fact to end: The real artist Renoir (see above) couldn’t cope with light-dark painting at all. He always placed a great focus on soft transitions without particularly drastic contrasts.
How detailed the story and the game world of Clair Obscur Expedition 33 have been created is simply grand. However, we understand anyone who is a bit confused by the rather branching story – that’s why we summarized and explained the entire plot for you.
