The developers of Clair Obscur gave me an ending interview and some advice

March 27, 2026 - 22:26

This story, perhaps appropriately, goes on a bit longer than you might expect. It ends with a surprise, an unplanned delight in the business of reporting. It is an account of an absurd endeavor: trying to complete the acclaimed role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in a sudden rush ahead of a deadline to interview its developers.

The mission began on a flight to San Francisco, with the game downloaded on a portable device. Over several sleep-deprived days, the journey through the game’s twisting narrative unfolded. Act One concluded with a stunning character death. Act Two revealed the game’s world existed inside a painting, a manifestation of a family’s grief. The true ending involved a pivotal choice between two characters, Verso and Maelle, determining that painted world’s fate.

The deadline was the Game Developers Choice Awards on March 12, where Clair Obscur won Game of the Year. Backstage, the opportunity arose to speak with lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen and lead programmer Tom Guillermin.

They discussed the game’s deliberate, twist-filled structure. “We actually came up with the entire concept together as a whole,” Svedberg-Yen explained. The focus was on the journey of uncovering the truth, exploring the human cost of large-scale decisions. The two endings were always planned as a necessary duality. “There is NO canonical ending, full stop,” she stated, addressing frequent player questions.

In a unique bonus, Guillermin offered an in-person consultation on the player's character builds, examining equipped perks called Pictos and offering strategic advice, even adjusting a loadout personally.

The story seemed to conclude there. Yet, it had an epilogue. On the return flight days later, settling into a window seat, the passenger arriving for the middle seat was recognized instantly: the same long-haired man from the initial journey to San Francisco. In four decades of flying, such a coincidence had never occurred. He remembered, too, noting simply, “You were playing that video game.” The surreal bookend provided a final, unexpected twist to the expedition.