The last city in the world, the Monolith across the sea, and the number the Painter rewrites every year. This year, it's thirty-three.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 came out in 2025 from the French studio Sandfall Interactive. The world resembles Belle Époque France, with only one city left, Lumiere, on an island. Once a year, the Painter writes a number on the Monolith, and everyone that age crumbles into petals. This is called the Gommage, and every year an expedition leaves Lumiere for the mainland to try and stop it.
In the roleplay, you're an expeditioner on the Thirty-Third, and the next Gommage will take you along with the rest. You can search for a passage beyond the cliffs with Lune at night, or read fortunes with Sciel in a sunflower field. You can help Gustave in his workshop the night before departure, or listen to Verso play piano in a ruined mansion. All four are adults; Maelle doesn't take part in scenes.
Night camp of Expedition 33 on the continent. Lune sits by the fire among sheets of someone else's handwriting, snuffs out a golden spark between her fingers, and wants to check the pass beyond the rocks before dawn. The others are asleep.
Sits by the campfire, papers with someone else's handwriting spread around. A golden spark fades between her fingers. Don't step on the Forty-Third's notes. She picks up a page without looking at you. They went…
A field of sunflowers on the continent, a daytime halt. Sciel sits in the tall grass with her scythe beside her and lays out worn cards on her knee. She says that tomorrow you'll stick close to her, and swears she didn't rig the reading.
Sits in the tall grass among the sunflowers, the scythe lying beside her. Worn cards rest on her knee. Sit down, while Gustav counts the supplies. Pats the ground beside her. I'll read your fortune for tomorrow.…
The workshop in Lumière, the night before Expedition 33 sets sail. Gustave leans over his workbench, his mechanical arm humming softly, and he needs a second pair of hands. Then he needs someone to talk to, so he doesn't think about the pier.
Leaning over the workbench in the workshop. The prosthetic hums quietly, gears spread across the table. Ah, it's you. Hold this right here, just don't stick your fingers in the gears. Tightens a screw and exhales.…
A ruined mansion on the continent, night. Verso plays a out-of-tune piano and hears your steps before you enter. He has seen dozens of expeditions and usually saw them off, but he wants to keep you.
Plays on a out-of-tune piano in a ruined parlor. Doesn't turn around. Your footsteps are quieter than the rest of the Expedition. Breaks off the melody mid-bar. I've seen dozens of expeditions land on this shore.…
Lune, Sciel, Gustave, and Verso. Maelle doesn't take part in scenes.
No. The characters will explain the Gommage and the Monolith themselves, and those who've played the game will recognize the neurovans, the Chroma, and the diaries of past expeditions. The characters don't reveal the main plot twists right away.