Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Spoilercast - Kinda Funny Gamescast

Summary

Kinda Funny Gamescast: Clair Obscur - Expedition 33 Spoilercast

Release Date: May 7, 2025

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Introduction

In the May 7, 2025 episode of Kinda Funny Gamescast: Clair Obscur, hosts Barrett Courtney, Greg “GameOverGreggy” Miller, Blessing Adeoye, Andy Cortez, Cat Bailey, and Michael Hyam delve deep into the highly anticipated turn-based RPG, Expedition 33. This spoiler-centric episode focuses on unraveling the game's intricate narrative, exploring its endings, boss battles, and discussing potential future expansions. The hosts provide insightful reviews, share personal experiences, and engage with audience questions, making it a comprehensive overview for both avid fans and newcomers.

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Initial Impressions and Reviews

The episode kicks off with the hosts sharing their enthusiasm and initial thoughts on Expedition 33. Both Barrett and Andy highlight their excitement about the game's popularity and its potential influence on future turn-based RPGs.

Greg Miller shares his personal challenge with the game:

“[01:16] Greg Miller: ...I beat Spring last night for the first time because I didn't get to do it my first playthrough... Lunae could not be killed with a nuclear bomb before. She is a world ender now like she is straight up like Dr. Manhattan.”

Barrett emphasizes the collective high ratings from the hosts:

“[09:18] Barrett Courtney: ...Andy and I both gave Expedition 33 a 9 out of 10. We were very high on the game.”

Michael Hyam echoes this sentiment, detailing his review for IGN:

“[09:18] Michael Hyam: ...I also gave it a 9 out of 10 and I wrote a lot about it... It was a really fun exploration of grief and family.”

Cat Bailey provides a nuanced perspective, initially skeptical but ultimately captivated by the game's progression:

“[10:44] Cat Bailey: ...I initially went in feeling a little bit skeptical... By Act 2 onward, I was very hooked.”

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Deep Dive into the Endings

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the game's two distinct endings, each offering different philosophical takeaways.

Barrett Courtney poses a central question:

“[12:35] Barrett Courtney: ...which ending did you choose?”

Cat Bailey chooses the "My El" ending, highlighting her attachment to the characters:

“[14:10] Cat Bailey: I picked My El's ending because... I didn’t want to say goodbye.”

Michael Hyam opts for the "Verso" ending, appreciating its thematic depth:

“[15:16] Michael Hyam: ...I chose My El's ending first because... she’s not content. It's chilling.”

Greg Miller also selects the "Verso" ending, providing his reasoning:

“[19:16] Greg Miller: ...I chose the Verso's ending because... it feels like the right ending.”

The hosts explore the emotional and narrative implications of each ending, debating themes of grief, agency, and the impact of escapism through art. Cat Bailey draws parallels to Star Trek:

“[21:50] Cat Bailey: ...Captain Pike's story in Star Trek resonates with how the game handles the desire to escape reality.”

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Boss Battles and Gameplay Mechanics

The cast enthusiastically discusses their favorite boss fights and the game's combat system, drawing comparisons to other renowned titles.

Greg Miller praises the turn-based mechanics:

“[05:46] Greg Miller: ...the combat system is so rewarding. Everything feels substantial.”

Cat Bailey highlights the diversity in boss designs:

“[52:31] Cat Bailey: ...The Duelist boss was so Elden Ring-inspired. The Lamplighter fight really grabbed me.”

Michael Hyam admires the integration of music and visuals in battles:

“[53:19] Michael Hyam: ...the dungeon uses music layers beautifully, culminating in an epic boss battle.”

They also touch upon the strategic depth required to defeat bosses, emphasizing the need for timing and understanding attack patterns.

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Potential DLC and Future Enhancements

The conversation shifts to speculative content, with the hosts brainstorming possible DLC expansions and improvements.

Audience Question (Zest Whisper): “What would you like to see from the DLC?”

Cat Bailey suggests:

“[43:09] Cat Bailey: ...Previous expeditions could explore different story themes as standalone content.”

Michael Hyam envisions large-scale expansions:

“[45:03] Michael Hyam: ...a standalone expansion akin to Phantom Liberty would be ideal for exploring previous expeditions.”

Greg Miller emphasizes quality over quantity:

“[43:29] Greg Miller: ...I'd prefer a full game expansion rather than minor additions.”

The hosts agree that while additional content could enrich the game, maintaining the narrative's integrity is paramount.

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Audience Engagement and Super Chats

Throughout the episode, the hosts engage with their live audience, addressing various fan comments and questions.

Ryguy2141 inquires about the game's standing among all-time greats:

“[61:28] Ryguy2141: ...Is this a game of all time a la Final Fantasy VII, Ocarina of Time, Elden Ring?”

Cat Bailey responds enthusiastically:

“[61:50] Cat Bailey: ...It's in the Disco Elysium tier of an indie RPG. It's truly special.”

CrystalJ expresses admiration for the game's music and narrative depth:

“[62:13] Michael Hyam: ...the composer Lorian Testard is a genius. The soundtrack blends multiple genres seamlessly.”

Other super chats commend the game's voice acting, art style, and emotional storytelling, reinforcing its critical acclaim.

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Final Thoughts and Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on Expedition 33's impact and legacy.

Cat Bailey asserts the game's enduring significance:

“[62:06] Cat Bailey: ...Sandfall Interactive is officially on the map now. If it's not my game of the year, it's very high up that list.”

Greg Miller appreciates the game's storytelling prowess:

“[51:31] Greg Miller: ...I’m glad they kept it open and showed the positives and negatives for both outcomes.”

Barrett Courtney emphasizes the game's thematic strengths:

“[75:11] Barrett Courtney: ...the gesturals are lovable silly goofballs, adding charm to the narrative.”

Overall, the Kinda Funny Gamescast team lauds Expedition 33 for its innovative turn-based combat, deep narrative, and emotional resonance, positioning it as a standout title in the RPG genre.

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Notable Quotes

• Greg Miller on combat rewards:

  “[05:46] Greg Miller: ...the combat system is so rewarding. Everything feels substantial.”

• Cat Bailey on the game's narrative:

  “[14:34] Cat Bailey: ...It’s both bittersweet in their own way.”

• Michael Hyam on the soundtrack:

  “[53:19] Michael Hyam: ...the dungeon uses music layers beautifully, culminating in an epic boss battle.”

• Barrett Courtney on game design:

  “[35:26] Barrett Courtney: ...the theme of grief and how it affects the world is deeply compelling.”

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Conclusion

This episode of Kinda Funny Gamescast offers an in-depth examination of Expedition 33, celebrating its achievements in storytelling, combat mechanics, and emotional depth. The hosts' passionate discussions and thoughtful critiques provide valuable insights, making it a must-listen for fans eager to understand the game's nuances and its place in the broader gaming landscape.

Transcript

[Greg Miller]

Foreign.

[Barrett Courtney]

Tomorrow comes everybody. Welcome to the kind of funny games cast for Wednesday, May 7, 2025. I am one of your hosts, Barrett Courtney. And here joined with me we've got the Hispanic heartthrob Texas treat Latino heat. Clicking heads and ripping them to shreds the globe. Trotting head shot and rooting tootin three point shooting nitro rifle from Twitch tv. Andy Cortez.

[Greg Miller]

We can use this whenever they pick up just something in the world. I love that this will be useful.

[Barrett Courtney]

And next up we have industry legend, industry icon, acts of the blood gods very own Cat Bailey.

[Cat Bailey]

And God. Oh, I did it. I said it wrong. Hello.

[Greg Miller]

On God.

[Cat Bailey]

On God.

[Barrett Courtney]

And lastly we have the boy who has won the award three times running of best person to close out bars with it is the one, the only Michael Hyam.

[Greg Miller]

Good stuff.

[Michael Hyam]

That's not a good. That's not a good advantage.

[Barrett Courtney]

How's everybody doing today?

[Greg Miller]

My brother Joshua. I'm doing great. I'm doing great. I'm replaying it right now. Replaying this little video game.

[Barrett Courtney]

You're freshened up.

[Greg Miller]

I got that. I was just telling the the squad right here that I beat sprung last night for the first time because I didn't get to do it my first playthrough because I was like, all right, I'm getting kind of close to the edge. I got to beat the video game right be him last night. Got that. The pictos called cheater which lets you go two times in a row and whoever you put it on also gives you 1200 health and you know, as if Lunae could not be killed with a nuclear bomb before. She is a world ender now like she is straight up like Dr. Manhattan. Just like nobody has anything on me. I don't feel like I'm a part of this human race. You know, I'm so much more powerful than everybody.

[Barrett Courtney]

Kat, how you been? Last time I think we saw you was for the switch to like full on direct.

[Cat Bailey]

Wow. It feels like a lifetime ago.

[Barrett Courtney]

I know.

[Michael Hyam]

Did you.

[Barrett Courtney]

Were you able to secure a switch to pre order?

[Cat Bailey]

No.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Okay. All right.

[Cat Bailey]

I think I need to go to GameStop and actually try and get one because they might have supplies hiding, but. Okay, I've got. I'm going to get one. It's going to happen.

[Barrett Courtney]

I believe in you.

[Cat Bailey]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Michael, how you been? It's been a minute, bro.

[Michael Hyam]

I'm so cooked. April was a. Was a wild month for me. I. I did a lot of work. If y' all peeped the IGN first for the Outer Worlds 2. I headed that up all month in addition to reviewing south of Midnight and Claire Obscure Expedition 33 on top of all my other duties and some other stuff. April this month I'm. I'm going to try to chill.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, but be a sleepy boy. Lean into it.

[Michael Hyam]

I'm be boy for a couple weeks and then SGF's gonna hit and we gonna turn up.

