MeinMMO summarizes the story of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as best as possible and explains what is actually going on in the story of the role-playing game. Because some connections can only be understood if you pay close attention.

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is divided into several acts. The further the story progresses, the more complicated it becomes. It is sometimes only vaguely hinted at what is happening. Therefore, we summarize the following actions and address important points that may foreshadow the story from later acts:

• Prologue
• Act I
• Act II
• Act III
• The Endings
• Free Update

The information you find here has been gathered by MeinMMO from several dialogues, side missions, or entries in the game. Nevertheless, there are still some aspects that leave some room for interpretation.

Prologue: Lumière

Summary of the story

Here we meet the protagonists Gustave and Maelle. He is the guardian and something like an older brother to Maelle, whose real parents have already died. They talk about Gustave’s ex-girlfriend Sophie being eliminated in the upcoming Gommage. This is an annual event where the maximum age of all people is reduced by one year. 

All those who reach the age disappear forever. A gigantic figure, called the Painter, records the new age on a giant monolith. It all started with the number 100, now the counter is at 33. Who is behind the Painter will be revealed later.

Each year, a group of explorers sets out to stop the Painter and reach the Island of the Painter. So far, no expedition has returned successfully.

The people in this world must confront serious questions. There is a discussion between Sophie and another woman about whether to bring children into this world. New children may bring hopes for the upcoming expeditions, but it is also a torment to live in this world, which one might not want to inflict on small children.

Act I: Gustave

Summary of the story

Upon arriving on the island, Expedition 33 encounters an old man who kills a large part of the group in seconds. The group is astonished, as the man has wrinkles and gray hair, which should not be possible. Unlike the dead in Lumière, the bodies on the island do not dissolve. The reasons for the man’s age compared to the dissolution of people will be revealed later.

Gustave also learns that he is not the only survivor. Over time, he finds Lune, Maelle, and Sciel. Meanwhile, Maelle is plagued by nightmares, in which she sees the old man and a girl her age. Her identity will be clarified later.

Additionally, the group encounters the Curator. He seems to be made of a different substance and is also very helpful. Who he actually is will be revealed later.

Nevrones

Gustave encounters the Nevrones. They are enemies who protect the Painter. They are scattered throughout the world and hostile towards humans. The only exception are the nine white Nevrones, who behave peacefully. You can talk to them and complete quests for them.

As it turns out later, the Nevrones were created by a Painter named Clea. Who she is will be revealed in Act III. 

Gestrals

In addition to the Nevrones, there are also the Gestrals. They have their own being and generally interact peacefully with humans. Throughout the story, we travel to their village and participate in arena battles. The Gestrals cannot die, as they are reborn at a holy river. This requires Chroma, which is why there may be delays in the rebirth process. They were created by the real Verso, whom we meet in Act II.

Gustave’s death

Gustave and Maelle throw stones at the monolith until suddenly the old man from the beginning appears and kills Gustave. Maelle is also close to being killed by the old man until Verso appears. As Verso admits later, he could have prevented Gustave’s death. However, he did not want Maelle to become too attached to life in Lumière. The reason will be revealed in Act III.

Act II: Verso

Summary of the story

The group mourns the dead Gustave but continues the mission. Maelle insists on giving him a proper burial on a battlefield. Verso then suggests visiting his old friend Monoco, as the Painter can only be defeated if her shield is destroyed – and for that, they need help.

To destroy the shield, the heart of the Painter must first be destroyed. It is located in an old manor house, where the group meets a female version of the Curator, the old man, and the little girl. Also, Verso’s true identity comes to light.

For the weapon that destroys the shield, the group must destroy two Axons, particularly fearsome enemies. This allows the Curator to forge the needed weapon. Maelle and the others manage to defeat the Painter and eliminate the old man. But the price comes shortly after: all people dissolve into dust.

