Astral Ascent: Free Update Adds Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Crossover

Astral Ascent has launched a free crossover update with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developer Hibernian Workshop announced during the Triple-i Initiative showcase. It's a rare case of one of the biggest RPGs of the last few years showing up inside a pixel-art roguelike, boss fights and all.

The update introduces three new bosses, three random rooms, and recruitable summons to the roguelike, according to the developer's Steam page. To access the new content, players must have cleared the game on Destiny Level 0.

In an era where crossovers usually require a battle pass subscription, getting a fresh injection of boss fights for the low price of "already owning the game" feels like a clerical error in the player's favor. The update adds Expedition 33 antagonists Golgra and Pétank, plus the Mime, a duo fight where both have to go down together or they revive each other. Players can also recruit one Expedition 33 ally per run, from a roster of Gustave, Maelle, Sciel, Lune, Verso, and Monoco, each with their own mechanic.

The details

• New Bosses: Golgra, Pétank, and the Mime (all in the Prison area)
• New Rooms: Lumière, Gestral Village, and Campfire (one spawns randomly before the final boss, in place of the Andromeda Bar)
• Recruitable Summons: Gustave, Maelle, Sciel, Lune, Verso, and Monoco (one per run)
• Requirement: Must have beaten the game on Destiny Level 0
• Price: Free update

For Expedition 33 fans who already beat Golgra once, fighting her again in 2D is a fair test of whether you actually learned her patterns or just got lucky with your parries.