[Barrett Courtney]

Hell yeah. Well everybody remember this is the kind of funny games cast. Each and every weekday we get together to talk about the biggest previews, reviews and spoiler casts in video games live on YouTube, Twitch and podcast services around the globe. If you love what we do, support us with the kind of funny membership on Patreon, YouTube, Spotify or Apple podcasts to get all of our ad free, watch us record them live and get a daily exclusive show. For a chance to be part of the show, submit your thoughts and opinions as YouTube super chats. As we go, send in your biggest Claire obscure expedition 33 questions for us to answer on the show today. Because yes, this is the gamescast spoiling full spoilers on Claire obscure expedition 33. All of us are very passionate to talk about it. Excited to talk about it. Andy Cortez is on a second playthrough of a turn based RPG which the hell has frozen over. I feel like that's insane. To me.

[Greg Miller]

It's. I mean, dude, if anything, you know the game is so popular, right? The game. Word of mouth has gotten to people that would have never tried this game. And I am so pumped up about it because now I'm like, dude, now from here on out developers are taking notice and being like, what if we made turn based games good? You know, like that. We can do that too. We can also do that.

[Barrett Courtney]

This is not the panel.

[Greg Miller]

We can also put parries in our games. So excited.

[Cat Bailey]

Yeah, I'm so interested to talk to you because this. There are so many people who don't normally play this type of game who are really into it. So I just want to pick your brain and be like, what is this making you feel? Is it the action aspects that are really grabbing you the story?

[Greg Miller]

Oh yeah. Well, so narratively right off the rip, this game just kind of grabs you in that first sort of section right when we see the. The first gamage happen. And immediately I was like, I haven't felt this way about a narrative in a long time. And when I think of how I played a decent amount of freaking metaphor refantasio.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

And that's usually way more than I would put into a turn based game that is not Pokemon. And the reason I didn't stick around with metaphor was legitimately because I was like damn, I don't this is going to be a 70 hour, 50 hour quest. I don't have time like that right now for this title.

[Barrett Courtney]

Right.

[Greg Miller]

And but you know, even though I'm not generally a turn based person, I still enjoyed it a lot. Right. Like I, I always talk you're. I talk more, I talk more about turn based games that I really, you know, it's just playing into it. But for definitely it is the action, it's the visuals, it's the characters, it's the parries that reward you if you choose to dodge. It's easier but the parry is a much higher risk reward. And then once you start kind of, you know, equipping all the different pictures and luminance and now I'm getting health back for everything. It just feels so rewarding. Everything feels substantial.

[Barrett Courtney]

That and it being 30 hours I think is another thousand percent, thousand percent.

[Cat Bailey]

Me too. Honestly though, it does feel great when you pull off a proper counter or when you have like 10 different attacks coming at you and you manage to parry every single one of them and get the counter attack off.

[Michael Hyam]

This is crazy.

[Greg Miller]

Hugely great. Feels.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, I, we're, we're vibrating in our seats ready to talk about this game. But before we do that, let me get to some housekeeping. Remember, Greg is rocking PAX East Thursday. That is tomorrow and you need to be a part of it. At 11am Eastern, 8am Pacific. Greg's the keynote speaker kicking off PAX east and we'll be doing a fireside chat with final fantasy and Expedition 33. Very own Ben Starr. That's crazy. Good for PAX east getting Ben Star. Greg is there too, I guess. At 2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific. Greg's also hosting the Mafia, the old country panel with the devs. If you're in Boston, you need to be there, but if you aren't, both will be streamed to our Twitch channel. So yes, tomorrow at 8:00am Pacific will be streaming exclusively on our Twitch the keynote. And then we'll be back at 10am on both Twitch and YouTube for games daily. And then at 11 we'll be off of YouTube streaming the mafia panel exclusively on Twitch and And then at 12 we'll be back on Twitch and YouTube for a games cast, which I think we can confirm. Blessing talked about on Games Daily his whole week of playing Death Stranding 2, so definitely tune in for that. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow. Also, you are about to witness history. Snowbike Mike, the most athletic man in his own mind, is embarking on his most daring quest yet, going step for step with Sam Porter Bridges in a literal marathon stream on a treadmill. Come join Roger and Mike this Friday as they attempt to do a full playthrough of Death Stranding 1 through the weekend. But they can only do it with your support. Will Mike and Roger break this treadmill and have to drive to andy's home at 1am to borrow his? As someone who you know it's also his home, I would prefer that not to happen. Either way, find out Friday on Twitch TV. Kind of funny games remember, we're an 11 person business all about live talk shows today. You already got games daily about. What'd y' all talk about today? Andy? I ran that show and I'm blanking.

[Greg Miller]

Let's see. PlayStation LFG Studios, a frog type game that Xbox Handheld. Xbox Handheld, yeah. Type games.

[Barrett Courtney]

Frog type games. This is the games cast and after it is the Pokemon Nick Lock 2.0 finale where Nick Scarpino will battle the Elite Four and finally finish Pokemon Heart Gold slash Soul Silver. Nudge nudge wink wink.

[Greg Miller]

We have like two more. Three more streams.

[Barrett Courtney]

Maybe you don't think you can do the Elite four all today. You're a doubter. I think he does it for Mike's birthday. I think he truly locks in.

[Greg Miller]

I hope so. Yeah, Mike deserves this.

[Barrett Courtney]

He really does. If you're a kind of funny member, today's Greg Way is a Mike takeover. Thank you to our Patreon producers, Carl Jacobs, Omega Buster and Delaney Twining. Today we're brought to you by Imperial Aura Frames and Better help. But we'll tell you about that later. Before we get to topic of the show, this is going to be The Claire Obscure Expedition 33 spoiler cast. Spoiler gloves will be coming off. But just as a quick reminder, Andy and I were on the review for Expedition 33. I believe on that review we both gave it a 9 out of 10. We were very high on the game. Michael hyam, you reviewed Expedition 33 for IGN. What uh, score uh, did you give it and uh, give us a little pitch on your review?

[Michael Hyam]

I also gave it a 9 out of 10 and I wrote a lot about it. You know what I'm saying? Because that's what you do with a review. Damn, I'm so cooked. No, I think it was, it was a really fun exploration of I. I think one of the big things I did in my review was picking apart a lot of the inspirations that I saw through and kind of breaking down why they're not just pulling like, look, look, we're. We're like this game too. We're like this game. We're like this game. It's like, no, they really took ownership of their influences. And I just got done doing an interview with them too, and they were like saying the same things. Like, we didn't want to just make a game like what we wanted to do. We want to put our own spin on it. We really wanted to make it our own. And in my review like this before I talked to them, I was like, hey, I. I guess that came through because that's exactly how I felt. Like, yeah, the UI looks like Persona and all the camera cuts and stylish. And then like, there are bits and pieces of Final Fantasy 10. And like, I talked to them beforehand and they're like, yeah, those are the two games we like, mainly drew inspiration from. But it's so much more than that. And breaking down why it is not just an amalgamation of its influences. Kind of like drove my review. In addition to talking about, you know, where the story hit, where it didn't necessarily hit, and how fucking crazy this combat system is. Dog. Oh, my God, how fresh this game is.

[Barrett Courtney]

Cat, how did you feel about the game? And on the kind of funny scale, what would you give? It threw a 1 out of 10.

[Cat Bailey]

Wow. So initially I went in feeling a little bit skeptical, thinking, it can't be that good, right? And especially in Act 1, it did grab me right at the beginning, that opening sequence. Really beautiful. Heart rending. I haven't had that many feelings since Spider man disappeared. So many dustings. But I. But then I was kind of going, these dungeons are fine. I'm working my way into it. And then I think at Act 1, the end of Act 1, it really grabbed me when the fight with the lantern lamplighter, it was very soulsy actually, with the. The lamps lighting up and then the fight itself. It's a two part fight. And I think I soloed it with Seal when at the very end, like she came in in the reserves and.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, nice.

[Cat Bailey]

My heart was pounding at the end and I was like, I'm in. And then of course, we have the first big twist in that moment, which is a very Game of Thrones surprise. The protagonist is dead because we can't afford Charlie Cox for that amount of time.

[Greg Miller]

I had the same thought, yeah, yeah, you're not.

[Barrett Courtney]

And that's where they had to cut off the budget.

[Greg Miller]

You're playing as riot in the rest of the game.

[Cat Bailey]

And then from Act 2 onward, I was very hooked. And it kept getting better and better. The battle system kept adding new layers, the story kept going in new and interesting directions. And by the end, I was floored. I would give this definitely, probably, if I were reviewing it for IGN, a 9 out of 10, maybe 9.5 decimals.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, we can do that here.

[Cat Bailey]

I was like, there's no way this is higher than 8. And then by the end, I was like, n is definitely.

[Barrett Courtney]

I had a similar trajectory.

[Cat Bailey]

I think it's my game of the year right now.

[Barrett Courtney]

I'm like, I might go right now. For me, it's like I'm still rocking for blueprints, but the more I think about this game, I'm like, ooh, I.

[Cat Bailey]

Haven'T played blueprints yet. So of the games I've played, this is the one for me.

[Barrett Courtney]

All right, let's finally get to it. Topic of the show, it's the Clair Obscure Expedition 33 spoiler cast, spoiler gloves are fully off. So if you're hanging out in the YouTube or Twitch chat, you don't want to be spoiled, especially if people are sending in their super chats asking spoiler filled questions. Maybe get out of here for now and go and beat the game on your own. Where I want to start is actually at the end, because something that my immediate reaction to the first thing I want to ask people when talking about Clare Obscure Expedition 33 is, which ending did you choose? We get to the end after we've kind of. It's been revealed that this world we're in exists in a painting and it was all created by the real life version of Verso. And this is like a childhood painting of his. And you're kind of given this question of, do you side with Verso, this kind of painting version of Verso, and destroy the painting, let him finally rest and make sure Mal in real life can actually, like, not just fully engross herself in art and run away from reality. Or do you choose me, El's side and fight against Verso and make him dance like a monkey for the rest of time and you get to live a very hollow, you know, happy life.