The old man

The older man is Renoir. He is the father of the masked girl and Verso. He protects the Painter with his life and destroys anyone who wants to harm her. As it turns out later, however, he is only a creature created by the Painter. We will actually get to know the real Renoir later.

The Painter and the Monolith

The gigantic figure is controlled by a smaller Painter, who looks like a female version of the Curator. It comes out that she was trapped in the monolith and fought a duel with someone else. The gigantic figure did not hold the maximum age of humans at the monolith, but only how many humans it can save.

With the death of the Painter, it became possible for the trapped power in the monolith to unfold freely. Therefore, the people in Lumière were killed.

Verso

Verso is the son of Renoir, the old man. The two were part of the very first expedition but fell out on opposite sides due to a dispute. Renoir wants to protect the Painter and his family, while Verso wants to put an end to the Painter’s machinations. He belongs to the Dessendre family, which will be introduced in more detail in Act III.

Act III: Maelle 

Summary of the story

In this act, all secrets are revealed. The world of Lumière is actually just a painting, and Maelle’s family is fighting over the survival of the canvas within the picture. It happens that Maelle resurrects her friends and must face a final battle against the real Renoir. 

Lumiére and the Dessendre family

It comes out that the world is merely a canvas once painted by Verso. It is possible for gifted artists to bring such imaginative images to life and even enter them. A piece of their own soul remains in the image. The Gestrals and Esquie are thus, for example, a creation of Verso. The people who enter a canvas then appear as faceless figures that we see as Curator or Painter.

Aline is actually Renoir’s wife in reality and the mother of Verso, Clea, and the masked child named Alicia. She is the head of the Dessendre family and is behind the Painter. Because Renoir and Verso, whom we see in the painting, are merely copies drawn by Aline. 

The Dessendre family lives in the real world in Paris, but Verso died many years ago in a fire at the villa. Out of grief, his mother Aline plunged into Verso’s painting, as a piece of his soul is still contained here.

Lumière is an image of real Paris, drawn by Verso. The manor that appears in the game also exists in real life. It is the residence of the family. 

Maelle’s true identity

Maelle is actually Alicia. She also entered the painting to pull her parents out of the picture. She is born into the world as Maelle, but without any memory of her true identity, as she does not possess the same Painter power as her parents. After she discovers who she really is, she regains her painter powers, which, however, are not as pronounced as those of her parents. As she grows fond of the people around her, she also gradually succumbs to this painted world and wants to remain in the painting forever.

Curator

Behind the Curator is actually the real Renoir. The reason for his missing face is that he has spent quite some time in the painting and has rotted away over time. The same is true for the Painter, thus Aline. 

His goal is to erase the world of Lumière to free his daughter and his wife from the painting. In the real world, his wife Aline’s body is slowly decaying, as she has been trapped in the canvas for far too long, almost as if in a frenzy. By erasing the world, he wants to pull his family out of the painting.

The little boy

The little boy who occasionally appears without a face in the levels of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is made up of the last soul fragment of Verso. He actually does not want to continue painting and wants to find peace, which is why his thoughts seem erratic. There is even a side quest with him where he asks to defeat a monster. So make sure to talk to him every time you see him.

Collecting Chroma

Maelle sets out to collect Chroma to resurrect her friends. For this, she looks for the bodies of fallen expedition members to use their Chroma and bring the others back to life. The Chroma within the canvas is limited, though. The Nevrones and Gestrals have their own Chroma flow, while it’s different for humans. The Curator and other people entering the image from outside have their own Chroma. 

Esquie

Esquie and Verso are always good friends. As we learn through a sequence toward the end of the game, Esquie is actually a puppet in the real world that likely belonged to Verso or Maelle. Through the essence of Verso in this canvas, he has become a good friend of the group – after all, it was the real Verso who painted Esquie.

Noco and Monoco

In the manor from the real world, you can briefly look around with Maelle if you ignore Clea’s calls. In one room, you discover two dogs in a basket named Monoco, the third, and Noco. These are the dogs of the Dessendre family.

This also explains the behavior of Monoco and the little Noco, who is indeed the smaller dog in reality. Especially Monoco is a loyal companion to Verso, who likes to collect feet. This likely comes from the fact that dogs love to play with bones. By the way, Monoco got his name from a real-life counterpart, the happiness manager of the development team (via Sandfall Interactive).

Clea

Clea is Alicia’s sister. You learn about her true motives in a side mission in the flying manor. She is a talented painter and possesses the ability to re-paint figures from others easily. 

Her version in the canvas, which her mother Aline painted, has been coldly repainted by Clea. The repainted version of Clea, however, is trapped in the manor and condemned to draw Nevrones. Expeditions that are killed by Nevrones retain their Chroma in the corpse. Thus, it cannot flow back to Aline and Renoir, which is why Clea wanted to put an end to the conflict between the two.

After the battle, Clea’s version manages to kill herself and thus free herself.

Simon

Simon and Verso were part of the first expedition, which aimed to stop Aline. He is Clea’s friend and appears as a boss enemy in Act III. The Painter tricked him into believing he could free Clea from the flying manor by defeating the real Renoir. But Simon was defeated by the real Renoir and has since been at the bottom of the monolith.

The Writers

Clea is fighting a war against the Writers in real life. They are also held responsible for the fire in the manor and thus for the terrible injuries that caused the deaths of Verso and Alicia. Who the Writers are has never been clarified. However, there are two theories:

• The Writers can create their own worlds like the Painters, just with words instead of colors.
• The Writers metaphorically represent the game developers and can control the “real world” in Clair Obscur.

Which theory is correct has not yet been confirmed. This leaves room for interpretations or even a sequel.

The Endings

The true end of the game is a duel between Maelle and Verso in a kind of intermediate world. Here, the two find the last remnant of the real Verso, who is continuously painting the image in an eternal cycle. The siblings argue over what should happen to the canvas in which the entire story of Clair Obscur unfolds.

• Maelle wants to live in the canvas, as her brother Verso is still alive here and she still possesses her voice
• Verso wants to destroy the canvas, as Maelle should not live in an illusion like her mother  

Depending on which of the two duelists you choose, you will experience one of two possible endings. Neither of the two outcomes has a happy ending, as there is always a bitter aftertaste.

Epilogue: A Life for Painting

Maelle triumphs over Verso, who then dissolves and returns to the world of the painting. Several years have passed here and Lumière has been rebuilt. In the opera house, Maelle meets old acquaintances, including Lune, Sciel, and even Sciel’s husband. Even Gustave and Sophie are alive again and join them.

The light dims and we see Verso playing the piano. It is possible that this is a completely newly painted Verso – or the one who actually wanted to disappear from the world forever.

But Maelle gets the same facial features as her mother. This implies that she has lost herself in a canvas just like her mother and forces Verso to continue existing.

Epilogue: A Life for Loving

Verso wins the duel, and this time it is Maelle who dissolves. The young man bids farewell to his friends, who also dissolve – but forever. He tells the little boy that he can stop painting and takes his hand, after which they also dissolve. The little boy is the last essence of the real Verso that remained in the canvas after his death.

Subsequently, we see real Paris. Maelle and her family stand before a grave of Verso, mourning the family member. Here we also see that Esquie is actually just a small puppet. The parents seem to have finally found their peace. Only Maelle’s sister, Clea, quickly turns away – for she still has a war against the Writers to fight.

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Free update

Osquio

Osquio is a new boss who appeared with the free update and lives in the drafts of Verso. He is the cousin of Esquie and calls himself the world’s best cake devourer. Unlike Esquie, Osquio was created as the embodiment of Verso’s negative thoughts and serves as the antagonist.

To fully experience the story of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you must engage in nerve-wracking battles. The difficulty level is quite high. If you are still looking for challenges after the end of the game, the endless tower might be something for you: Expedition 33: The Endless Tower – Why the endgame content is worth it

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