Heads up, this is going to be a massive spoileriffic post, and this is a game that thrives in its mysteries, so read on only if you've started Act III of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (I'm literally just past whatever cutscene follows that title card), or if you truly, truly don't care about spoilers.
So far, I've actually been pretty good at avoiding them myself. But let's get into it:
Spoilers Ahead:
There's reason to think that the Paintress' Monolith is not actually the final dungeon of the game, despite everything really suggesting that, plot-wise. But it's built like a final dungeon - you pass through "tainted" versions of many familiar locations, fighting harder versions of existing enemies, and you have two two-phase boss fights, the latter of which is against the Paintress, who has been presented as the final boss of this game from the beginning.
And the finale plays like the finale of the story: the Paintress is slain, and just as Maelle somehow managed to unmake Renoir after the previous fight (while both were scary, I managed to do both on the first attempt, though Renoir forced me to bring in the reserves). With her defeat, the survivors of the 33rd return to Lumiere and celebrate.
Verso doesn't seem so happy, and goes to the harbor and watches as a wave of energy emits from the Monolith, racing toward Lumiere... and then everyone, regardless of age, is unmade by the Gommage (except Verso).
Why is this happening?
Well, it's complicated, but here's the gist as I understand it:
Aline and Renoir are the parents of Alicia, Verso, and Clea. They are a family of "Painters" living in Paris, but beyond being artists, they can create worlds as kind of extradimensional spaces. As I understand it, this version of Paris, and this world they are from, is not quite ours: it's a fantastical one in which there is some deadly conflict between the "Writers" and the "Painters," and some time prior, Alicia, the youngest daughter of the Descendre family, was somehow tricked by the Writers and some fire started in their home (which is echoed by the Manor that we find doors to throughout the world). Alicia was horribly burned, losing an eye, scarring her face, and losing the ability to speak. But it was Verso who saved her from dying, and died himself.
In her grief, Aline entered a canvas that Verso had created as a child, in which his childhood creations Esquie and Monoco lived in a beautiful fantasy world. Aline created a facsimile of her family, including the Renoir we've seen, as well as our playable Verso, the whole point of things being to keep them alive and immortal.
And in fact, we've had her motivations all wrong: the descending number is not her cruel countdown to obliterating humanity: it's a warning that she's losing the power to stop the real Renoir from erasing the people in this world.
Now, here I might be a little confused: I think the Curator is this real Renoir, and it actually makes sense that he's been helping us because he wants to see the world destroyed, perhaps just to shake his wife out of her delusions.
After the horrifying apocalypse we witness in Lumiere, we're treated to a fakeout epilogue, in which Alicia, sixteen years prior, is in their house in Paris and is told by Clea to enter the canvas to try to get their mother out of there (Aline and Renoir are physically still in the studio, but their eyes are covered over with this strange coloring, indicating that their consciousness enters the painting while they don't do so physically). Upon entering, Alicia is swiftly overcome by Aline's powers and is reborn as Maelle within Lumiere.
Yeah, we knew something special was up with her.
While Maelle's painted body gommaged with everyone else, she returns, perhaps creating herself anew, though now with white hair, and she and Verso meet in an empty Lumiere.
So: holy crap.
I mean, I knew there was a big twist coming, and I've suspected for a long time that the reality of this world was artificial.
And, of course, game-wise, we knew that there were locations we couldn't yet reach (though I think Esquie's flying ability just got unlocked) and there were areas that were still considered too difficult even when I was high-enough level to handle the Paintress.
But I do have some big questions:
First off, Lune and Sciel gommaged, and unless they're actually going to wipe out three of the six total playable characters (including the one with healing capabilities) I'm assuming we'll find a way to get them back. Maelle/Alicia does, of course, now remember her skills as a Painter (which includes getting a new Pictos that allows you to break the 9,999 damage cap, which I'm going to assume will be a mandatory Lumina for every character very soon). I suppose she might be able to re-create them.
Still, there's something deeply existentially weird about all of this: We get so invested in the beginning in the plight of the Lumierans, and grieve for Gustave (I'm still kind of blown away that they kill off the ostensible main character at the end of Act One. Maybe they're fans of Game of Thrones?) But what is their origin?
I guess we're meant to question it all.
Anyway, aside from having a pair of tough boss fights at the end of a truly tough dungeon, these revelations forced me to put the controller down and just chill for a bit.
Oh: speaking of tough dungeon:
I found an actual miniboss named Clair Obscur, a kind of souped-up Clair enemy, which are already tough, and it was flanked by two of them. This was harder than the second Renoir fight and the Paintress fight, and I died a couple times (so far Renoir's first fight is the one I've had the hardest time with, not counting things I think I'm just not high enough level for, like Grosse Tete - which I'm given to understand you should very much ensure that you have Monoco for, as you only get to fight them twice and they have a foot he can learn an ability from).
The fact that this world is one created by a child is actually very cool: Monoco and Esquie are 100% the kinds of characters that a little kid would invent, and actually, the Gestrals being funny little guys who love fighting is also very on-brand.
Anyway, it's a hell of a game. I can't tell if this is the midpoint or if it's kind of plot point two. I guess it depends on whether the game has three or four acts.
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