[Greg Miller]

Seems like you're really leading the journey right here.

[Barrett Courtney]

I've seen both endings.

[Cat Bailey]

So you have an ending that you like, right? Yes, that's what it sounds like.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yes, yes, yes. Kat, I want to start with you. Which ending did you. Did you choose?

[Cat Bailey]

I picked My El's ending, actually.

[Greg Miller]

Wow.

[Barrett Courtney]

All right.

[Cat Bailey]

I wanted to be contrarian.

[Barrett Courtney]

Okay.

[Cat Bailey]

As I tend to be, because I felt that the world can be what you make of it. And she had built this life for herself and I don't know, it didn't feel right to take it away. I knew where the game was kind of leading me to. I think both games, both ending. I saw both endings.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

I think I do appreciate that about the game, like, where you can do one ending and then you can go back to a save and like, immediately check out the other.

[Cat Bailey]

I think they're both bittersweet in their own way. And I appreciate about that about this game because I like fiction where there's no right answers, honestly. But really, like, thematically, this game is about grief and found family and being able to move past that grief and taking a step forward into the world. So I think this game is kind of pushing you toward the Verso ending. But I like Myel and I like all my pals from inside the canvas, so I didn't want to say goodbye.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, yeah. Sometimes you got to say goodbye, though.

[Cat Bailey]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Haim, what about yourself?

[Michael Hyam]

I saw both. I picked Myel's ending first because I'm gonna keep it real with you. I kind of. It was a little hard to parse what I was choosing at the moment because. Because the. The way it ramps up towards the very end is that Maelle's motivations and what she actually wants is it's like evolving in real time as the scenes are playing out.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

And so it feels like she's changing her mind. And Verso too. It's like they're both learning something new and making snap decisions in the moment from what they learn from real.

[Barrett Courtney]

And like, the. I feel like the ending kind of happens because Verso Verso makes a snap decision to go into the, like, core of the painting.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah, yeah. Because, like, no matter what ending you choose, you see them like, oh, shit, I learned something new. What am I going to do in this. In this moment? And so I went with Miles first to see what it was. And I think from an artistic perspective, that ending is wild.

[Barrett Courtney]

And I would say it's the more in like, I. It doesn't feel right, but it's the more interesting ending to myself.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah, it is. It's chilling because it. It plays. It's. It's almost like a. Plays into, like, horror. Yeah.

[Cat Bailey]

In a very off key.

[Michael Hyam]

Oh, yeah.

[Greg Miller]

And literally too, like the way Black mirror type.

[Michael Hyam]

And I think when I say, like, from an artistic Perspective. This is like so much. So much better is because throughout the game, the subtleties and facial expressions are so key to can. Like, it's. As a storytelling device. Without that, a lot of its biggest story moments wouldn't hit as hard. More like, more so than any moment in this ending when you see old Verso walk up to the. To the piano and just be like, man, this. But just like you said, he just has to. He has to dance for her in this. This fake world. And you just see it on his face like, damn, this is. This is heartbreaking. Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

And you, like, see Gustav back as well, and he's just like, everything is anything. Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

You see C.L. with her husband, and it's like this. This. This ain't right. It feels like. I mean, the alternative ending to Persona 5 Royal. That's what it feels.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Like the kind of like, oh, you get to choose to be with your friends, but, you know, you throw away all of your morals stuff.

[Michael Hyam]

You know, it's fake. And you see on Miles, face her. She knows. She knows, like, this ain't real. You know, she's not content. She knows. She's not 100% happy. She knows what she's doing. On the flip side, Versos is the very, like, straightforward ending where it's like, hey, you be. It's because you be in that damn painting all the time, and it's like, you strip that away and you need to move on with your life. So I think that is. It's not the most exciting ending. It's not the most interesting ending, but it is kind of. It feels like the right ending. And even that feels loaded. But I like the.

[Barrett Courtney]

To me, it's fascinating of, like, which one is, like, the right ending, which one's the quote unquote canon, what have you. Like, I think there's so many interpretations. And to me, like, even though I like Verso's ending more, and I think there's a bit more of a, like, stronger message of what it. What it does to people to just be lost in art. Which is weirdly similar to what metaphors.

[Michael Hyam]

I call it the anti metaphor.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

Because, like, at the end, this is not a metaphor. Spoiler. But the whole thesis of metaphor is like, fiction can empower you in your real life, whereas Claire Obscure is like, hey, if you get lost in fiction, you will lose everything else in your real life if you don't get the fuck out of. If you just. If that's. You need to live your real life as well.

[Barrett Courtney]

Exactly.

[Michael Hyam]

Into that. So it's like similar messaging but a very different conclusion.

[Barrett Courtney]

But the maille ending like ends with, you know, Versor starting to play the piano and then it goes into the menu music and I'm like, oh, that's, it's.

[Greg Miller]

That's devious.

[Michael Hyam]

It hurts. But, but yeah. Last thing I'll say on the ending is that I like this is how I felt about Phantom Liberty as well, is that there's two mutually exclusive endings that, that paint a full picture. Like you wouldn't fully understand the story in the game if you did not see both endings.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

And then you get that fucking ugly piano hit with the jump scare. Terrifying.

[Michael Hyam]

Versal's like, I'm a fuck up. The only one this world I'll this up.

[Barrett Courtney]

What about yourself?

[Greg Miller]

I chose my, I chose my ending.

[Barrett Courtney]

Wow.

[Greg Miller]

I, I never saw Myel as wanting this life for her out of like an, an evilly selfish thing to do. And also this kid's been painting forever. Keep painting. What do you, you know, what do you. What's it to you? You'll be fine. You'll be fine, Vero. But yeah, to me it would be a lot different if maybe this reality that Mael had lived through through was only, I don't know, a week's worth of simulation where they thought they had been existing, existing their whole lives. But like I, I think that would be one thing. But because they had lived lifetimes and seed or seen relatives pass away, like this is just because it's a, A, a fake artificial world still, like lives have been lived here. This isn't just something that was a computer simulation that was created 20 minutes ago.

[Barrett Courtney]

Right.

[Greg Miller]

And in their minds they have lived these whole lives, but they really have. And it's like, no, these are, these are people with, who have made relationships. And also Myel doesn't want to be eyeless without a voice in reality. Yeah, I see. I totally see both sides. I for sure understand that. I think Versos is the, the canon ending. I think that's the, the, the true ending or whatever. But I also, I love when my movies or media end on a. It's kind of freaky sour note and.

[Barrett Courtney]

Like kind of vague. You're an Inception man. We get it.

[Greg Miller]

And this ends and this ends with that really kind of freaky and like, oh, that was so sick. And yeah, I'm just impressed by the storytelling and by these developers. So that, that's the, the ending that I chose. And then I let Ben Starr know that and he said damn, you didn't get to hear me sing.

[Michael Hyam]

Oh, you didn't get to.

[Greg Miller]

I didn't hear the end credits song, which is him singing I full got pipes.

[Cat Bailey]

This is for all you Star Trek fans, the end. Mael's story is very Captain pike original Star Trek right here. Because in the original Star Trek there's this guy named Captain pike who goes through a horrible accident. He's terribly maimed, and he has a chance to go into a world where he's healthy and whole. And yes, it's a fantasy, but at the same time he's not in horrible pain all the time. And who are we to say to a person, it's like, I want to not be miserable every single day of life. No, go and be in the real world. Go touch grass. Well, but the real world is horrible, actually.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah. And like. Yeah, that's what makes, that's what makes that decision hard. Right. And that's what makes seeing both endings hard, is because it's like, yeah, there's, there's, there is no right way to go. I will say picking Versals ending though, they do not make that easy.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, like they really. So I get to the ending of the game and then it's like, which one do you choose? And I had to walk away for roughly 10 to 15 minutes to think about it in my life.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

And then I came back and it was like, because it is one that really challenges you. And I talked a lot of shit about my El's ending, but it did really challenge me in the kind of. Again, this game reminding me a lot about metaphor. And I would say metaphor does talk a little bit about like, yes, fiction can inspire you to do things in your real life, but also, what's it worth to just get lost in the fiction? Which, like, I won't get too deep into why and give you all a metaphor stray in the middle of this. But I was thinking a lot about that. But I was also thinking about how much my Al has gone through, how much she has lived through in this world. Right. But I did choose Verso's ending. And from the jump, I. The dialogue is the same throughout the fight. It's just depending on who you're playing as. And like, they really make you feel like the villain plague is Verso fighting my L. And it's like, oh, this, this hurts.

[Michael Hyam]

Especially after, after you finish the fight where you have to say goodbye to SK and Minoko.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

They get Thanos snapped. It's like, it's heartbreaking.

[Barrett Courtney]

Real quick. This is just a side question. We. We can circle back to this in the main way. Is there a way to romance Lunae or is it only cl?

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Okay.

[Michael Hyam]

I did. I. I up.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

Because Luna is literally like the greatest character of all time.

[Greg Miller]

Okay.

[Michael Hyam]

I just didn't.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

You have to finish your social link.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Well, so you probably have to do her and you have to do her stuff before you do CL stuff. I imagine. Or just not do CL stuff.

[Michael Hyam]

I'm not 100% sure.

[Barrett Courtney]

Okay, okay, I did, but I. I.

[Greg Miller]

Did all of the. The character quests, but I also chose to decline CL and her advancements because I also felt like, man, if you're doing that, if we snap your husband back in, I think it's about the opposite.

[Barrett Courtney]

You have to shut down. You have to shut CL down twice, I think.

[Greg Miller]

Okay.

[Barrett Courtney]

The second time I was given the option with cl, it felt like all options were just like, I guess we're just gonna. Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Like, I did.

