The reception for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been nothing but stellar since its launch, with many heralding it as one of 2025’s best games. However, what if I told you that the game has been lying to you ever since it was announced back in 2024? Even more so, that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 employed a tactic done by one of the biggest games of the decade, and currently the hottest show on right now, 2020’s The Last of Us Part 2? Well, I’m here to tell you that that is indeed the case and, while it may sound like betrayal, it actually worked in its favor, much like it did for Naughty Dog.
In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you play as the surviving members of Expedition 33 on a journey to do the impossible: kill the god-like being called The Paintress. Over the course of the game, you’ll make your way to battle The Paintress through thick and thin, even when things seem unbeatable. Unfortunately, one of those moments comes a bit earlier than many expected. While it isn’t out of the ordinary for those moments to happen, I noticed that, according to the game’s many trailers, there was a sneaky trick pulled, one that The Last of Us Part 2 did as well.
As you can expect, there are massive spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and The Last of Us Part 2 below, so be warned if you want to go in blind.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Hid a Major Death in the Trailers
As those who’ve played (and beaten) Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 know, Gustave doesn’t make it to The Paintress, but meets his end rather early at the hands of Renoir at the Stone Wave Cliffs in Act 1. For some, that moment came at around the 5-6 hour mark; others later, but it is still in the beginning.
While his death did seem a bit likely given some of the marketing, nobody expected it to come this early and so suddenly. This is when we’re introduced to Verso, who fills in Gustave’s role in the party. He does look a touch like him, with the facial hair and rich vocals, but he is a completely different character, personality-wise and gameplay-wise.
As I did the review, I knew before many that Gustave didn’t make it to credits, but that’s when I started seeing the marketing for the game and a certain dead character making their appearance in scenes they aren’t actually in. For example, and perhaps in the most glaring way, the Monoco trailer shows the Gestral character’s introduction scene in Monoco’s Station, which happens after Gustave’s burial.
However, at multiple moments in the trailer, more noticeably at the 1:19 mark, I saw that, instead of Verso’s character model, they replaced it with Gustave’s. He isn’t shown in any battles outside of that, as he’s switched out with other members like Lune or Sciel. I did a deeper dive and saw that, for multiple other trailers like the Behind the Voices video and even the Launch Trailer, Gustave’s character model takes the place of Verso.
The Last of Us Part 2 Pulled The Same Death Tactic in the Trailers
Immediately, it reminded me of another game that employed the same tactic, though added more secrecy behind it: The Last of Us Part 2. In particular, the addition of Joel in scenes he isn’t in, like in Seattle. As those who played the game and or have seen Episode 2 of HBO’s The Last of Us, Joel meets a grisly end by Abby early on, which sets off the events of the game.
In The Last of Us Part 2’s case, Naughty Dog inserted Joel in a scene that, in-game, is Jesse, in the Release Date Reveal Trailer in 2019. They even had him speak, which led many to believe that Joel would join Ellie. And yet, when Joel died, it sparked massive outrage, mostly due in part to it seemingly happening out of nowhere.
RELATED: The Last of Us Part 2 Director Has “Mixed Feelings” About Misleading Trailers Featuring Joel
For many, it can feel like a betrayal of trust, as the developers went out of their way to change the game to fit the public’s known knowledge. Personally, I find it fascinating and, honestly, something more games should do. These trailers worked well because they kept even those who watched every trailer in the dark and made those moments that much more memorable.
In this day and age, many trailers end up spoiling huge parts of their product just to show off the best moments. Recent examples in gaming are titles like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Cyberpunk 2077, where certain character deaths are alluded to and even shown. This is also an ongoing issue in movies, with films like Sinners and Wicked showing scenes from their endings early, even if it doesn’t seem it.
While movies aren’t exactly easy to fix to get rid of spoilers (though The Batman did it with Barry Keoghan), video games do have some cost-effective leeway given that character models can be switched around and replaced. It is risky and, if it’s done a ton, can become too predictable. But, for games that have huge moments, like Joel and Gustave’s untimely deaths, it’s a good way to keep everyone engaged and on their toes, no matter how heartbreaking it will be.
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