Clair Obscur: Expedition 33is a masterpiece of a game and contains one of the most interesting fantasy worlds in recent history. One can get so lost in the beautiful atmosphere of the game that they may not even notice that the developers have hidden many fun easter eggs, secrets, and jokes for the player to notice throughout their journey.
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These easter eggs can take the form of references to other games, hidden character details, and even acknowledgment of the development team. It’s entirely possible that many of these easter eggs went over gamers’ heads, so let’s take a look at some of the most amazing and fun Easter eggs to notice in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Be warned though, as some of these contain end-game spoilers.
10Piano Keys
Musical Development
While art and its role as a coping mechanism is the primary theme of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, one cannot understate the role music plays in this game as well. To that effect, there are several pianos spread throughout the world that the player can press a single key on. What you might not notice immediately though is that each party member actually plays a different key when you press the button, subtly reflecting their personality.
With this small detail existing, one only has to wonder how long it will take for dedicated players to somehow play entire song compositions through a combination of pressing the singular key they have and quickly switching between party members on the fly. Considering how dedicated the internet is, it’ll probably happen sooner than later.
9Trash Can Man
A Smelly Secret
The prologue in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is filled with dozens of NPCs and items which the player can only interact with before they go to the harbor and truly begin the game. With so much to interact with, one can be forgiven for not paying too much attention to the trash can off to the side.
If one were to interact with this trash can multiple times in a row though, they’ll get a very amusing interaction with the game’s trash can man. To make this easter egg even better, if you interacted with this man during the prologue he will reappear during the final dungeon to gift you with an item which can upgrade one of your weapons to max level!
8This is Fine
An Eternal Meme
The citizens of Gestral Village are all, to put it politely, simple in a Homer Simpson-esque fashion. So it should come as no surprise that plenty of them get into ridiculous situations like arguing over what books even are or trapping themselves within their own homes. They’re all just silly in a manner that is very endearing to the audience.
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One of these silly Gestrals will even stay in his home as it is burning down around him, simply commenting that “This is fine.” in reference to amemefrom a 2013 comic by KC Green. While one would think that including internet humor like this in the game would be jarring, the Gestrals are all such a ridiculous existence anyway that this joke somehow fits in-universe.
7A Familiar Card Game
Hopefully With Less Than 400 Cards
Another Easter Egg that can be found within the Gestral Village is one where two NPCs are discussing trading cards. While one has to question the logistics of creatures made of trees trading paper cards, your attention will instead be called to the name of the card game they’re playing: Double Dyad.
Double Dyad is a clear reference to the famous Triple Triad minigame from Final Fantasy VIII andXIV. Considering how much influence Clair Obscur takes from the Final Fantasy franchise, seeing a shout-out to one of the series’ most well-known minigames is a nice wink to the audience and Square Enix.
6Manor Dev Team Portrait
A Moment in Time, Captured Forever
The Manor is one of the biggest mysteries in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. As the player finds doors spread throughout the world, they will be teleported back to this location in order to open up new rooms and obtain goodies like costumes and songs to listen to at camp. One of the rooms, the kitchen, has a very interesting Easter Egg in it if yousolve the puzzle within.
If one were to solve the kitchen’s puzzle and end up underneath it, they will soon discover a portrait that isn’t of the Dessendre family at all, but rather of a very normal-looking group of people. This is actually a painting of Sandfall Interactive, the game’s development team! It’s always nice to see developers hide themselves within games like this.
5Expedition 51
A List of Names
That portrait in the manor isn’t the only method that Sandfall Interactive used to insert themselves into the game. As one of the previous journals the player can find during their journey had a very interesting selection of names, that being the journal of Expedition 51.
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While most journals in this game give one or two names to give the player a sense that each previous Expedition was just as real as theirs, journal 51 gives a large list of names which reflect the actual staff at Sandfall Interactive including director Guillaume Broche, lead environmental artist Carla Deveze, and art director Nicholas Maxim Francombe. Featuring an Easter Egg which only the most eagle-eyed players would even take note of is always appreciated.
4A Gestral Composer
A Familiar Tree
One final method which the development team used to insert themselves into the world can be found on the right side of the Gestral Village, opposite toThe Arena, where a sole Gestral can be seen playing an acoustic guitar on stage alone. He won’t speak to the player, but a quick interaction with him will reveal that this NPC’s name is Lorieniso.
If that name sounds familiar at all, it’s because it’s a play on the name Lorien Testard, the main composer of Expedition 33 who was able to compose over ten hours of fantastic music for this title. So be sure to pay your respects to this NPC next time you pass by the village.
Such a Good Boy
A portrait of the development team isn’t the only secret theDessendre Manoris hiding. As if the player jumps into a painting located within the leftmost hallway, they will discover an entire secret room of the manor covered in paintings of dogs! This so-called dog room actually contains a subtle hint about the role of one of the game’s main party members: Monaco.
One of the dog portraits has a collar with a bell very similar to the one on Monaco’s starting weapon, combine that with how Sandfall Interactive’s office dog is also named Monaco and it can be reasonably assumed that the Monaco within you party is a representation of Verso and Clea’s beloved pet, adding a deeper layer of meaning to this beloved character.
2Baguette Weapon
Become Truly French
While each major area in the game has a mime that you may fight to obtain a mime’s costume and various hairstyles, it can feel a bit empty to not have the most French item of all: a baguette. Luckily for true French enthusiasts, the game rectifies this during a NG+ run of the prologue.
If the player were to go out of their way to find and locate a bakery during their second run if the prologue, they can obtain a baguette Weapon for a character of their choice. Be careful though, as you can only obtain a single baguette weapon per run and even completing NG+ a single time can be quite a challenge.
1Swimsuits for Everyone
Even Villains Need a Vacation
Like any good JRPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 features fun alternate outfits for the characters to wear. What you might not be expecting though, is that these costumes can affect the game’s antagonist as well. Particularly, the swimsuits you may obtain from the variousGestral Beachesthroughout the game.
If the player were to walk up to the final boss fight of the game with each character equipped in only their swimsuits, then the main villain Renoir will follow suit and show up in a swimsuit of his own. Silly and mind-shattering easter eggs like this that only a fraction of players may see are one of the many reasons that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be remembered for years to come.
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