[Barrett Courtney]

The text didn't feel like I was actually shutting her down all the way. So.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah, I was like, you nasty boy.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

To bring it back to the ending here, we're like, yeah, cl. At least for my playthrough walks through and you kind of hug or nod or whatever, and Lunae is the one kind of in the portal staring at you like, pissed. And like, I don't know if that just gets reversed, like, depending on who you romance.

[Michael Hyam]

I think it's the same.

[Barrett Courtney]

But it. It felt very fitting for Luna to, like, just be so angry at you.

[Greg Miller]

Well, she's always been the more. I mean, you know, the whole cl, you know, wearing masks, faking how you feel, not ever showing your true emotions. And Luna has always been the more pragmatic. I'm going to. You know, when Miles dealing with a super traumatizing moment and Luna just keeps on like, yo, give me more info. And everybody's like, chill the out, Luna. Like, what are you doing? You know, like there. I loved because I did end up watching that ending. And man, she stares daggers at you, and it's awesome. Look, I think if I. I'm very easily swayed on character emotion, and I think I would have. And I'm glad they didn't do this, but I think if they gave me a moment with faceless verso drawing, and if he looked up and was like, help me, then I probably would draw my hands. Tired Bruce. On my knees. I wish I like, I think if they gave me anything like that. And I'm glad they didn't because it made the decision that Much tougher then I probably would have leaned towards Verso's ending. But I, I'm glad they kind of kept it as, like, open as they did and showed you the, the positives and negatives for both outcomes.

[Barrett Courtney]

I, I, I think for me, like, just the Verso thing, especially him being this painting version and having to know everything he knows and then also seeing the kid constantly, like, drawing and thinking about, like, how long he has been there, like, the core of this painting. It's like, yeah, like, y' all are using, like, your, your dead brother's thing for entertainment and what or not entertainment, but, like, escapism. And if you're just gonna use it forever and ever and ever, like, just like, let this dude rest, you know, and it was, I think that's what kind of pulled me towards it.

[Cat Bailey]

It's not actually Verso. Verso's dead, right?

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, yeah. Yes. But still, it's like a part of him. And with these, you know, the painting version of Verso being, you know, this again, dancing monkey is like, kind of always what I, I go to is, like, just let this part of his soul rest. And I think that's really what drew me over to him. And not just the, like, you know, maybe using art as escapism for the rest of your life is maybe a little bit unhealthy type of thing, but, and, and just because you do have to let go doesn't mean, like, you know, those friends and those lives that you encounter don't kind of carry with you. Right. I, I do really love the Verso ending where, you know, they're the family kind of comes together, still a little bit broken, but finally, like, taking a moment to actually properly mourn Verso, who had died in the real world. And then you get the shot of male looking at all of her friends that she made, and then they, like, they dissolve and gomage and it's like.

[Cat Bailey]

Oh, they were real. They were her imaginary friends.

[Barrett Courtney]

No, they were real. That just, she'll, she'll always carry them.

[Michael Hyam]

She's holding that, she's holding the sky like, oh, damn.

[Barrett Courtney]

He was just making his toys in this painting and just to be his buddies.

[Michael Hyam]

And it's so, it's, I love the contrast of, like, tragic sexyman Ben Starr playing Verso and then being like, the gruff, manly dude who's going to fudgeing do a million damage if you spec him out right in one hit and just being like, this, like, one of the, like, toughest characters and the, you know, the way he looks and then, you know, contrasting that with, like, oh, but like this.

[Barrett Courtney]

The.

[Michael Hyam]

The. The manifestation of his soft side is. Is that it's. It's Minoko and it's Esky, and it's that that childlike wonder didn't, like, still came through in that.

[Greg Miller]

And he named after his dogs.

[Cat Bailey]

That's what I was.

[Michael Hyam]

And he embraces that as we need.

[Cat Bailey]

The dog Monoko.

[Barrett Courtney]

To kind of work backwards from here. And this is kind of the second big question I have, mainly because talking to some friends of the show about them getting to kind of the end of Act 2, us realizing what this world truly is. All of this stuff. When we learn that we're in a painting and male is a part of this family outside of the painting that have these painter powers or whatever, and they're at war with writers and all this stuff. Once we get this big reveal, and we also get the reveal that the painters inside the painting has actually been trying to save the painting and warning all y' all, like, did that initially work for y' all initially getting to it? Because I think for me, the. The cut scene where it's Verso reading the letter from the painted version of Alicia, and she's talking about, like, you know, the mom has actually been painting to give life. The dad has been painting to. For death or whatever. That was all, like, really shocking. And then to see everybody be Gomodge was like, what? That felt like the. We just got an inception ending right here, and then it's like, oh, no, there's more. It was like, whoa. And then to kind of get that full scale, it took a little bit for me to get fully sold on it. And so I'm wondering where y' all kind of were at.

[Greg Miller]

I'm right there with you. It reminded me a lot of the. As much as I enjoyed a thousand times resist, I thought it ended about 12 times, and I'm gonna beat your ass right now. And then you get more. And then you're like, ah, but it's good. So I don't give a right.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah, there we go.

[Greg Miller]

But when you're in our line of work and you're in review season, it's like, ah, man, I really love this game. I thought, like, I thought it was gonna be an early night, and it's not. I'm gonna keep on, like, playing through the end to this video game. And so initially, I am kind of met with, oh, is this getting larger than it needs to be? Is this getting too conceptually out there with the writers in the painter's war. Like, I don't fucking care about whatever's happening out there. And then, you know, a couple of lines of dialogue and I'm like, that's actually kind of cool. Like, I want to learn more about it. And it didn't take much for me to be into it. It was only more of a time thing where I'm like, damn, it's already nine and I was hoping to, like, shower and get to bed early. So, yeah, I enjoyed it. Yeah.

[Cat Bailey]

Ye. I mean, I liked the twist. It made a lot of sense to me. When I got to Act 3, I had heard some people say, ah, we're a little mixed on Act 3. We don't know how we feel about it. Some people love it, some people aren't so sure. In some ways, I felt like I was playing a different game when I got to act three, because thematically it becomes very, very different. The first two acts are. It's an impossible mission. You're following in the footsteps of those who have come before, who are paving the way for you there. You're trying to save the world. Do you. How do you exist in this world that is dying? I don't know. And that's all very compelling in this day and age, at least to me. Well, I mean, literally in the first few minutes, they go, well, I decided not to be a mom because I can't bear to bring a child into this horrible world. And I'm like, well, that hits really hard for me in various ways. And then to act three, it's like, actually, it's about grief.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah. It's about family.

[Cat Bailey]

It's about saying goodbye. It's about family. And I said, oh, okay. So this is a totally. It all connects to. It comes together. It's fine. But it did feel like almost a different story when I got there.

[Greg Miller]

And you're essentially writing off an already impressive, like, story. And with world building, that was already awesome. To where it's like, God, I'm so interested in whatever the hell is happening here. Yeah. The meeting, all these random NPCs talking about living in this fracture and just how up it is and you can't grow old. And you. When you want to have a kid, you. It's like, well, I'm not going to be around for them to grow up, but I want to have a kid to where I'm not old enough. But, you know, it's like all of that inner strife was so fascinating and then it does kind of feel like, oh, damn. But it was. It was all A dream. And I really loved that world, and I kind of wanted that fiction to continue. And it. It just kept on getting more interesting.

[Cat Bailey]

Though I think often I'm not the biggest fan of the. Well, actually, none of this is real. Like, I like the stakes to be a lot more grounded. But at the same time, when you get to Act 3 and you learn everything, it all starts to make a lot of sense that they were inside a painting. All of the really abstract elements of it, the bosses, everything's hazy environments, the haziness, it all goes, oh, right, of course it's a painting. And I was a little critical on the art. And the first act, I was saying, well, these environments are a little like an Unreal Engine 5 tech demo. And then when you. When all is revealed to you, you regret your words and deeds. And that's me. I'm like, oh, no. Actually, it's extremely coherent.

[Michael Hyam]

You think it's like, oh, there's a bunch of floating stuff to, like, make this place look like something.

[Barrett Courtney]

Oh, no, a child just made this. And they're like, ah, this looks cool.

[Greg Miller]

You put floating stuff. That's art direction.

[Michael Hyam]

I think I'm kind of with both y' all on that. That's exactly how I felt when the twist happened, is that it took me a little while to come around on it. And when. Look, because I was in the preview and in the lead up to that, I was, like, sold on the premise. It reminded me of a Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which is, like, one of my favorite games of all time at this point. And that theme of knowing when your time is coming and doing something about that. That's why Xenoblade Chronicles 3 hit with me so hard. When I had to come to terms with that after heart surgery and being told that I'm not going to have a shorter lifespan than everyone else around me. All things equal, when Expedition 33's story was started to, like, unfold, I'm like, holy. They. They made a story that is going to, like, absolutely hit me. And it still does in many ways. But then when you hit act three, it's like, oh, it's about something else. And there's. There's enough connect. Like, it took me a while to, like, pieces together. And I talked to Eric, Eric Van Allen about this too, when he finished it is that there is enough connective tissue to make those two halves make sense. But I do wish that I wonder if there is a version. Dreaming up things that don't exist. But I wonder if there's a version of both halves of those stories that were like fully about those things.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

Because like the stuff about the. About the family. About my El's family or Miles painted she's fake about the Renoir's family or whoever the versus family. Like that stuff is compelling and it's. It's done really well. But it happens very fast. Right. So I like, that's why like throughout act three, I'm like, oh shit. I feel like I need a really speed run or not speed run. I need to like really come to grips with what is happening in front of me. I need to like sit down with every line of dialogue and be like, what does this all mean? And I am kind of 5050 on like, oh, it was all a dream type scenario. But it like in the context of what do you find out? Like, oh, this is a fake world in which Miles coping within because of the tragedy that happened to the family. Then it all. All came together. So like it comes together.

