A literal confetti drop at The Game Awards turned into free DLC for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — and it’s the kind of present that makes you both grin and groan.
Sandfall Interactive pushed a “Thank You” patch (1.5.0) immediately after the game’s Game of the Year sweep. It grafts a brand-new zone, Verso’s Drafts, onto the Continent, pins several savage new superbosses to the Endless Tower, and quietly reshapes the late-game math so veteran builds don’t steamroll everything anymore. Oh, and the update also nudged the game across the finish line to become Steam Deck Verified.
What’s in the update (short version)
- Verso’s Drafts: a new explorable area with its own encounters and a handful of late-game challenges.
- Endless Tower additions: four extra superboss variants, including a more vicious Simon and several multi‑phase fights that are already making top-tier players rethink months-old builds.
- Console/handheld fixes: improved text legibility, controller-friendly launcher, VSync toggle fixes on Steam Deck, HUD scale options and graphical tweaks aimed at handheld stability.
- New toys and trimmings: costumes and hairstyles (the Esquie set is a fan favourite), new weapons, Photo Mode, Lumina Sets, FSR 4 and more.
- Lune’s Esquim sits inside a pink paint cage — shoot the three floating balloon keys to free it.
- Monoco’s Esquiaro is on a diving board; clear a small Gestral off the board (a paint strike will do) and claim it.
- Maelle’s Esqium drops from a Chromatic Franctale mini‑boss in a cave below the main area.
- Verso’s Equiso is the reward for defeating the Osquio boss at the area’s peak (you’ll need to master the Gradient Dodge for the final attack).
If you’ve been away since launch, this is the sort of update that rewards a return: it’s content-rich without being paywalled, but expect some teeth in the new encounters.
How to find Verso’s Drafts
IGN’s handy guide and the patch itself make the entry straightforward: you’ll need to be into Act III and have Esquie’s diving ability unlocked. The entrance sits near Lumière at the southern edge of the Continent — look for the whirlpool that marks the way in. Once inside, you’ll soon stumble into a carnival-like open area that conceals some of the update’s best bits (and trickiest fights).
If you prefer video walkthroughs, IGN’s clip walks through the steps for reaching the zone and what you’ll need to do first.
The bosses: clever, cruel, necessary
Longtime Expedition 33 players had developed pictos-and-catalyst synergies that turned some superbosses into speed bumps. Sandfall used this build-up as an opportunity: Verso’s Drafts brings fresh boss design (multi-phase, new attack patterns) and simultaneously shutters a few of the invisible damage multipliers that let certain setups do absurd numbers.
Reactions have been lively. On community forums some players reported their once-mythical builds suddenly doing far smaller damage; others relish the shake-up. GamesRadar+ noted Duolliste’s multi-phase fight and the Endless Tower’s new variants as particular frustrations — the update forces experimentation rather than rote exploitation. That, for many, recaptures the thrill of discovery.
The Esquie wardrobe and where to get it
One of the update’s more charming threads is the Esquie outfit set. If you want the full wardrobe for your party, head to Verso’s Drafts’ main open area and slide down to the watery section. Seek the tiny Gestral named “Very Very Cool Gestral” near a carousel — agree with them and you’ll get a Ticket that lets party members ride. After the cutscene, that Gestral will hand out the Esquie outfit for whoever rode the ride.
Want matching hairstyles? Najabla, the Gestral merchant near the giant letter block in the lower pool, sells Esquie hairstyles for 5,000 apiece. If you beat Najabla in combat you can also unlock one more shop item — the Bonbim weapon.
DualShockers’ write-up has a great step‑by‑step if you want screenshots and exact NPC placement.
Weapons and a few tips
The update scatters Esquie-themed weapons across Verso’s Drafts:
These are designed to reward exploration and a little puzzle work — not merely brute force.
Steam Deck: finally practical for on-the-go play
The update includes several handheld-minded changes: larger UI and text, fixes to fog and lighting in problematic scenes, controller-friendly launcher behavior and the removal of an accidental 30 FPS hard cap in some Deck builds. Performance still favors 30 FPS in the overworld for the smoothest experience, but contained zones can run closer to 40–45 FPS. The default upscaler is XeSS Balanced, but you can tweak that in settings.
If you’re into handheld gaming and haven’t checked the Deck community lately, the patch is the nudge that makes portable play genuinely comfortable — and it coincides nicely with other recent Deck improvements like the Steam Deck's new low-power download mode. The portability angle also ties into broader handheld streaming conversations, such as PlayStation Portal's cloud streaming update, which shows how important smooth remote play is becoming across platforms.
Where the community stands
Most players seem upbeat: some grumble about nerfs, others celebrate the challenge. The update preserves core systems while reintroducing risk and reward into endgame theorycrafting — exactly the thing that keeps RPG communities lively. And because these extras are free, there’s an easy path back for anyone curious to test new builds, try the carousel, or scream at a newly enraged Simon.
If you’re diving back in: expect to explore, die a few dramatic deaths, and maybe earn a very silly outfit in the process. The patch gives the game more room to breathe on handhelds and more teeth for veterans — a tidy thank-you that actually feels like one.