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5 days ago
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The developer behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has acknowledged leaving some completionist fans who wanted a "challenging" final boss fight "disappointed" at its difficulty.
Speaking to Edge magazine (via GamesRadar), Clair Obscur lead game designer Michel Nohra said he regretted not making it clearer that the game's final boss should be fought as soon as possible to experience the battle at its optimum level of challenge.
Nohra noted complaints from some completionist players who found themselves wanting more of tougher fight, having continued to level up by mopping up all the game's side content. But this was something Clair Obscur's team hadn't expected, Nohra explained, as they weren't sure if players would enjoy the game to the extent that they did.
"The only thing I regret is not making it clearer that if you want the intended difficulty for the boss, you have to go beat it now," Nohra said.
"Often, people don't want to finish the game, so they do all the side content before finishing it, because once the story is over, you're usually less motivated to do the side content. And that's something I underestimated, which made people that wanted a challenging end boss fight feel a bit disappointed. I don't regret doing it the way we did it, but [we could have] had more explanation about your choice [in Act 3]."
By way of an explanation, lead programmer Tom Guillermin said it had been "a surprise for us [that] people were doing every single thing there is to do in the game before going to the final dungeon," having previously been unsure how long players would stick around in the game's world once the ability to go beat the final boss became available. "We're happy about that," Guillermin added, "but we didn't see it coming."
For players seeking even tougher challenges, the game's final DLC added a fresh area full of the hardest fights in the game — and players have been having fun with their own creative ways to make these even harder. Last month, one intrepid expeditioner spent eight hours notching up 10,000 parries against one of the DLC's toughest new bosses in frankly ridiculous conditions.
As for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's huge popularity and success, its recent sweep at The Game Awards 2025 speaks for itself. So what's next? Well, with work on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 now complete, fans are already speculating what might come next, as the game's developer has teased that Clair Obscur was a "franchise name" and Expedition 33 was just one story within its universe. In the meantime, you can catch up on the full patch notes for Expedition 33's final update here.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
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