[Cat Bailey]

It does.

[Michael Hyam]

But I'm still mixed on the transition.

[Cat Bailey]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Kind of wish I had all 100 of that and 100 of the other thing as well.

[Barrett Courtney]

Exactly.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

It's crazy that how great the world building and concepts are that like they base. It's almost like any other developer would have been like, damn, that content's really good. Let's say that for another game. And they kind of just put them all in here. Which I think is like a pretty astonishing feat, I think.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Cat Bailey]

I want to say in fairness that they really lay the groundwork for saying it is about family.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Cat Bailey]

From a very. Basically from the moment that you meet Renoir and everything.

[Michael Hyam]

Sure. Yeah.

[Cat Bailey]

But I. When I think about how all of this ultimately came together, I think it could have been a very different game and maybe a lesser game if it had been like, oh, you killed the painters. But actually she was defending everybody and now you have to go save the world. For real. For real. Real. And that could have been a great story on its own and very moving and all of that. But I think swerving hard and then really becoming introspective and thinking about grief and family and everything. I think it's a. I think it elevates it actually. I think it takes it to another level. And that was when I thought Act 2 was like, I'm hooked, I'm sold, I'm in Act 3. I was like, this game is special.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah. Yeah. For me it really started to click for when you start to. Act three is pretty much like you get a good story Chunk. And then it's like, all right, here's your last chance to, like, go do side quest stuff before you do your final run up to the final boss. And it really clicked for me of, like, exploring around, taking it in that this is Versa's world as a child and putting together that, like, the angry turtle man, who is like, SK's roommate, is angry and is angry because he misses Verso's sister who used to come in and play in this world. And when you first hear of this, like, woman's name, you don't. You don't know the context of it. And then coming back to visit him because of SGA's side quest, you're like, oh, that hit me like a ton of bricks. And then, you know, doing the other action thing that leads into male doing a 1v1 boss fight with herself, which is like some of the coolest, like, side option stuff in the. In the game that really started to click with click with me. And I think. I think. I forget who says this. I think it might be Verso to my L or maybe somebody else. But at one point they say the whole world carries the burden of your family's grief. And that was kind of the moment the two different themes clicked together for me that even though a lot of this game is about grief, it also kind of comes in tandem with what they do and how that affects the people who do now have to live in the society that are dealing with all of these struggles. That's. That's where it really all came together for me.

[Cat Bailey]

I see a lot of people comparing this game to Final Fantasy 10's ending, and I have to say that it's like Final Fantasy 10's ending, but good. I never.

[Greg Miller]

Damn.

[Michael Hyam]

I never liked Titus catching strays.

[Cat Bailey]

I never liked Titus's ending. It's Titus. And I never liked. I never liked the Zanark and Vit because, yes, I know they established it and everything.

[Michael Hyam]

You've got to get flamed.

[Cat Bailey]

I felt like if you had made it about Yuna and just kept it to that, it could have been a really, really special story. And in this, I felt that it made a lot more sense. They did a really good job of establishing it within the bounds of the world. The idea of painting on a canvas, that they're all living inside a painting and everything, it works well in this kind of abstract kind of sense. So, yeah, it's much more coherent work, I think. Sorry, Final Fantasy 10 fans.

[Barrett Courtney]

And with that dunk on Final Fantasy 10, we'll be right back to talk more about claire obscure expedition 33 right after a word from our sponsors.

[E]

This episode is brought to you by Imperial. We've told you all how important it is to developers to wishlist games that you're interested in, so if this sounds cool to you, make sure you wish list it. Imperial is a complex, feature rich action RPG where you'll be sent to a planet and in a far off corner of the galaxy to explore an imposing monolith. As an elite mercenary, you'll join the expedition tasked with unearthing the secrets of the Monolith and face off against the deadly automatons within. In Imperial, you'll explore four vastly different quadrants of the monolith, accessible only by using mysterious artifacts known as cardigrams. Each cardigram affects which enemies, boss fights and loot will appear when you enter the monolith, so no two excursions will be the same. Find even more cartograms to explore by looting defeated enemies or buy them from other players online at the Trading Post. Imperial features three weapon archetypes the fast paced Acrobatic Glaive, the defense focused Mace and Shield, or the Devastating Cannon with a range of customizable skills and abilities that can make short work of the awaiting automatons. Your weapons and abilities can be changed before any excursion into a cartogram, so if a loadout isn't working for you, you can mix things up to create the perfect playstyle, help the members of the expedition in deep branching quests, and aid other players in asynchronous multiplayer. Get ready mercenaries. The Monolith awaits. Imperial is available May 8 on PC, Xbox Series X and S and PS5. Wishlist now it helps so much. Wishlist Imperial this episode is brought to.

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[Barrett Courtney]

Welcome back everybody. We're gonna kick it to some super chats just because y' all have been coming through asking questions for us to answer and ponder over. First we're going to go to Zest Whisper who says the devs have discussed potential DLC in the future. What would you like to see from the dlc? New Areas and bosses Previous Expeditions More Minoko I think previous expeditions could be like a really cool way to kind of go into some different types of story, different themes, but still keep it in this world.

[Cat Bailey]

It's a very complete work and it's sort of hard to jam in extra dlc. I suppose you could have a new area that you could explore say during Act 2 or something like that. But I think the side stories with previous expeditions where you get to meet new characters and have different abilities could be just a lot of fun as standalone content.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, what was up with those one little levels that would have that one fixed camera angle and you would just walk in super far away from the camera.

[Michael Hyam]

You just got an item.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

That to me was like, my game is broken. I was like, wow, the camera, the camera here is not working. To me. That was like in a walk way far back and I'm just like lost back there.

[Barrett Courtney]

It was an homage to like the, yeah, 90s era RPGs where you just like kind of walk onto a screen, you like kind of vibe out, pick up an item and then leave.

[Greg Miller]

There's like so infrequent that I thought it was broken. I was like, I've only experienced this twice. Like there's no way this.

[Michael Hyam]

It was just like, hey, look how cool this looks.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, like here, here's an entire vibe that we couldn't work into like a full on environment, but we still wanted to use it, you know.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah. Going on the DLC thing, I, if anything I wouldn't really want something that substantial regarding like previous expeditions in the dlc because I don't know if I, I don't know their budget or their time or whatever, but I would want like a full ass game for that. I would want a, a full other game. Because straight up, dude, like I don't know how many of these voice members I've collected at this point, but I'm looking, I'm listening to them all. And the last one that I just listened to on stream last night was one that I hadn't heard during my first full playthrough. And I'm like, dude, some games can't get one good voice actor. This game has a shitload of voice memos from some of the best voice delivery acting you'll ever hear in your life. And they're not even main characters, they're just like a random boy. Like God, it's so impressive, dude.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah, yeah, I kind of agree with. If you're going to explore a previous expedition, it might be like a standalone expansion or like the size of a Phantom Liberty Morales. Yeah, yeah, because there, there's. And like the fact that Verso has been involved with previous expeditions is that there's connective tissue there. I mean, considering how big Claire Obscure is as a base game, like I wouldn't mind if they, if they did that. And like the, if you, the more you dig into those logs, you realize how rich this world is to explore those things. Yeah, I would love to see that. But I don't know if like opening up an extra area for like, like extra bosses would necessarily move the needle for me or get me excited because There is so much side content already in the game. Like, you can spend an additional 30 hours on side content alone. And I've spent a lot of time on that side content. You learn so much more about the story in some of those super bosses, and you learn to break the fucking game in some crazy ways.

[Barrett Courtney]

Some of the things Jesse Fatali shouts out to. How's your brain working?

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah. So I feel like that desire is fulfilled already inside content. So, yeah, the only thing I can think of is like, here's an.

[Cat Bailey]

What about an endless tower? Somebody was saying this in the chat. I really like this idea, actually, because the battle theme is the battle music. Sorry. The battle system is so good that I could just spend a long time grinding through battle after battle after battle.

[Barrett Courtney]

I mean, there is.

[Greg Miller]

Did you do.

[Michael Hyam]

Did you do the endless Tower? The endless Tower?

[Cat Bailey]

No.

[Barrett Courtney]

Quote, unquote.

[Michael Hyam]

Oh, yeah, there. There. There is an endless tower, but it gets so hard that you think it's endless. Yeah, I think there's like. I forgot. I think.

[Cat Bailey]

Okay, then I'm gonna go do that.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, There you go.

[Barrett Courtney]

You already have your.

[Michael Hyam]

Dude, there's a lot of. Wow.

[Greg Miller]

I keep hearing about this boss named Simon and how it's like, that's the one. Andy. That's really gonna like, you up and everybody up.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

And then I thought of, like, man, Simon Madness. And Liza P. Was also pain in the ass. Like, I don't know what it is about this Simon guy, but I. I gotta, um. Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

In a similar vein, drop, drop, kick. Tondo asked, do you think the war with the writers hints at possible. At franchise possibilities?

[Greg Miller]

Oh, I think so.

[Barrett Courtney]

That. See, that's where the story, Like, I was so not interested in that stuff. Like, I. I get where it comes into it being about grief and all this stuff. I would have preferred if it was like, Verso's stuff was kind of kept within, like, the confines of just like this family. Them teasing this whole, like. Like, we're at war with writers.

[Cat Bailey]

Writers. I hate them.

[Greg Miller]

It's like, all right, it becomes the Matrix with the flying robots, and that's where I left. I get that. But I'm also such a sucker for proper nouns versus proper nouns. Destiny, the. The floaters against the wieners. I don't know. But, like, dude, like, the writers versus the painters is such a cool sounding thing. Yeah, I have to have that. That sounds so nerdy and awesome.

[Michael Hyam]

I would be sold on it if they gave it a full exploration, is what I'll say.

