Expedition 33 story explained in detail- whether the game has left you confused and you need straightforward answers or whether you are just interested in knowing the story to know what the game is all about, without actually playing it, here, you can learn the Expedition 33 story in detail, without actually going into the game.
(Spoilers Ahead- Obviously)
If we talk about games that tug at your heartstrings and leave you pondering the depths of human emotion, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 story stands out as a masterpiece. The game released just a few weeks ago, and it has earned a lot of praise on social media, not just due to its unique story and its intense gameplay, but also for being made on very modest budget, with a small team of 30 people or so.
Set in a dark yet mesmerizing world inspired by the Belle Époque era, the game isn’t just about survival; it’s about exploring themes like loss, love, and the lengths people go to preserve memories. Developed by Sandfall Interactive, Expedition 33 story takes players on an unforgettable journey to Lumière, a cursed island plagued by the mysterious “Gommage.” Every year, people of a certain age vanish, and this number just keeps decreasing. Expedition 33 is humanity’s desperate attempt to stop the madness once and for all. This is a story that will have you questioning reality and the price of holding onto the past. Let’s dive into the Expedition 33 story and uncover its emotional and thought-provoking layers.
The Curse of Lumière and the Formation of Expedition 33
The Expedition 33 story begins with the haunting phenomenon known as the “Gommage.” For over 67 years, the island of Lumière has endured this cruel event. Each year, due to the infamous Paintress, everyone above a certain age disappears without a trace.
To combat the Gommage, Lumière sends out yearly expeditions—groups of volunteers, often those with only a year left to live, who venture across a vast ocean to The Continent, a surreal and dangerous landmass, to confront the Paintress and end her cycle of death. Desperation has led the people of Lumière to continue these expeditions in hopes of confronting the Paintress and ending the curse. All previous attempts have failed, each expedition disappearing like the victims they sought to save. They failed for over half a century, with their remnants scattered across The Continent as journals, relics, and warnings for those who follow.
Enter Expedition 33: the latest group of brave souls determined to succeed where others have failed. Led by Gustave, who just lost his ex-lover Sophie to the Gommage, the team includes Maelle, Gustave’s fiercely loyal foster sister, who decided to join the Expedition though she is only 16. The other members include Lune, a reserved mage with a thirst for knowledge; and Sciel, a seasoned warrior haunted by her own failures. Together, they set sail for the Continent, unaware of the unimaginable challenges awaiting them.
A Journey into the Unknown
The Expedition 33 story continues with the group’s journey which starts with hope but quickly turns into a nightmare. Shortly after their expedition begins, they’re ambushed by a man named Renoir, who is incredible powerful enough to kill nearly all of the Expedition’s members. Gustave soon regroups with Lune and tries to find Maelle and any remaining survivor(s). Although Lune argues that they should focus on the expedition rather than finding Maelle, who might even be dead, Gustave insists on finding her.
They soon find Maelle along with an entity named Curator. The team is also introduced to with a unique creature called a Gestral, who brings the team to the Gestral village, hoping that the Gestral Chief can help them find a way to cross the Ocean towards the Paintress. They reach the Gestral village shortly, where they find out that Sciel, another one of Expedition members had survived as well. The Gestral Chief leads them towards a large creature named Esquie, who can fly and swim, and might help them cross the Continent to reach the Paintress.
Meanwhile, Maelle begins to have nightmares about Renoir, the old man who attacked them. They learn that he might one of the earliest Expeditioners, but why he is attacking his own people, and how he is still alive, is beyond their understanding. They are about to continue their journey riding on Esquie, who agrees to help them, in exchange of a favor. However, they are ambushed by Renoir again. In a devastating turn of events, Gustave sacrifices himself to save Maelle, leaving the team shaken and leaderless. They are protected from Renoir by Verso, another one of the earliest Expeditioners who replaces Gustave as their new leader. He explains that Renoir has personal reasons for doing whatever he has been doing. As the Act 1 of the Expedition 33 story ends, Verso explains that Renoir been granted immortality by The Paintress and he believes that killing the Paintress will eliminate him too.
Questions, questions and more questions…
As the Expedition 33 story continues, Verso replaces the role of Gustave as the team’s leader and the main protagonist, and they continue their journey to take down the Paintress. Soon, a friend of Verso, Monoco, a strange-looking creature joins them on the Expedition. However, the team soon splits apart due to an explosion. Maelle soon finds herself alone in a strange-looking mansion where she sees a woman who looks just like the Curator, the strange entity who has been accompanying them. Renoir appears once again, and Verso steps in to protect her, while he is soon joined by the rest of the team as well. Once the fight is over, Maelle sees a strange-looking girl who seems burnt and injured. She has visions of being inside a burning manor, after which the girl disappears along with Renoir, and the mansion itself! This leaves the team with more questions than answers. It is also revealed that Verso is actually Renoir’s son who betrayed his father’s mission to protect the Paintress.
Throughout their journey, the team learn that they will need to defeat two Axons, if they want to destroy the Paintress’s heart, without which, it would be impossible to defeat her. Once both the Axons are destroyed, they head towards the Monolith, where the Paintress resides.
