Latest news with #Verso
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Which ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' Ending Is Better?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sandfall I keep writing about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and people keep reading it, so I wanted to discuss what may be the most intense part of the game. Its ending. Rather, its endings, plural. Spoilers obviously follow and if you have not beaten the entire Epilogue and seen credits, don't read this. The final confrontation of the game's story (outside of endgame things) is the stunning choice that you suddenly have to make between Verso and Maelle, where Verso wants the fraction of the true Verso's soul to finally stop painting and rest, while Maelle doesn't want his final world to collapse. Who to choose? Well, I sat staring at the screen for ten minutes, but I won't tell you until we're done with this. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sandfall Verso Many will view Verso's as the 'happy' ending. With original Verso, the dead Verso's soul fraction, done painting, the 'true' Painter family is allowed to reunite and properly mourn what they've lost. But in the process, by doing this, Verso erases all the painted friends he's made for the entire game. A newly painted Maelle, a version of his sister, and Lune and Sciel, his battle partners, and Monoco and Esquie, his fictional childhood friends he brought to life. Maelle Maelle cannot let go. Of child Verso. Of adult, painted Verso, or all her painted friends, new and old, dead and alive. It's the 'dream' ending. Maelle, now fully realizing her painting powers, has brought people like Sciel's dead husband back to life, or more relevantly, Sophie and Gustave, the most brutal losses of the game. The unsettling bit is when she's now puppeteering Verso to play the piano, something he supposedly enjoys, but he's being kept alive (remember he's immortal) and forced to dance for her against his will. This ends with the most frightening shot of the game, painter Maelle: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sandfall I picked Maelle. No, I did not know at the time that her ending would be this unsettling, but my attachment to her character was greater than Verso's, who had lied to us about a dozen times since we met him, and works toward a resolution for a family we simply do not care about. I think you can make the argument that the lie is better. What is real, after all? Is it fair the Painters can bring infinite worlds to life, creating consciousness and erasing them at will? And use it as a way to cope with grief ahead of some larger war with 'The Writers' we have no information about? My friend who is adamantly pro-Verso ending told me that my view is like caring about the toys in Toy Story who are…toys. But you do care about the toys in Toy Story! That's the point! And from a more meta sense, we are caring about what happens to fictional characters in a fictional video game, and the 'right' answer is to pick one real family out of two not-real sets of characters. But getting out of that mindset, I think just dramatically, the Maelle ending is better, and it fits more with the story. It seems bizarre to me to draw this 'happy' ending and that just involves gommaging the entire cast you played with, it's sad and weird, outside of the 'real' family finally mourning. A darker ending after Maelle realizes her identity feels much more in-keeping with everything we've seen before. Why should she be forced to allow the erasure of this world and return to her cage of burns and masks, if she has the power to live like this? It's her family being selfish for…what? If she returns, it's not bringing Verso back, and there's not even a guarantee it will cure her mother's hysteria. I expect a wide range of takes on this, and the answer is probably 'there is no right ending,' which is sort of the point. Either one you pick, this remains one of my favorite video game stories of all time. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
India.com
30-04-2025
- Health
- India.com
Top 5 Eye Creams to Brighten, Tighten & Repair Tired Eye
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Time of India
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Is there more than one ending in Clair Obscur Expedition 33?
(Image via Sandfall Interactive) Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is a story-driven RPG where the players are set to navigate the haunting tale of sacrifice and the Fractured realities. Here, every choice shapes the fate of the characters. With the players nearing the climax, their major decision determines how the journey of the character will conclude. But is there more than one ending within Clair Obscur Expedition 33? Here is all you need to know about the conclusions of the game. Is there more than one ending in Expedition 33? Clair Obscur Expedition 33 - All Endings (Bad Ending, True Ending, Epilogue Ending) In Clair Obscur Expedition 33, there are two distinct endings. The outcome hinges on the crucial decision made by the players before the final confrontation. The players are given a choice between 2 conflicting perspectives— fight as Maelle (the determined protagonist) or Verso (a conflicted ally of Maelle), each of which leads to different dramatic conclusions. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Scarlett Johansson, 40, Shows Off Her Real Size In A New Vacation Photos 33 Bridges Undo Neither of the Expedition 33 multiple endings are strictly bad or good, but they carry an emotional weight, with one clinging to preservation and hope, while the other embracing closure and sacrifice. They reflect on the theme of the game— sacrifice, letting go, and grief. In a manner, the player's choice is not about morality but instead is about which of the character's resolutions to them feels much more meaningful. Maelle vs Verso— The final showdown After defeating Renoir , the Clair Obscur Expedition 33 story reaches the breaking point. Maelle and Verso clash over their world's clash, with one wishing to preserve it while the other believes it must end. The players here face the challenge of deciding who to choose in the final battle. Fight as Maelle will lead to the ending where the world canvas would survive but at a personal cost. However, choosing Verso results in much more bittersweet conclusions. It emphasizes acceptance and moving ahead. Either way, both endings are impactful, and they ensure neither of them feels like the wrong choice. Can the endings be changed later? After a decision is made by you, the ending gets locked. However, Clair Obscur Expedition 33 does allow you to reload the save just before the final choice if you wish to experience both outcomes. There isn't a New Game feature that can alter Expedition 33 multiple endings. So, your 1st playthrough conclusion will remain intact until you manually revisit your save. The dialogue choices and side quests throughout the game do not influence the ending of Expedition 33. The one and only factor is the pivotal last moment, making it a pure test of the player's preference instead of the hidden conditions. Which ending must you choose? As there is no better ending and each of them is narratively rich and resonant thematically, you can choose either. If you prefer emotional catharsis and closure, the ending of Verso will resonate more with you. But if you favor the ambiguity and the idea of preserving the fading world, the ending of Maelle will deliver you the cynical and haunting conclusion. Since you can reload to see both, there isn't any pressure. So, the best approach here will be to make the pick that feels right at the moment. Then, you can revisit others to fully appreciate the depth of the story. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 does not rely upon the binary morality for the Expedition 33 multiple endings. It instead presents 2 equally compelling conclusions. Each of these reflects varied ways to cope with the loss. So, whether you side with Verso or Maelle, the emotional impact of the journey will linger long after the credits roll.