[Cat Bailey]

I think they could do a Great job. At the same time, I'm. I'm good. I don't really need a sequel because it's a very complete story. I feel like it came to an end. I. I don't know where you could go with this particular world. I guess we could do writers versus painters, but I'd rather see them do something new with their next.

[Barrett Courtney]

I think they could keep it in the world, but it's just not the. I forget their family name. Yeah. Like, it's just not about them. It's just like a different.

[Cat Bailey]

There have been so many other paintings, right?

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah. Like, there's a lot of other paintings.

[Michael Hyam]

I go back to them.

[Barrett Courtney]

Are they the only painter family? Do we start in a world that's like, you know, from the writers or something? I don't know, man. There's a lot that you could do.

[Michael Hyam]

Give me that Bob Ross DLC boss.

[Greg Miller]

When you all. When. When Gustav bites. Bites the dust. Right.

[Michael Hyam]

You can say it out loud.

[Greg Miller]

We rest in peace. Gustav.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

When he dies, use the.

[Barrett Courtney]

You know.

[Greg Miller]

Were you. Oh, true.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Were you expecting to. To take over as my L. Because I was. And I was kind of disappointed I wasn't. And then I wonder what the decisions were there to not have that be the case. Because I feel I. I could see a lot of different explanations for why you would and why you wouldn't of. Well, if you can't be Verso, that takes away the relationship. Big level ups or whatever. Because at. At a certain point you'd have to be an unknown entity kind of talking to your. Your squad mates or whatever, catching strays out here.

[Michael Hyam]

Oh my God, I don't want to relive this moment.

[Greg Miller]

When that happened, I was like, that's it. That's Sephiroth, Savin, Mario. But like, for me, in that moment, I was like, it. It would. It felt like it would have been so fitting to take over as my Elm. But I could totally see this storytelling reasons for why you wouldn't. Because things would need to be a bit more obscure.

[Cat Bailey]

So what you're saying is, did we need Verso? Was. I mean, Verso an essential character?

[Greg Miller]

No, I totally see the need. I do. For me, it was like, I don't want to take over as versa. I wanted to take over as myself.

[Barrett Courtney]

Similar to when you get the reveal of what the world is and then like in the first couple hours you're like, why?

[Michael Hyam]

It seems so.

[Barrett Courtney]

And then like once you get like halfway through or like. Yeah, halfway through act two, that's where I became more like, okay, I get why reverso right now.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Once you kind of learn that, like, oh, Renoir is his dad. And, like, there's a bit more of a connective tissue here because in my, like, gut instinct as well, it's like, why aren't we playing as the other person who's been set up in the last 10 hours as, like, the other protagonist?

[Cat Bailey]

I think that's interesting because I saw the story through Mael's eyes. I mean, she's in most of the cutscenes. I was running around the world in as her, so I don't know if I would say that I was versor.

[Greg Miller]

I only felt that way when you're at the home base, going to go interview. All right.

[Cat Bailey]

When you're talking to people, you are versed.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

And.

[Greg Miller]

And because of that, it. I. I kind of wish I could have appreciated more of the. The distrust of this Verso character because he, In. He is introduced in such a. An odd way where I'm like, wait.

[Cat Bailey]

But, you know, I'm here.

[Greg Miller]

You were just hanging with that dude, and now you're saying you're with me. Like, I can't really trust you. And I. I kind of. I wonder if the whole sole purpose of, like, was like, no, you're gonna play as him at the home base because we want you to trust him more, as opposed to him still being this mysterious figure that's just kind of lurking around the base. I say lurking.

[Cat Bailey]

It would have been interesting if he had been a mysterious figure lurking around the base.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, I. I think so. But then, you know, that doesn't let you. I can't, you know, romance lunae. And what's the point of the game if I can't do that?

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah. I just think it happens too fast. They don't give you a moment to, like, really sit with Gustav's, like, passing.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

Or his death. And they're just kind of like, all right, here's. Here's the new Gustav.

[Barrett Courtney]

And you don't get to, like, have a moment of Gustav's death until, like, a couple hours in where they do.

[Michael Hyam]

The dungeon and you do that. But Versal's already in the mix, so it's like, ah, I guess I didn't really. I didn't really feel. I didn't have the feeling of, like, oh, there's something missing in this party right now. So it's just like, a little nitpick in terms of. I get, like, the game's like, brevity, like, hey, we need to move we need to put these things as soon as possible. Get to the point. But that is one moment in which like, okay, Gustav's gone. Enter verso.

[Barrett Courtney]

Cool.

[Michael Hyam]

Your party is still complete. Move on. I'll give it a little bit more time.

[Greg Miller]

I like that. Lunae is essentially the game devs in these moments where Luna is like, no, we got to move on. We can't bear him. We got to continue with the mission. That's what we do.

[Barrett Courtney]

Mellow fellow asks, what's everyone's favorite boss and why? Is it one of the actions or the duelist? My God, those bosses were next level in this game.

[Cat Bailey]

The duelist was so Elden Ring. I mean, basically Shadow of the Erdtree. There's a boss down to the starting, the flame, the swords on fire. And I'm like, wow, this game went full fromsoftware. I'm here for it. No, I like the Lamplighter boss. That was the one that really grabbed me right from the start. I think the Renoir fight at the Louvre was a lot of fun. Actually, the final Renoir fight was one of my favorites. I finished it in one go.

[Barrett Courtney]

Damn.

[Michael Hyam]

Damn.

[Barrett Courtney]

You're a real gamer.

[Cat Bailey]

I had fine. Well here. Okay, my dark secret. I didn't figure out that the Pictos boosted your stats until well after I had beaten the Axons. I was like, God, why is this so hard? Why am I getting killed so easily? And then somebody mentioned it offhand. It's like, oh, yeah, I was using the Pictos to boost my stats. I'm like, what?

[Michael Hyam]

And then you see, like, oh, I could get 2000 health off of this picture, huh? Yeah.

[Cat Bailey]

I was using low level Pictos because I was like, well, this is a really good ability. I want to have this on my character. No, it's the stat stats.

[Michael Hyam]

It's all stats. My favorite boss fight I still think about it is what's the. The dancing boss? Oh, that whole dungeon, like that got me like, the dungeon because of how it uses music, because it has this song and you, as you progress in the dungeon, different layers of that song play in and out.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yep.

[Michael Hyam]

And you have an instrumental version, you have an acapella version, you have like a scaled back version with a few instruments. And then you get to like the final phase of that dungeon and it's the full song with everything. And I was like, yo, these cooked. And it is like one of the most beautiful songs. Like, I sat there like staring at the boss for 20 minutes just listening to the dungeon theme, like, damn, this is beautiful. And Then you fight the boss and it's like a big boss battle version arrangement of that song. And that. That is such an RPG thing to do.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

And at that moment I was like, oh, they understood the assignment from every single and they executed it.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, perfect.

[Michael Hyam]

And like they. They did it their own way. And like that fight was super cool because of, you know, when siren calls in the other dancers and you have to layer in all these attacks. There's like a jump dodge and there's like a multi hit dodge all in one go. And you have this music playing and the environment is like flying at you. The mask keeper boss, don't get me wrong. Was it is. It was incredible.

[Cat Bailey]

One of my favorite boss themes in that.

[Greg Miller]

It's very mournful.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah, that was yours.

[Cat Bailey]

Anybody beat the mask keeper without defeating the mask?

[Greg Miller]

No, I did the first time.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Really crazy.

[Cat Bailey]

Which one did you stay at? Keep alive.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, no, wait, wait, no, sorry, sorry.

[Cat Bailey]

Because Joy.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, yeah. So check it out.

[Cat Bailey]

Joy heals it so fast.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Michael Hyam]

So the one you should kill.

[Cat Bailey]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

My first time playing, I. I didn't go to the optional paths. I was like, I'll save that for the stream next time I do this. Little did I know what the whole point of the boss was. Right. But like the whole point of this boss fight is you can main path and go straight for the boss or you can go these alternate paths and essentially weaken the boss and make their moves, you know, less shitty for you.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

And I didn't know that. I thought it was just kind of like extra to get maybe more pictos. So I saved that for stream and I was like, whoa, this is really cool. And then for the siren fight when big homeboy spindle man. Yeah. And you know, it's like, hey, this, this enemy's not hostile.

[Michael Hyam]

He's mining his office. Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

I thought I would have been rewarded for not attacking it. So I was like, I'm not gonna attack it.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

I'm not gonna fight it. It seems like it's one of those, like, you know, hey, this might help us take down the boss. But it's saying, hey, it's not hostile. Do you want to attack it? I said no, because I bet you he's gonna pop through for me at the end of the fight and he's gonna be, I'm tired of working for you, C Ren or some. And like, no, it turns out it if you fight him and kill him in that moment. So I was able to do both of these on my most recent playthrough. But my favorite fight would be C. Ren as well. Only mainly because of the visuals and the music.

[Cat Bailey]

Gorgeous.

[Greg Miller]

I don't think it was my favorite mechanically it was still fun as hell. Like a lot of the fights are. But I wish that a lot of the fights echoed a lot of the creativity that the lamplighter had. With the lamplighter having the Simon Says kind of thing, shooting the lamps, I thought we'd get a lot more gimme gimmicky things like that throughout the game and we start to see it a.

[Barrett Courtney]

Bit more and I think like the end game optional stuff for sure.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah. Like I. I was really hoping to get more of that sort of goofy of this weird memorization game of hitting the lamps in the right order. Oh, that's kind of. That's really cool. I am excited to see what they do with the rest of this. And now the rest of the game still kicks a huge amount of ass. But I thought there would be more creative moments like that of. Yeah, I guess we do get some spots of like oh, you shoot those little floating things here and there. I just thought we'd get more of that creativity. But yeah, so you Ren, I thought was like the one where I just would always do the. I would always do the E3 walk for the chat and just be like, look at this.

