10 HIDDEN Secrets in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Memeable Gestrals
The Gestral Village is one of Expedition 33s largest HUB worlds so naturally there are quite a lot of easter eggs tucked away in nearly every corner for players to uncover. From numerous shops to a battle tournament and even a door to the Manor, theres no shortage of things to see and do while visiting the Gestrals home. Near the stage area, you can interact with a rotund Gestral who will attempt to coax the player to dance with them and proceed to break it down with no signs of stopping. But by far the best one is found to the right of the entrance where you can find a Gestral sitting idle in a room full of flames that will comment This is fine. in reference to the iconic meme. Even in the painted world of Expedition 33, meme culture is alive and well.
RPG Greatness
The developers at Sandfall Interactive have made it no secret about their inspirations and love of classic RPGs, especially the old school Final Fantasy games. This love was so prevalent throughout the entire game, they even included an easily missable nod to one of the classics of the PS1 era. In the Frozen Hearts area outside of Monocos Station, this massive frozen area looks as though it was hit by a sudden and freak blizzard, leaving jagged ice crystals jutting out of every exposed area. As soon as you enter the area, youll find a train blasted by the icy winds. However, if you look at the front of the train from a specific angle, it unmistakably resembles the logo of Final Fantasy VII, right down to the placement of the trail coming off the Meteor.
Tickling the Ivories
Expedition 33 is full of tiny details that help make the world feel more fleshed out and fully realized than many players may have even noticed during their first Expedition. Scattered throughout the world are pianos the player can interact with. However, depending on which character you currently have leading the party, they each have specific levels of proficiency playing the keys. While most of the characters will play single notes here and there, Verso will actually play a full song, which fits entirely with his character given his love and passion for music. The devs didnt need to include this tiny, missable detail, but were so happy they did.
The Flying Manor
Expedition 33 is full of hidden areas the game never directs you to explore, meaning some of these massive levels and worlds can easily be missed or overlooked entirely. One such area is The Flying Manor. Not only is this area completely missable, its also one of the games few end-game dungeons where anything less than a fully kitted out party will get massacred even stepping foot inside. The area is massive and full of branching paths with the overall goal to find and defeat the four bosses within, which are bosses youve already faced during your initial journey, only much stronger. Defeating these numerous bosses will net you Perfect Chroma Catalysts which are required to max out your weapons level. The challenge may be great, but the rewards are more than worth the effort.
A Fathers Love
Everyone in Lumiere is dealing with the upcoming Gommage in different ways, xref such as one couple who found another way to celebrate the end, and if you repeatedly interrupt them 33 times, the couple will give you a Colour of Lumina to go away and tell you off for being a pervert. Harsh, but understandable. But as you explore the city before the end, you can also come across a father named Richard who is about to Gommage but had a fight with his son the night before over his sons desire to join the Expedition after his Gommage. To make amends, Richard made his son a custom Expeditioner outfit and asks you to give it to him after hes gone. By finding his son Jules during the Expedition ceremony and offering him the uniform, Jules will ask you to keep it, which is also one of the most easily missable outfits in the entire game.
Swimsuit Special
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has no shortage of unlockable costumes for all its characters, but by far the most prized are the swimsuits, unlocked by completing the many and surprisingly challenging Gestral Beach parkour and mini game challenges. However, these costumes serve more than just an aesthetic preference. If every character wears their swimsuit costume to the final confrontation with Renoir at the end of the game, the stoic patriarch of the Dessendre family will also don his swim costume to not be left out of the festivities in the games final cutscenes. Who knew beneath that heavy jacket, Renoir was packing those guns?
Monocos Room
The Manor is one of the strangest areas in the game and naturally is filled with numerous secrets of its own as well as some that are so well hidden you likely walked right past them. Monoco isnt just the loveable furry battle loving Gestral, hes also Sandfall Interactives unofficial mascot and the team dedicated an entire space within the Manor to the little pooch. In the foyer of the Manor, one painting hangs lower than the rest and is adorned with numerous bowls and toys around its base. However, if you jump towards the painting, youll actually pass through to a secret room on the other side with walls covered in paintings and pictures of the beloved pup. Additionally, hidden within the room is a Shape of Life that allows you to upgrade your revive tint. Such a good boy!
The Trash Can Man
Despite only being technically the Prologue of the game, the town of Lumiere hides many secrets for those willing to track them down. One such secret is hidden in a very particular trash can. By interacting with the can three separate times, a resident who is about to Gommage believes he can avoid his fate by hiding within the can and asks you to leave him so hes not found out and even reveals hes been hiding there for the last six months. However, the Paintress never misses, and should you return to the same can in Act 3, you can find not only a letter in which he realizes his plan didnt work, but also a Perfect Chroma Catalyst. Farewell Trash Can Man, your sacrifice will not be forgotten.
Maelles Medalum
There are a multitude of weapons available for players to customize their playstyle, but not all the best weapons are locked behind the end game content and one of Maelles best can be acquired within the first few hours of the game. Upon entering the Gestral Village, youll be coerced into taking part in a battle tournament and to get the best reward, you need to make sure Maelle is the one who participates. For winning the duel, Maelle is rewarded with the Medalum, a sword which starts her off in her Virtuose stance which immediately boosts her damage to 200%. This is a must have for the best possible Maelle build and unfortunately if you miss the first chance, youll have to challenge Golgra to a duel and the reward is also the Medalum, but with her millions of HP and attacks that can easily one shot you, your best bet is still the tournament.
Simon
Another area that can easily be completely overlooked, Renoirs Drafts hides some of not only the games toughest challenges, but also the hardest boss in the entire game. Mind you, even reaching him can be a struggle with all the high-level enemies standing in your way, but its worth it not only for the battle itself but also the story significance as Simon is a remnant of the very first Expedition, Expedition Zero, led by Renoir to kill the Paintress. Captured and corrupted by Clea and tricked into releasing the Curator, Simon was driven mad and trapped inside the depths of the canvas. Simon is without a doubt the greatest challenge in all of Expedition 33 and saving him from his tragic fate is more than worth the effort. And many, many deaths and broken controllers.
What was the most unexpected secret you stumbled across in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Share your findings for those who come after in the comments.