Confrontation with the Paintress
As they are about to confront the Paintress, they are attacked by Renoir once again, but manage to defeat him. The Curator takes Maelle’s hand, places it on the chest of Renoir, and Renoir vanishes. They soon confront the Paintress, who before attacking them, claims that Maelle is not Alicia, and Verso is not the real Verso, which confuses everyone regarding what she is talking about. Eventually, after an intense battle, The Paintress stops attacking them, but instead begin to heal the Expeditioners. She soon dies in Verso’s arms, calling Maelle as “Alicia” for one last time.
Upon successful completion of their missions, the Expeditioners plant their flag and return to Lumière , where they are greeted as heroes. Everyone is now hopeful for a brighter future for the island. However, their happiness is short-lived because everyone is again vanished by a shockwave that appears from the Monolith, as if they are in a Gommage. A background voice reveals a shocking twist- The Paintress was actually trying to protect the people of Lumière every year, but since her powers were fading away, she was only able to protect the people below a certain age, which was leading to the Gommage.
Revisiting the Past- Truths Revealed
The Expedition 33 story then takes players into the past, where they wake up as Alicia, a young girl who looks similar in size to Maelle, but with a disfigured face. She wakes up in a manor that looks completely similar to the one where Gustav and Lune had found Maelle earlier on with the Curator. It is revealed that she belongs to the Dessendre family, a family that belongs to a group known as The Painters, who are exceptionally skilled artists who can create complete worlds of their imagination using something called “The Canvas”. Through her sister Clea, we are told that Alicia’s brother Verso had died protecting her from a fire that was started by The Writers, the rivals of The Painters.
To deal with the grief of losing her only son, their mother Aline, had entered the Canvas created by Verso, which was the only thing remaining of him. The world in this Canvas is the very world we have been seeing so far. To cope with this pain, she also created a different version of their family inside the Canva. Their father Renoir had also immersed himself into the painting as “The Curator” in order to bring their mother back even if it means destroying The Canvas. It was to bring his wife back Renoir had been attempting the Gomage for a long time, which translates to around 67 years inside the Canvas.
Clea asks Alicia to step into the Canvas to bring their Father back, as she needs him to help them in their fight against “The Writers”. However, something terribly wrong happens during this time, and Alicia loses memory of everything, and gets reborn in the world of the Canvas, as Maelle, where she was orphaned at an early age due to The Gommage, and eventually she joined the Expedition to stop it.
The Third and Final Act- A Tough Choice
We are brought back to the present time of the Expedition 33 story, where Maelle and Verso are the only ones left in Lumière , as after the death of the Paintress, everyone has been wiped out. They soon decide that they have to stop their real father Renoir from destroying the Canvas. Although his intentions to destroy it are not evil – he only wishes that his wife moves on from Verso’s death, Maelle and Verso doesn’t want to let go of the only thing remaining that belonged to the actual Verso. Maelle also uses her Paintress powers to revive their former team members Lune and Skielle.
Eventually, Maelle and her team manages to confront Renoir, her father inside the Canvas, and defeat him. However, before fading away, he manages to show them the dark world between the Canvas and the real world. Verso immerses himself into the world, and sees a young boy who is endlessly painting. He realizes that it is the “soul” of the actual Verso is unable to move on, but is endlessly trapped, and is forced to paint eternally to keep his creation alive.
This makes Verso realize the truth behind his father’s words. He realizes that it is best to destroy the Canvas, let Verso’s soul rest, and accept reallity for what it is. This leads to a confrontation between Verso and Maelle, who is afraid to go back to the real world, as she thinks of herself (Alicia) as nothing but a disfigured mute girl without any real future.
Two Endings: But which one is the “good” Ending?
At this point in the Expedition 33 story, players are to make a choice. Fight as Maelle, or fight as Verso. Maelle refuses to let go of the Canvas, because she feels her life in Lumière of the Canvas is much better while her actual life in the real world as Alicia seems to be quite miserable.
If players choose to side with Maelle, Verso dies begging her not to paint him. But soon in the near future, the town of Lumière is brought back to life, and the Gommage is gone forever. All the characters including Gustave are shown to be alive and living their lives in peace. As the game ends however, it shows Maelle’s face to start resembling her Mother Aline’s, hinting that she has only prolonged her cycle of grief, and has become trapped in the Canvas justlike her mother had been.
If the players choose to side with Verso, Maelle fades away as Verso reminds her that she will always have the power of a Paintress, and she can create a different world, if she is tired of her own. He bids farewell to all his friends, and takes the hand of “Verso’s soul”, and walks away, as the Canvas is implicitly destroyed. The game ends in the real world, with the Dessendre family mourning at Verso’s grave.
This ends up the Expedition 33 story, but it definitely room for a sequel. The biggest question we still have is – Who are the Writers and why do they want to destroy the Painters?
Regardless, Expedition 33 is a shining example of storytelling in gaming. It’s not your typical RPG—it’s an unforgettable journey into the philosophical question of what makes us human.
You can read our Expedition 33 review here, where we analyze every aspect of the game.