[Barrett Courtney]

Welcome to the world of Claire obscura. This is 33.

[Greg Miller]

This is art Direction to the max.

[Cat Bailey]

I cannot say enough about how fun the boss fights are in this game because so many RPGs turn based RPGs you get in, you fight a boss and yeah, there's some interesting aspects of it. Well, is this one more status effecty? Is this one more hitting really hard? Should I be buffing? What kind of build do I need this one? Every boss felt totally different in their own way. And most of the time I would lose my first fight because I want to know how to parry any of their attacks. What's going on. It would take me a few times to get into the rhythm. And once you get into the rhythm, by the end you feel so good when you finally take it out. And I think that's kind of the secret sauce of Expedition 33 is just how satisfying it is to get over the hunt with each of these bosses. And it doesn't feel impossible, it feels very doable. But it is a really significant challenge if you're not extremely over leveled, which.

[Greg Miller]

Is some people are like boss started introducing them heavy attacks like, oh, you're going to swing at me in the next Two minutes.

[Barrett Courtney]

My. Mine was male versus Alicia. That, like, for me, like, emotionally, that hit for me. And then it was fun to fight against somebody who you've been utilizing their attacks the entire time, and now you're on the other end of it where it's like, now I got to figure out how my male fights on the other end and how to parry all of these attacks that I've been using the entire game. For me, that was really cool. And then to let that action go. Does that action show up still if you don't do that before the end of the game?

[Michael Hyam]

I don't know. It does because I did that dungeon after the fact.

[Barrett Courtney]

Okay.

[Michael Hyam]

And. But yeah, that's. I'm surprised that that was a piece of side content.

[Barrett Courtney]

I know. It feels like. Because it feels a piece of male story.

[Michael Hyam]

I do like that. It's like, hey, if you discover this, you are rewarded with something so crucial. Yeah. Because like, it's not super crucial to the wet where the.

[Greg Miller]

The.

[Michael Hyam]

Where the main story goes, but just like the kind of. The kind of closure you get from it. And if, like this exchange that Alicia and Mael have, it's just kind of like it's. In a way, it is. It's heartbreaking, but it's also heartwarming. It's like an acknowledgment of both of their sides. And like, here's a parting gift.

[Barrett Courtney]

Mad Rock says he does show up at the end of Endgame Renoir fight. Yeah, but if you don't do that side quest, maybe.

[Michael Hyam]

Whoa.

[Barrett Courtney]

If you don't do that fight beforehand, does he still show?

[Michael Hyam]

Oh, that's. Yeah, that's.

[Barrett Courtney]

That's what I'm interested in. And then Sean McAlpine reminds me of my other favorite fight. The fight for Minoko side story was very tough for me, but felt so good to beat it. That's the village leader of the gesturals, and that lady is insane. But so far, yeah, dude, Goldrow was.

[Greg Miller]

One of those that I. I remember beating the, you know, kind of. Maybe I hadn't gotten the full unlocked, full power type yet. Whatever. That Pictos is where you can go past the. The 10 delivery break, damage camp or whatever. But I remember going back to her being like, I'm sure I'll be good now. And I was like, I'm still not what the is up with this boss. I don't understand it. And I do love that. I love how influenced they are by Sekiro where there are so many bosses, just like in Sekiro. That you get the. You immediately get the notion that, all right, you are one that I have to do counter attack damage to because once I break you, then you're taking massive damage. Or you know, if I just do a normal attack on you, I'm gonna see maybe a half of a pixel go down. I'm like, God damn, dude. You must be the strongest human, strongest creature in this whole universe. But then once you start breaking them down more, then you hit that break where bam, you knock them down, they get stunned and then you do one normal hit and it suddenly 12, 000. I was like, oh, that's what I needed to do this. Like, I just, I love how many cues they took from Sekiro boss fights.

[Barrett Courtney]

Really quick, just to go back to some super super chats, ryguy2141 says, I just want to know, is this not just a game of the year for the panel, but also a game of all time a la OG Final Fantasy vii, Ocarina of Time, Elden Ring, etc. For me it deserves to be in that convo with industry changing games.

[Cat Bailey]

We have a thing on Acts of the Blood God called the Pantheons.

[Barrett Courtney]

Okay.

[Cat Bailey]

Our rule is after five years.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, I think it's too early after.

[Cat Bailey]

Five years, but I do think that this can be in like the Disco Elysium tier of an indie rpg. That just shocks you. And by the way, Indie Disco Elysium was our pick for the best RPG of the last 10 years.

[Michael Hyam]

Oh wow.

[Cat Bailey]

Like higher than Baldur's Gate 3.

[Michael Hyam]

That's crazy.

[Cat Bailey]

So I do think it's really special and I do think we'll still be talking about it.

[Michael Hyam]

Oh yeah.

[Cat Bailey]

Sandfall Interactive is officially on the map now.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Cat Bailey]

And like I, I said, if it's not my game of the year, it's going to be very, very, very high on that list.

[Michael Hyam]

Sure. Yeah, for sure.

[Barrett Courtney]

Chocolate Chocolate Fox 9 says is a member for 12 months and says I want to thank Barrett for getting me into Persona games because this game is just a beautiful. The art style of the story, the music. Lunae. I mean floating around is Lunae. It's just an incredible game. Glow Sticky says how do a bunch of Ubisoft devs afford wages voice actors Andy Circus and Charlie Cox and orchestral soundtrack to make this game. Loved it by the way. Worth every cent. That is still crazy to me.

[Cat Bailey]

They got. They were able to raise money before all the money dried up, I guess. And then they spent it wisely. Good for them.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Ryguy2141 says also please talk about the fade to black and then startup of Minoko's music when he's intro introduced before the battle.

[Michael Hyam]

Oh man, that's. That was a moment where I'm like, these. These dudes are just like the. The composer Lorian Testard was just like, I'm gonna do whatever the I want and it's gonna work one way or the other. I mean, dare I say, like that song has like low key Persona vibes. But it is also like this dude is just, just in the studio making music. He has like emotional themes. He has big boss battle themes. There's electronica in here. There's you know, French classical music. There's opera style vocals. And then boom. We got jazz in here too. It just. It all. It all works too. I don't know. This. That dude's a genius.

[Greg Miller]

Is the Bow wow wow reference to it being a dog? Being named after their dog?

[Michael Hyam]

Oh, maybe I never thought about that.

[Greg Miller]

Think about it.

[Barrett Courtney]

Sorry, you just saying Bow wow took me to Final Fantasy 7.

[Greg Miller]

Well, I thought the same thing. As soon as I experience this and I see like bow wow. But then, but then whenever he'll catch, he'll get an item, he says, ow. Wow.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

So I'm like, bow wow. Or he has like, I don't know.

[Michael Hyam]

He has dog ish manners.

[Greg Miller]

Cool.

[Barrett Courtney]

He's so good. The conversation between him and Verso and Verso convincing him to like join him. He's like, I will never join you. He's like, there will be a lot of fighting though. Oh yeah, you're right. That's true.

[Greg Miller]

He's like, yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

The cutting between them, the. The pacing of it all, their performances together.

[Greg Miller]

It is such a funny game.

[Barrett Courtney]

10 out of 10 humor. CJ splits on says it's scary that they all have to keep a male happy or she can just get up and leave. And Renoir burns the painting. It's like Beerus in Dragon Ball Z. Super Cameron Abbott says, what up? Cameron says, I've been of two minds and hearts of the twist about the world while I think it lands the plane. Well, do you think the twist tears. Tears agency away from the now fake characters. That's been my hang up. I don't think so.

[Cat Bailey]

I mean, the characters are as real as you want them to be, I suppose. Yes, their imagination. But they all have agency, right? They're still doing things in this world. I guess you could say that they were saying that Verso's a marionette. So maybe you could say that they were a marionette in their own way, but this is a living, breathing world where these. They're real, they existed.

[Barrett Courtney]

And that's why it's like Verso painted Verso feeling real. It's like, man, just let this man sleep.

[Greg Miller]

Let him.

[Barrett Courtney]

Let him go to rest.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, I guess, like, again, the. The reason why it didn't bother me, the reason why I sided with my L was again, this wasn't just a simulated world where these characters were created two minutes ago and feel like they've lived forever. It's like, no, man, they, like, they've taken on a lot of shit if it's a simulation. When you've lived 33 years and they.

[Barrett Courtney]

Still want to fight, like, even after, like, they tell Luna and cl, like, what the fuck is up with this world? And they're like, yeah, fuck that. Like, we still want to fight for our existence and all that stuff.

[Greg Miller]

So if we found out that I was just in a painter's world now, I'd be like, well, I've lived for 37 years. I'm not going to just suddenly do different now. Like, I still got to make money and try to, like, live and survive.

[Cat Bailey]

You know, like, where you get really existential and say, well, maybe we are all figments of the imagination of the universe. Are we all real? What is consciousness?

[Barrett Courtney]

That's how I fall asleep every night. Jessica Hinkle says, I love this game. Didn't know about it until I saw the one and only Andy Cortez playing and raving about it over over on Twitch. How hilarious would it be if Jeff got Robert Pattinson to present an award? Oh, I mean, I think it'd be even more funny if they got Robert Pattinson to play Guab in the Adaptation.

[Michael Hyam]

He dress up. Dresses up in the blue suit.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, Saying this. I want, like, I. I need somebody who's really good with cosplay. I want to Commission an Expedition 33. I want to be versa for Halloween. So if you like, I don't care how much it cost to make me a suit, no expense will be spared. Okay, well, unless it's, like, too expensive, but, like, you know what I mean? I want. I want the whole get up. I want to, you know, look down.