Gulf Today
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Raina Lee's artwork from tree-house studio to high-end galleries appealing
To get to ceramist Raina Lee's tree house, you enter through an iron gate with a dog warning sign and climb a long wooden staircase that creaks beneath your feet. You'll then cross a suspension bridge, and you'll hear, 'Be careful, it's very wobbly,' before seeing Lee, 48. There, you'll likely find her with a mug in hand, leaning against the door frame of her tree house and waiting for you to join her at a Japanese-style tea table. Her serene retreat feels like a cabin in a national park, yet it's perched on a slope in Lee's Mount Washington backyard, shaded by Brazilian pepper trees. The studio is home to dozens of her ceramic works, available for viewing by appointment. Lee's pieces range from small tea bowls ($640) to large moon jars ($4,800), and her works can be found at high-end galleries such as Rhett Baruch in Hollywood and Verso in New York. For Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays, she has sales of smaller, more affordable wares. Every year, Lee's family members get 'Christmas ceramics' as gifts from her. 'I tried to give vases and cups to my aunt, but she doesn't use them,' she says. 'She put them on top of her fireplace to display. I'm like, 'You know you can just use them. It's not that valuable.'' Some of ceramicist Raina Lee's creations line the shelves in her tree house. Modesty aside, Lee's artistic journey began 'by accident' in 2016 in Brooklyn, N.Y., where she was living next door to Choplet, a ceramics studio and gallery. That's where she began making pottery. After switching to a 24-hour studio called Clay Space, Lee and friend Minh Singer spent countless night sessions together. 'We would bicycle and somehow meet somewhere on the way, 'Goonies'-style, and then ride over to the studio at night and stay until 4 a.m.,' Singer says. 'She was very experimental and funky at night, and at daytime, she would throw and do more technique.' Lee, a former journalist who covered the tech and gaming industries, says she found satisfaction in the way ceramics allowed her to create 'tangible objects from start to finish.' When she transitioned to ceramics full-time, her family thought she was 'really crazy,' she says. Lee, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes. She says that art wasn't a common pursuit in her family and that perhaps the closest thing she got to witness was her grandma's occasional hobby of traditional Chinese painting. 'But I think I'm old enough now where no one is questioning that kind of stuff,' Lee says. 'Maybe if I were 20, that would have happened. But now, it's like nobody cares.' While living in New York, Lee joined a glaze-mixing class at Greenwich House Pottery, which sparked her interest in creating her own. After moving back to Los Angeles in 2017, Lee was able to expand her ceramics possibilities. She and her architect husband, Mark Watanabe, bought a house, which Watanabe remodeled along with the tree house. In her studio, Lee has placed her kilns and pottery wheel and tried alternative firing techniques such as raku and pit firing. Raina J. Lee builds a ceramic piece by hand in her studio garage. Photos: Tribune News Service Having a home studio has made it easier for Lee to experiment with pottery glazes. She's most proud of her volcanic glazes; they are applied before pottery pieces are fired in a kiln for four to 12 hours. The result? Unique crackly textures that are uneven to the touch, either bumpy or pitted, much like craters on the moon. Because her glazes are formulated with minerals, she jokingly says her works 'end up looking like rocks again.' 'For example, when you look at oyster shells, they have an iridescence of pearly green and blue, and that's definitely from minerals like copper,' she says. 'I just find it interesting that it's the same materials recombined into something else, because everything in the earth is sort of like one thing.' Nature is Lee's main source of inspiration. When she's not throwing clay on a wheel or hand-building clay pieces in her studio, she is in the wilderness around the country going on hikes and finding inspiration, which she posts about on Instagram, in addition to posts about her ceramics work and shows. Ted Vadakan, a friend of 20 years, says Lee often takes reference photos along the way and uses her watercolor to paint what she saw and what inspires her at the end of each day of hiking. 'She's always observing things normal people don't see,' says Vadakan. 'She'll be on the bluffs of the ocean and notice all the moss and lichen growing in different volcanic rock formations. I think all those textures and colors that she sees are very apparent in her works.' Lee's experimentation with sculptural glazes and alternative firing techniques has gained the attention of art dealers and curators such as Claire Vinson and Philip Williams of Stroll Garden, a Los Angeles-based gallery for contemporary ceramics and sculpture, particularly works by female artists. Vinson and Williams featured Lee's work in their inaugural exhibition in 2021, and they will host her new show next month. The exhibition, which opens Nov. 9, will feature works inspired by Lee's summer studio residency and gallery visits in Paris. 'She seems to know everybody,' says Vinson, adding that Lee's solo show brought a variety of new faces to the gallery. 'She's so well connected and engaged with the ceramics world and the art world in L.A. 'Raina has an openness to her that I think is really central to how her work evolves over time,' Vinson adds. 'She's not afraid of results that might seem weird or unintentional or look like mistakes. She takes it all in stride.' At 'Calibration,' a group exhibition in June at the LaiSun Keane gallery in Boston, Lee presented four 3D-printed pieces: three Chun meiping vases, which were popular forms during China's Song dynasty, and one 'Tetris'-inspired piece of cong pottery, based on a Chinese Bronze Age form. Having grown up in a house with traditional Chinese furniture and decor, Lee says she's exceedingly intrigued by ceramics from the Song dynasty (960-1279). 'A lot of the best glaze innovations were during the Song dynasty, which was a thousand years ago,' she says. 'I was trying to re-create different Song dynasty glazes, and I've been able to make similar ones. So I'm interested in exploring that as a way for me to personally time-travel and understand what that history was like.' Tribune News Service
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Best Verso build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: Weapons, skills, Pictos & more!
Image via Sandfall Interactive Verso isn't just another Act 2 recruit in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — he's a late bloomer who completely flips the combat dynamics once unlocked. A perfection-based powerhouse, Verso's gameplay revolves around timing, crits, and ranking up fast to drop devastating damage. If you're looking to make him an unstoppable force, here's the cleanest, most effective build. Best Weapons for Verso To bring out Verso's full potential, you'll want to prioritize weapons that boost his Critical Hit abilities. Top picks: Glaceso : An Ice-element weapon that hits like a truck and scales with Luck and Defense. Glaceso increases Perfection with every Critical Hit, and once upgraded, it even heals Verso a little with each crit. Perfect for a tanky, high-damage setup. Contorso : A Lightning-element weapon that thrives on speed and agility. It's all about reaching Rank S faster and triggering flashy lightning effects during critical strikes. Quick Tip : If you're building around Luck and Defense, stick with Glaceso. If you're going for a Speed and Agility vibe, roll with Contorso. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Best Verso Build Guide (+ Commentary) Best Skills for Verso Verso's combat is all about climbing the Rank ladder from D to S and raining down devastation at the top. Here's the clean skill plan: Quick Strike (Rank D): Quick, cheap, and great for building Perfection fast. Marking Shot (Rank C): A solid follow-up for stacking damage with Mark effects. Assault Zero (Rank B): Multiple hits + extra Perfection = quick climb to Rank S. Light Holder (Rank A): Boosts AP gain and preps you for big plays. Phantom Stars (Rank S): Your main nuke. Wipes the field when Verso hits peak Rank. Pro Move: Use Quick Strike first to jump ranks early, follow with Assault Zero, and land Phantom Stars once you're in S-Rank for devastating full-party damage. Best Pictos and Luminas for Verso To turn Verso into a crit-hitting beast, you'll want to equip Pictos that massively boost Critical Rate and Break potential. Top Pictos choices: Critical Break : Increases Break damage on Critical Hits — a perfect match for Verso's style. Breaker : Extra Break damage and Speed, keeping Verso moving fast and hitting hard. Charging Critical: Boosts Gradient Charge on Crits, helping Verso stay powerful even during longer fights. Random Defense : Massive 76% Crit Rate boost (worth the risk of slightly random defense stats). Pro Move: Equip Random Defense late-game to skyrocket your Crit Rate over 200%, and watch Verso's damage melt bosses. Final Thoughts Verso is an absolute star once he's built for Critical Hits and Break damage. Focus on Luck (or Agility if you pick Contorso), prioritize Perfection-building skills, and stack up those juicy Crit Rate bonuses through Pictos. With the right setup, he becomes one of the deadliest characters in your party — and a total joy to play.
