10 Darkest Bad Endings In Video Games
7. A Life To Paint (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
Picture the scene: you walk into a gorgeous theatre after hours upon hours of fighting gods and monsters, now finally able to relax. You see all of your beloved friends, including the ones you lost along the way, happy and full of life. Then, you all sit and watch as your brother appears on the stage and plays a song on the piano.
It sounds like heaven, right? But, in the world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, this ending is a total nightmare.
The "A Life To Paint" conclusion is what you get when choosing to side with Maelle at the end of the game, and it's downright horrifying. While everything seems joyous, anyone who has reached this ending will tell you that there's a deep uncanniness to it, as the whole thing is a façade, painted by Maelle. She forces her brother to keep on living when he simply wants to be free, traps herself in the same cycle of grief as her mother, and is slowly killing herself as the canvas consumes her.
This life of painting may appear pleasant, but it's one of the most horrifying endings imaginable for this character.