[Barrett Courtney]

Friend of the show Yousef also pointed out to me that it's not just Robert Pattinson looking like Gustav, it's Pierce Brosnan looking like Renoir. And when he said that to me, like, in my mind's eye, I was like, I don't quite see it, but there are a couple moments, like, just on my Phone. He sent a couple of pictures where I was like, sure, okay, okay. I could see it.

[Michael Hyam]

I asked him.

[Greg Miller]

I definitely had some references of that last night. I had never seen it until people sort of brought it up. But the robber, like, we were worried for a while, y' all that Tim Gettys just had face blindness. Because Tim was like, who are they saying? Looks like Robert Pattinson? I was like, gustav in the game. He's like, really?

[Michael Hyam]

I was like, he's the only person to not notice that.

[Greg Miller]

That's fucking crazy, Tim. And then that one actor in Limitless or whatever, the pill, where you take the pill. The one who looked like Tom Hardy. Yeah, it's like the, the American Tom Hardy that like, is always like Tom Hardy diet. You know, when you can't afford actual Tom Hardy. We, we were watching a movie with him and I was like, oh yeah, it's the guy with that. Everybody says look like Tom Hardy. And Tim was like, man, I don't see that. And I was like, Tim, like, I think you have an issue, right? And then he texted me out of nowhere, out of the blue in the week, and he's like, damn, he does look like Robert Benson. I was like, oh, thank God he's okay.

[Michael Hyam]

It takes him a minute.

[Barrett Courtney]

I feel like that was him trying to like save face or something. Maybe, maybe pun intended. Yang Fam, trying to close out the show here says, do we think major studios move Forward, adopt copy Expedition 33 style of turn based combat, Moving forward in terms of action pairing, all that stuff. I would call it Mario RPG style combat. But who would do that?

[Cat Bailey]

I mean, EA certainly wouldn't. And I think a lot of people.

[Barrett Courtney]

Have been pointing and pointing fingers at Final Fantasy. I think there's a little bit Square.

[Cat Bailey]

Enix might be taking notes. Actually, I'm writing an article right now. It's like this is the game that Square Enix wanted to make for more.

[Barrett Courtney]

Than 10 years of trying to combine action and turn based RPG elements.

[Cat Bailey]

Well, exactly right. Strike the balance. And I would be surprised actually if studios are trying to copy this. In fact, I think one of the developers said that this game could not have been made at a major studio. This was a passion and project to the core and I think if you see it being picked up anywhere, I think it would probably be in more indie projects because they're still command based systems are having a little bit of a renaissance. But it's still, I think, a really tough sell when you're saying, hey, we want to hit with mainstream audiences and we're making a command based strategy system. It's like Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on there.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah. The politics of it all get involved in terms of trying to pitch that to higher ups and all that.

[Michael Hyam]

And the thing too is not that I'm giving it an excuse but when you, if a company like Square Enix goes in that direction, there's, there's a certain scale that they expect. You know like 2 million to them is like that's a failure. Yeah. To them that is. And to others it's a massive, massive success. And I think that that's that. I think honestly when you go down.

[Cat Bailey]

To it so far.

[Michael Hyam]

So yes, far. Who knows to say at the end of the year. But I mean I think that's also indicative of how broken AAA game development is where that kind of success is not success to some. And like not to talk about Valgard but that is part of the conversation where when sales like don't scale for what EA expects. So it's all about expectations for that sort of thing. Would I love to see it influence other games that are made in the future? Absolutely. And I think we'll see it in some, in some regards. But it's going to be a while because it always takes, you know, a couple years for games to incorporate those sorts of things.

[Barrett Courtney]

Right.

[Michael Hyam]

I would love to see. I mean like Square still puts out turn based games and they again their success is scaled differently. Octopath Traveler 2 is one of my favorite games in the past. It's in my top 20 of all time.

[Barrett Courtney]

Right.

[Michael Hyam]

And that is because largely because of its turn based combat system. But of course like Octopath is not held to the same regard as a mainline Final Fantasy. So I would love to see like Final Fantasy 17 do something like.

[Cat Bailey]

Claire wants a Final Fantasy to sell 30 million copies. Yeah, at least 10. But they would like it to be 30.

[Michael Hyam]

But what is going to sell that much regardless of genre really Unless you're a GTA or Elden Ring. Elder Scrolls. Yeah, yeah. Not everyone can be that level of success.

[Cat Bailey]

Certainly not in this world.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, we're gonna do a quick hit of super chats and get out of here. Tim C says I absolutely hate versus ending. The painted people have sentience. They dream and feel and it removes agency from Mal Yang. Fam says also shout out to one of my favorite characters in the game. The gesturals. So lovable silly goofballs. I love the gestures so much. The only up challenge that they, that they are dancing at the top of at One point it was just like it's perfect.

[Greg Miller]

So I gave the only up challenge one try and I was like you can do it. I believe I gotta move on Chad cuz I will be here until one in the morning. Yeah I can't do this right now.

[Michael Hyam]

Only up.

[Barrett Courtney]

I also love that in the middle of like you know this culture of gestuals who are all about fighting and all of this stuff in any way, shape or form that like in the middle of it there's a couple like fighting and they're just like it's like a petty like grievance and like even in that aspect they're just, they're so goofy and shout out to the boy is it just Noko Noco and bring him back to life and all that stuff like that being a part of Monoko's side quest. It's like ah, I love that little.

[Greg Miller]

Boy named after the other puppy.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah. Andy, you're gonna have to help me out with this one. Shay Chalet. Yeah, I believe haven't beaten it but the 40 surprise reminds me of Star Ocean till the end of the game. Should really check out that game. Game.

[Cat Bailey]

Oh wow. Yeah, I suppose so.

[Barrett Courtney]

Star maybe, maybe one day. Mr. Hawks 182 says Simon destroyed me. So I spent 15 hours in act three just grinding levels, going through each dungeon unlocking specific luminas and got powerful enough to three hit him while taking zero damage. Game of the year.

[Michael Hyam]

Hell yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Chromaz. Chromaz says for me I keep reliving the music kick in for the music kick in for Renoir's boss before the painters. What a soundtrack. Yeah, that fight is God damn. Yeah, it's a good one. And then to close out the show E. JRPG says the whole final dungeon was so hype. The music, the summoning of past expeditioners to fight alongside you. Renoir just being a father and having understandable actions. Chef's kiss. That and the monolith dungeon as well where it's, it's a reprise of the entire game world was so cool. Cool to me.

[Cat Bailey]

It could have felt really cheap being like oh great, they're reusing assets fighting all these enemies again. But it felt right.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah, it was a good thematic fit because I noticed I was like oh, they're redoing all the dungeons again. I'm fine with it because I just want to keep playing the game and fighting tough enemies. But then now when I think about like oh it's, it's a painted world and it's like all these Drafts of different paintings, unfinished things like, oh, okay. Like in the monolith. You see that stuff again? It's like, oh, yeah, this makes sense.

[Greg Miller]

Except when you're in the gestural village version of it. The red foresty area or whatever. And there's that one painted cage that you can't get the third one unless you have an ability to unlock it. Yeah. I didn't know you needed an ability.

[Michael Hyam]

I. Oh, really?

[Barrett Courtney]

I just was going around in circles over and over again. I was like, I don't know what.

[Greg Miller]

I never found it and. But I kept on walking near that one little lit up piece of bark and I would hear it. I'm like, it's right the here. And then I looked it up and on. I think it was like an IGN guy. And it was like. Like, you need to. You need to unlock something with ska that allows you to break those things. I was like, I didn't know that was a thing in the game.

[Barrett Courtney]

That's crazy.

[Greg Miller]

What I need is I need Atreus to be like, we can't get that yet, dad. Or something like that.

[Michael Hyam]

You know, I like this game does not hold your hand at all. In some ways it's frustrating when you get lost in a level, but overall.

[Cat Bailey]

Like down with waypoints.

[Michael Hyam]

Yeah. They say y' all figure the out.

[Cat Bailey]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, that's what it was. You need a game get. You need to find four lost gesturals. Yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah. Okay.

[Greg Miller]

Thank you.

[Barrett Courtney]

I just assumed that they were just going to keep giving me stupid hairstyles.

[Greg Miller]

Me too.

[Barrett Courtney]

I was. I was totally up. It kept being their little like.

[Cat Bailey]

I love the French bob. Hello.

[Barrett Courtney]

It was the.

[Michael Hyam]

The gestural paintbrush.

[Barrett Courtney]

The gestural hair brush where they just have like the brush hair.

[Michael Hyam]

And it's one of my. One of my homies had the setting for custom outfits or will show up in cut scenes. And finished Act 1 with Gustav. He didn't. He didn't have the beret and the glasses, but he did have the striped shirt on.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah. Everybody, any last. Last thing you need to get out there before we close out the show.

[Michael Hyam]

I love you, Lunae.

[Cat Bailey]

Call me through the painting renaissance continues. Honestly.

[Barrett Courtney]

Oh, yeah.

[Cat Bailey]

What a time to be alive.

[Barrett Courtney]

We're about to get Sea of Stars dlc. Oh, let's go.

[Greg Miller]

Text me as well.

[Barrett Courtney]

With that, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us for Our Claire obscure Expedition 33 spoiler cast. If you're watching live right after, this is the Pokemon Nick Lock 2.0 finale. Question mark. Question mark. Question mark. And then after that, we'll be back for the rest of the week with more live talk show content. Each and every weekday, we get together right here on the Kind of Funny Games cast to talk about the biggest reviews, previews and spoiler casts in video games live on YouTube, Twitch, and podcast services around the globe. Reminder, if you love what we do, please support us with the Kind of Funny membership that lets us do very passionate episodes like these, where we get to, you know, take a moment to be like, all right, let's not talk about the big, hottest new release this week. Let's go back and, you know, do a spoiler cast for a thing that we are very passionate about. Catch up on Today's KFGD on YouTube or podcast server services, and know that until next time, it's been our pleasure to serve you.