I've Played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 For Over 333 Hours, & This One Challenge Still Gives Me Nightmares

While there are many haunting and terrifying locations in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, such as Renoir's Drafts or the Endless Night Sanctuary, the area that easily gives me nightmares is the Gestral Beach ascension tower. The ascension tower is a relatively straightforward mini-game, and the Gestral Beaches are meant to be a light-hearted or even relaxing break from the often bleak and depressing world inside the Canvas. In my experience, there is absolutely nothing light-hearted or relaxing about it, and it's arguably one of the harder challenges in the game (aside from maybe raft volleyball).

If you've visited any of the Gestral Beaches and participated in the various Gestral Games in Clair Obscur, you're likely familiar with the ascension tower. It's located at the Gestral Beach west of Monoco's Station, and it involves climbing a tower made of random objects that stretches into the clouds. If you're afraid of heights, this is not a challenge for you, but don't worry too much. The reward for completing this nightmare of a challenge isn't at all worth it in the end, even if you have an eye for fashion.

Summary

The Gestral Beach ascension tower in Clair Obscur is unforgiving.
No checkpoints, precise movements required, & it's a long way down.
Reaching the top of the tower rewards Monoco's swimsuit, but is not worth the stress.

The Ascension Tower In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Is Unforgiving

There Are No Checkpoints On This Tower, & It's A Long Way Down

The Gestral Beach ascension tower is completely unforgiving if you make a mistake. The challenge's goal is simple: reach the top of the tower. The challenge here is that the objects you grab onto or the jumps you have to make require a pretty solid handle on controlling your characters' movement in the open world. There are parkour elements, ledges, grappling points, etc., but what makes things difficult is that if you fall, you're likely going to end up at the bottom of the tower and will have to start over.

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Unless you get lucky and grab a ledge on your way down, you're starting your ascent over from the beginning. This can take more than a few attempts, and even with knowledge of how to get past the difficult spots, each attempt will be increasingly nauseating, and a small misstep will cost you dearly. I've played this game for over 300 hours of Clair Obscur now, and this challenge still gives me more anxiety than anything else in the game, including the secret boss Simon in The Abyss.

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Monoco's Swimsuit Is Either The Best Or Worst Reward For Completing The Gestral Beach Ascension Tower

So you finally reach the top of the ascension tower, and what do you get for all your hard work? Well, prepared to be pleasantly underwhelmed, because, as with the other Gestral Beach rewards, all that's in it for you at the top is Monoco's swimsuit. Now, granted, Monoco has the best swimsuit of all the characters, and seeing the Gestral warrior in a speed-o with a life buoy around his neck is definitely worth a good laugh. But is it worth climbing the tower and being filled with gut-wrenching anxiety the entire way up?

Lune and Maelle in baguette outfit and a baguette from Clair Obscur Expedition 33

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Aside from the Monoco swimsuit, you must reach the top of the tower and speak with the Gestral at the top of the stairs to officially complete the Gestral Game. The ascension tower is one of five different Gestral games in Clair Obscur, and is the only one that gave me trouble aside from the final raft volleyball level (which will provide you with nightmares for an entirely different reason). Winning all the Gestral Games unlocks the aptly-named "Gestral Games" trophy/achievement and is essential if you want to 100% Clair Obscur.

I suppose if you get some sadistic pleasure in this sort of side challenge, or if you desperately want to see Monoco in a speed-o, then by all means start climbing. As for me, after doing it once, I can confidently say I have no interest in trying the ascension tower again, and it will be one of the only areas I skip over during my next playthrough of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.