Have any anons here been playing or have finished Expedition 33? I finished the game over a month ago now, but I've been thinking about it a bit more recently as I revisit several of the music tracks from the game. I wasn't sure I had enough to start a whole thread about the game, and the Expedition 33 thread on /v/ is awful , so I thought I might as well just share my recent thought here. It's in regard to the ending, so I will spoiler it, just in case.
Right as I finished the game, I was satisfied with how the endings were handled. The two options were not presented as equally good outcomes, which fits much better with the established lore, the message of the game, and for overall satisfaction. As I was thinking about the Maelle ending, I realized there was another bit of detail about Verso's situation. Throughout the story, mostly during campsite conversations, Verso talks about how his main love when it comes to art is playing music, not necesarily painting. He talks about how he used to deeply enjoy going to the concert hall and playing the piano. If the player chooses to side with Maelle, Verso shows just how horrible he feels about the canvas continuing to exist, begging to be killed. Yet Maelle selfishly ignores these pleas, and the player sees that Verso eventually stars in a performance in a now crowded performance hall inside the canvas. Of course, as the cutscene goes on, things start to feel more and more off, and clearly Verso has trouble beginning his performance. I recently realized how perfectly cruel this detail was, because something that once brought the real Verso great joy is now part of his torture. He used to play effortlessly in the hall, and now he struggles to do it. Having this scene show the results of Maelle's decisions makes sense both writing wise and really allows for some deeper details to be presented to the player, beyond the surface level tension and discomfort.