Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33 is packed with exhilarating fights, with even more on the way when the game’s free “major” update goes live in the coming months. “There should also be some pretty challenging battles in the upcoming content,” Sandfall Interactive COO and producer Francois Meurisse told Polygon in a recent video interview.
From Dualliste to Sirene, developers have pushed out Expedition 33 with boss fights that are both challenging and spectacular. But just because the studio created these battles doesn’t mean that everyone who worked on the game managed to beat them all.
“Simon should be the hardest one,” Meurisse said, echoing what many players felt. “I’m not done with it yet. I need some mental rest to really take the time to get over this for good.”
Simon is an optional boss that can be faced in Act 3 while exploring Renoir’s Draughts. While part of Expedition Zero, Simon was a friend of Verso before he was manipulated by the Dessendre family and ultimately imprisoned in the Abyss. While you could theoretically find him as soon as the third act begins, your party will need to be at a high level – even maximum level – to have a chance.
Meurisse encouraged CEO and innovative director Guillaume Broche to enhance the difficulty, telling him, “Okay, whatever. You can give as much as you want.” So I tried not to stop him. However, chief technology officer and lead programmer Tom Guillermin said the fight “could have been toned down a little bit” to keep Broche and other designers “a little bit under control.”
According to Meurisse, Broche “tried to create one of the most difficult bosses in history.” Anyone whose ass has been kicked by Simon will probably agree that he succeeded.
“It was important to Guillaume that the game was also accessible to multiple players,” Meurisse said. But the team also wanted to cater to “really specialized players” by fighting bosses like Simon. “Some more hardcore players might find this both challenging and enjoyable.”
