Spoilers ahead for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Following a record-setting Game Awards sweep where it won in nearly every category it was nominated in, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall Interactive announced that new content had been added to the game to celebrate. There’s a fair bit of content in the update, but the addition that’s being talked about most is the extremely challenging bosses added to the Endless Tower.
In addition to these bosses, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s 1.5.0 update includes the following features:
- New costumes for every member of Expedition 33.
- New Weapons.
- New Luminas.
- Lumina Sets, which are essentially loadouts for Luminas. Up to 50 can be saved.
- An abandon battle feature in the pause menu that allows players to restart fights faster.
- A feature-complete Photo Mode.
- A new location called Verso’s Drafts that can be accessed in Act 3 via Esquie’s underwater ability. New music is included for this area.
The Old Key that was previously only accessible in the prologue can now be obtained in the final area, giving players a second chance to use it and get all the journals.
Still, it’s the boss battles that are the talk of the town when it comes to the new Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 update. Prior to this patch, the game already had its share of challenging adversaries. Simon is infamous for his difficulty, as is Clea, and the Paintress is no pushover either. Golgra is another tough endgame encounter, while the various Chromatic bosses will push gamers to their limits whenever they encounter one on their journey. However, according to some players who have braved the Endless Tower and fought the latest endgame threats, these new additions are even tougher than the previous hardest bosses.
Why Are Clair Obscur’s New Bosses So Difficult?
It will immediately be clear why the extra Tower bosses are so difficult when players see their names, as these variants are remixed versions of base game options — including the already overbearing Simon. Given how hard Simon and Clea were in their base forms, it’s hardly a surprise that Redditors like csreynolds84 feel that the new Endless Tower bosses are cheap. This cheesiness comes from huge health bars that are deceptive, as they refill once they’ve been depleted multiple times, as well as one-shot attacks from the buffed version of Simon. Some have even dubbed the Endless Tower additions some of the hardest bosses in gaming.
It’s worth noting that while Simon has become even more infamous with his new version, not everyone agrees that all the additional bosses are problematic. For instance, another Reddit thread from user sebicy saw the player complaining about spending an hour and a half to get Osquio low, only to lose everything after one mistimed dodge with no option to call in reserves or resurrect. However, many players pointed out that the fight, while tough, shouldn’t take that long, arguing that it’s either a build issue or that the OP is underleveled. The jury may be out on Chromatic Lampmaster, Clea Unleashed, and Simon, the Divergent Star being overly difficult, but at least Osquio seems largely well received (even if his final attack has been deemed “ragebait” and “cheap”). Ultimately, while the timing to escape attacks is brutal, some gamers do think the bosses remain “kinda fair.”
The discourse resembles the discussion around Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, as many gamers felt that the final boss of that expansion was too difficult to be fun. However, a key difference here is that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s new additions are completely optional, so ensuring that only the most skilled players can overcome them is less problematic.
