The development team of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 shares an early concept image that shows a scene from the beginning of the game. However, this would likely mean that a certain character would not have appeared at all – or at least not so early.
What does the image show? The concept image comes from Art Director Nicho and was created about 3 years ago. On the X account of Clair Obscur, the team shares what the scene should actually look like, in which Maelle is found:
Accordingly, Maelle would not have been found in the mansion, but in a kind of abandoned house. The image has a strange gravity, as the room is turned upside down and some objects are floating around.
Maelle sits alone by a campfire, in the background you can see a makeshift tent. Gustave stands in the foreground and is just finding his ally. In the end, the scene was altered for the full version of the game, which resulted in the introduction of an important character.
Old scene reminds fans of The Last of Us
Who would have been missing? The Curator is an important character in the game who takes on some functions in the camp. He is the one who finds Maelle after the tragedy on the beach and takes her into his care. This is how the player gets to know the Curator for the first time, who becomes even more important later.
It may have been that the development team wanted to introduce the Curator at a later point. However, this would have resulted in a crucial moment being lost, which shows that the Curator is friendly and cares for Maelle’s well-being.
So, if the Curator had existed at all, the group would have encountered him elsewhere, and the bond between them would not have been so clearly established.
What do fans say about this? Some fans feel reminded of The Last of Us by the dystopian setting. Here, a fungus turns humanity into mindless creatures, causing nature to gradually reclaim the planet.
Thus, X users write comments like “The Last of Us: Expedition 33” or “The image looks like a scene from TLoU”. Moreover, there are some fan theories in the comments that contain spoilers.
Regardless of the location, it’s nice that Gustave has still found Maelle. Otherwise, an important group member would have remained lost. The teenager develops into one of the strongest damage dealers during the game: Expedition 33 Maelle Builds: The best builds in each act – now with Stendhal
