The game offers two endings, and you will get to decide the final section of the game. Any decision you made throughout the game will influence the ending section of the game. Both endings will punch you in the gut, it is up to you to decide which ending suits your character in your journey.
Both Endings to Clair Oscure Expedition 33
The last decision before the final battle is what matters to trigger both endings in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The game’s ending boils down to whether to live in a lie or reality. It is up to you to decide to live in the illusion for the comfort of safety or face the reality, standing alone. The endings here can’t be seen through the perspective of good and bad, it is similar to the lesser evil.
#1. A Life to Paint Ending
Here we must bring the fight against Verso as Maelle to keep the painting alive.
Here you will start the fight as Maelle, taking on Verso. After the defeat, Verso is seen pleading to Maelle to let him pass. This begins the epilogue, A Life to Paint, an ending that sees everyone who died come back to life. Compared to the other ending, this one is deeply rooted in fantasy, staying far away from reality.
This ending comes with a great cost, you must pay a heavy amount of emotion to keep the wheel turning for the fabricated life. In the end, it’s all a lie, and many would prefer the idea of sheltering Alicia from ever facing reality. But eventually the clock will stop ticking at some point. So there is a level of worry that creeps in with this ending.
#2 A Life to Love Ending
This ending is about destroying the painting by fighting against Maelle as Verso.
Here, you break out of the spell and fight against Maelle as Verso. This ending triggers the Epilogue A Life to Love, where we see the painting being destroyed. Alicia is now forced to accept reality, breaking out of the shell of fantasy. We also see Verso seeing his friends and love fading away into scarlet petals.
This ending focuses on the cost of moving on in life, a different philosophical view compared to the first choice, where we see Alicia accepting the fantasy part of life, even if it’s all a lie. Now, with this ending, we see Alicia slowly grasping the reality. It is more akin to the message of moving on instead of dwelling on the memories,
Note: You don’t have to play the game all over again to see the other one; just make a hard save before the final battle. So, you will get to see both endings in the game without starting everything from scratch.
