Every “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” Boss Ranked

I recently finished my second playthrough of “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33”, and I made it my mission to finish anything I’d missed / chickened out of before. Let me tell you – completing this game 100% has given me a newfound respect for the combat and general game design.

I’m going to rank every boss in the game, with quite a few exceptions: I’m not ranking each individual Chromatic or Eveque variant otherwise I’d be here for years. I’m not ranking party member fights (Sciel, Maelle, Monoco etc.) as they’re not real bosses. And I’m also not ranking the random “boss” fights you get like the Curator’s jump tutorial, as I feel these aren’t impactful enough.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Main Characters Ranked

Every “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” Game Award Ranked By How Deserved They Were

My Top 20 Favourite Games Of 2025

Hades – Every God Ranked

Okay

25 – Francois

Francois is a comedy / gimmick boss. He doesn’t detract from the playthrough at all, but that does mean he’ll rank at the bottom of this list.

He has one hilarious attack which can wipe out a party member instantly. Otherwise, he’s an extremely easy stepping stone towards one of Esquie’s rocks.

24 – Gargant

I wasn’t sure if Gargant counted as its own boss, but apparently it does. Good for Gargant. I’m happy for it.

It’s a big hunk of ice that can apparently switch to fire resistance when needed. Some things in this world don’t make a lot of sense.

23 – Alicia

Of all the actual “boss fights” in this game, I liked Alicia’s the least.

It’s a one-on-one with Maelle, and Alicia hits like a truck with every attack. Alicia is the ultimate glass cannon – she goes down in about three hits, but Maelle died at least ten times before I got to grips with the move-set.

22 – Golgra

You fight Golgra at a few points across Clair Obscur’s side content, but for this entry I’m focusing on Monoco’s side quest.

Like Alicia, she hits like a train and has a hard to read move-set. That being said, I preferred Golgra’s martial arts style to Alicia’s swordplay.

21 – Glissando

On its own, Glissando is a pretty good mini-boss in the lead-up to Sirene. It has some fun moves and I like how monumental it feels in the small arena.

Unfortunately, this is a case where the Chromatic variant (from Lune’s side quest) overshadows it – the Chromatic Glissando is bigger, tougher, and it has some much cooler attacks to tussle with.

Good

20 – Gross Tete

By the way, I apologize for not using the correct accents on the French words. Forgive me and my narrow-minded English keyboard.

Gross Tete is a meme boss. No question about it. You end up parrying its simple bouncing attack about a hundred times before it self-destructs. It’s ridiculous and I love that it exists.

19 – Eveque

Eveque is the first real boss you fight in “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33”, so it will always have a place in my heart for that.

As a boss? It’s okay. It has no special moves, and it’s weak enough to be beaten with a party of two.

18 – Bourgeon

There are what feels like dozens of Bourgeons across Clair Obscur’s world, all with identical move-sets. It’s probably one of my only real gripes with this game – some variety couldn’t hurt, could it? Maybe a new move or ability to throw us off?

Focusing on just one of the many Bourgeon fights, it’s a good mini-boss. Its moves are easy to parry, and the only annoying part is when it eats one of your party members and takes them out of the battle.

17 – Tisseur

I like Tisseur as a concept. It’s a completely optional mini-boss who doesn’t stand in your way at all, but killing it will make the Sirene boss fight a little easier. Call me heartless, but I killed it in both of my playthroughs for the sake of convenience.

It has some fun sewing-related abilities, and its gimmick of cursing the party and automatically killing them after a number of turns caught me off-guard in my first battle.

16 – Ultimate Sakapatate

I love the aesthetic of the Gestral Village and its neighboring forest. The idea of these little creatures creating deadly Sakapatates is so fun.

The final Sakapatate you fight – suitably named the “Ultimate Sakapatate” – has a big shield with fire cannons. What’s not to love?

15 – Creation

In the moment, Creation is a stepping stone mini-boss that acts as an annoying hurdle towards the final boss. On my first playthrough I remember wanting to beat it quickly to move on.

Taking a more objective view, however, Creation is the best mini-boss in the game. It has lots of moves that test your parrying skills, and its void horse design is badass too.

14 – Serpenphare

On my first playthrough Serpenphare seemed like an insurmountable Act 3 boss. Its AP draining attacks were too much for me to handle.

