Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has two endings, and the game makes it clear well before the credits roll that your journey will end with a meaningful choice between fundamentally different outcomes. What is less clear is exactly how the ending system works, which choices during the game actually matter, and how to make sure you can see both endings without replaying the entire 30-to-60-hour campaign from scratch. This guide cuts through the ambiguity and gives you the practical information you need. Spoilers for the game's ending structure follow, but specific story details are kept to a minimum.
How the Ending System Actually Works
Let me save you some anxiety right away: Expedition 33 does not use a hidden morality meter or a complex web of branching choices that determine your ending. The game has exactly one decision point that determines which ending you receive, and that decision occurs at a clearly marked moment near the end of the game. The choices you make during dialogue sequences, the side quests you complete or ignore, the combat encounters you win or lose, none of these factors affect which ending is available to you. Both endings are always accessible regardless of how you have played the game up to that point. This design choice is deliberate and worth appreciating. Sandfall Interactive wanted the final decision to carry its full philosophical weight without being diluted by a checklist of prerequisite actions. You cannot accidentally lock yourself out of either ending, and you do not need to follow a specific guide during your playthrough to ensure access to both options.
The Final Choice: What You Are Deciding Between
Near the end of Act 3, the game presents you with a choice between two paths: the Verso ending and the Maelle ending. Without getting into detailed story spoilers, the Verso ending involves a sacrifice that permanently alters the nature of the painted world. The Maelle ending preserves the painted world but accepts a different kind of cost. Both endings are emotionally impactful, and neither is presented by the game as the "correct" option. The choice is designed to reflect your own values and interpretation of the story rather than testing whether you made the right decisions earlier in the game. Some players report spending ten or fifteen minutes at this decision point, which is exactly the kind of response the writers wanted. The game gives you as much time as you need to consider your options, and there is no time limit or penalty for waiting.
How to Save Before the Final Choice
The most important practical tip for seeing both endings is creating a manual save before the final choice. Expedition 33 uses an auto-save system throughout the main story, and the game creates an auto-save just before the ending choice triggers. You can reload this auto-save after viewing one ending to go back and select the other option. But relying solely on auto-save can be risky if the game's auto-save system overwrites the pre-choice save with your post-choice progress. The safest approach is to create a manual save in a separate slot immediately after the game presents the final choice and before you make your selection. Expedition 33 supports multiple save slots, and creating a dedicated "ending choice" save ensures that you always have a clean checkpoint to return to. If you have already completed the game and did not create a manual save at this point, check your auto-save slots. The game creates a separate auto-save entry for the pre-choice state that should still be accessible from the main menu load screen.
Seeing Both Endings in One Playthrough Cycle
The fastest way to experience both endings is to create a manual save at the final choice, select one ending, watch it through to the credits, then reload your manual save and select the other ending. The entire process takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes beyond your initial playthrough, depending on how long the ending sequences run and how much time you spend reflecting between them. This approach lets you compare the two endings directly without the gap of a full NG+ playthrough between them, and most players report that seeing the endings back-to-back actually enhances the contrast between them. If you prefer to space the endings out, NG+ provides a natural opportunity to see the alternate ending during a second, more challenging playthrough. The game does not change the ending choice based on whether you are in NG+ or a standard playthrough, so both options remain available regardless of your game mode.
Which Ending Do Players Prefer?
Community polling on Reddit and gaming forums consistently shows a slight preference for the Verso ending, though the margin is narrow enough that neither ending can be called dominant. Players who favor the Verso ending tend to cite its emotional finality and thematic power as reasons for their preference. The sacrifice it demands of the characters feels earned and meaningful in a way that avoids the trap of bittersweet ambiguity that many games default to. Players who prefer the Maelle ending appreciate its hopefulness and the way it honors the game's exploration of what it means to exist in an imperfect world. Both camps make compelling arguments, and the near-even split in community preference suggests that Sandfall succeeded in creating a genuine dilemma rather than a choice with an obvious right answer. If you are trying to decide which ending to view first, the Verso ending is generally recommended because its finality creates a stronger emotional contrast when you follow it with the Maelle ending. But this is personal preference, not objective advice. Both paths are worth walking.
You came for a guide and stayed for the philosophy, so here is one more decision with no wrong answer: which colorway belongs in your closet. The Ghost of Yotei Sakai Clan Yellow Hoodie is $44, ships to 100+ countries for a flat $10, and involves far less stress than choosing between Verso and Maelle. Unlike the endings, you can always come back for the second one.
