I’ve beaten Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s final boss and sobbed at the ending, and now I’m venturing off the beaten path to take down the endgame bosses. As someone completely obsessed with 100% completion and that glorious Platinum Trophy, the next step in my journey is to explore the fractured Continent and hunt down these rogue monsters.
And boy, do I regret everything about it.
These fights are so intense they’re giving my fingers literal cramps. Some parries are manageable, sure, but then a boss will throw out a move that completely catches me off guard. Where did that swing come from? Wasn’t that attack delayed last time?
These endgame boss fights are no joke. It’s basically “parry or die”, there’s no in-between. Not even my superpowered Maelle can one-shot them anymore, so I left everything to chance… and a handful of Picto optimizations to squeeze out every bit of damage I could.
I won’t spoil the bosses, since most of them are tied closely to the story, but they’re essentially Dark Souls levels of difficult. And the worst part? They’re tanky as hell. Even after parrying most of their absurdly powerful attacks, I barely chipped away at their massive health pools. Poor Monoco couldn’t handle all the pressure from Blights and other status effects.
It was only then I realized: I really needed to go back and do the other side quests, the Gestral minigames and the Nevron missions I’d missed just so I can relax my cramped fingers. Exploring the fractured Continent with my beloved Esquie gave me just enough XP to start turning the tide.
And just when I thought I was finally ready, another boss came out of nowhere and beat the living ink out of my party. Forget the Paintress, the real challenge in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is its sprawling gallery of endgame monsters. And these aren’t your typical bosses, either. Each one has a unique gimmick that can make or break a battle.
If you’ve fought that one massive Nevron across the ocean, you’re still not prepared. That’s just the beginning. If you see a giant, purple serpent floating in the sky, do not approach it until you’re level 99. Seriously.
Thankfully, the game runs at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5, good PCs, and Series X. But if you’re on a Series S stuck at 30 most of the time, good luck parrying the trickier attacks.
Overall, I’m overwhelmed by just how much endgame content Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 packs in. Even after defeating the final boss, there’s still so much I missed across the overworld, and I’m not sure my fingers can handle much more parrying.
READ: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Real Villain? Frustrating Platforming