I came more prepared the second time around, and I appreciated the boss design even more. Serpenphare self-destructing if it absorbs too many APs led to a fun little fight.

Great

13 – Sprong

If you get to Sprong by swimming into him, you’re not ready to fight him yet. I think every player finds that out the hard way.

Once you’re levelled up and ready, Sprong becomes a great optional boss fight – his attacks hit hard but are easily parried, so you just have to stay focused.

12 – Goblu

Eveque was a nice warm-up boss, but Goblu is the first real test of skill.

Now with three party members, it’s up to your parrying and tactical skills whether you beat this rotund menace. Oh, and his boss theme is incredible.

11 – Clea

I’m not gonna lie, I kinda hated Clea’s boss during the fight. Her healing powers enraged me more than it had any right to.

But if I’m being fair? This is a really cool optional super-boss. She summons waves of Nevrons to help her, and you have to become a parry master to stop her from healing herself.

10 – Painted Love

After a gruelling thirty-three fights in the Endless Tower, I eagerly anticipated the final boss. Painted Love did not disappoint.

It’s the return of the Paintress – a boss fight I already adore – and the Curator’s back with some new moves. These two will kick your ass if you’re not prepared.

9 – Lampmaster

The final boss of Act 1, and the final boss you fight with Gustave in your team. Spoilers, I guess … but if you’re worried about spoilers you shouldn’t be reading a “best bosses” list.

Its first phase is pretty boring, but the second phase – including the attack which can be halted by shooting the lamps in the right order – is far better.

8 – Renoir 3

Renoir, being the greedy bastard he is, takes up three separate slots on this list. Despite him coming back again and again, I never got bored of him – all of his fights were good enough to make the top ten!

Unfortunately, his last appearance as the final boss of the game is his most underwhelming. You know all of his tricks by this point, and there’s a good chance you’re over-levelled … but it was still an awesome spectacle to end the narrative.

7 – Sirene

Both Axons you fight are incredible set-pieces, and I had a hard time picking a favourite of the two.

I guess Sirene has to finish as my Axon runner-up – she’s enchanting and ethereal, and her moves kept me on-guard, but she’s built around a “Charm” gimmick. Not only can you get the “Anti-Charm” Pictos from Tisseur, but these Charm attacks are also very easy to parry.

6 – Visages / Mask Keeper

The other Axon (probably the first one you fight), and I loved how dramatic the battle was.

Both phases were awesome – the first is a grand battle against flying faces, and the second is a tight fight against the Mask Keeper. Shout-out to my girl Sciel for saving the day.

Amazing

5 – Simon

Simon has become the stuff of legend in the gaming community – let alone the “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” fanbase. He’s a super-boss who can only be beaten by the best of the best.

His first phase is easy, but his second and third phases were some of the hardest parrying gameplay I’ve ever experienced. He even removes dead party members from the canvas – that’s so unfair!

4 – Renoir 1

Renoir is clearly the big baddie of the game, even though the main objective was to reach the Paintress. His first real fight didn’t disappoint.

It’s a great set-piece in front of the fake manor, and his moves could be hard to parry – the gradient attack in particular where he deletes party members from battle really gave me a headache at first.

3 – Dualliste

Dualliste is quite an early boss in Act 2, and he has no real story relevance. It’s incredible how memorable he is in spite of those facts.

It’s a Dark Souls-esque knight with moves that are really fun to parry, and the combo finisher the party performs at the end is one of the most badass moments in the game.

All-Time Great

2 – Renoir 2

Renoir’s second battle is quite similar to his first, but there are two things that make this a better fight – his second phase where he channels a massive beast, and his boss theme.

“Une Vie A T’Aimer” is one of the best videogame songs ever. Period. It made this battle ten times more hype than it had any right to be, and I’ll never forget that first drop into the music.

1 – The Paintress

Everything in the first two Acts of the story leads to this fight. The stakes are high, you endure so much loss, you fight a gauntlet of all the enemies you’ve faced before, and then suddenly you’ve made it. This is it. The “final” battle (well, it certainly felt like it at the time …).

The Paintress fight delivers both mechanically and emotionally. She has some incredible moves, like the reality-splitting attack, and her final phase where she heals instead of harms was extremely effective at earning her some eleventh hour sympathy.

This was one of my favourite boss fights in all of gaming – both in terms of the fight itself and its context within the story.

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: