[Lore Inconsistency?] The Elderly Should Exist — But Don’t (Gommage Logic Issue)

[Afalir]

Hey everyone! I've been loving Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 so far — it's visually stunning and packed with intriguing lore. But I stumbled upon what seems like a serious inconsistency in the central mechanic of the Gommage, and I wanted to open it up for discussion (and hopefully get the devs' attention too).

TL;DR:

If the Painter kills people whose current age matches the written number each year, then elderly people should still exist — but the game treats the appearance of an old man as shocking and impossible. This feels like a major lore contradiction.

Let me break it down:

Each year, the Painter writes a number (e.g., 33 this year).
All people who are exactly that age at that moment die.
The number decreases by one every year.
The cycle started at 100, and it's now 33 — meaning it’s been ongoing for 67 years.

So here's the thing:

When the Gommage number was 68, anyone who was exactly 68 died.
But someone who was 67 at that time survived.[br]
Next year, when they turned 68, the Gommage number was 67 — so they were already too old to be affected.

Therefore: People can age past their "death number" as long as they were younger when it came up.

This creates a clear pattern:

If you're younger than the Gommage number in the year it comes up, you survive. Once that year passes, you're safe — permanently.

Which means: there should still be survivors from earlier cycles who are now in their 60s, 70s, 80s, or even 90s — as long as they were young enough when their number came up.

And yet, the game treats the appearance of an old man as unheard of, even shocking.

That’s the inconsistency:

There should be old people — maybe not tons, but certainly some.
Instead, the world acts like no one survives past the current Gommage number, which contradicts how the system works.

Unless there's a hidden mechanic we haven't seen (like the Painter also targeting people older than the number), this looks like a lore oversight.

---

Thoughts? Did I miss something? Or is this truly a logic flaw?
Would love to hear your takes — and maybe the devs can clarify it too.

[Arcana]

You did miss something. It's stated everyone the number's age *and up* dies. Nobody can slip past the number counting down

[agarest1]

It's impossible to be older than the Gommage it kills everybody within that 365 day range, the oldest you can be in this world is if you was born exactly the day before the gonmage happens.

[Afalir]

Originally posted by Arcana:

You did miss something. It's stated everyone the number's age *and up* dies. Nobody can slip past the number counting down

Unfortunately, i din't see such statement :(

[Geminex]

Tbh that gap in the lore has also been irking me. For the sake of my sanity, I just assumed it was ‘everyone of that age or up’ dies

[Deemer]

Originally posted by Geminex:

Tbh that gap in the lore has also been irking me. For the sake of my sanity, I just assumed it was ‘everyone of that age or up’ dies

There is no gap in the lore, your assumption is correct. The lead writer specifically states "everyone who is passed that age is erased."

at 2:33
https://youtu.be/LCy6vC00O0c?si=OBhWTSCey71hS0Ol&t=153

[phantommail]

Originally posted by Afalir:

Originally posted by Arcana:

You did miss something. It's stated everyone the number's age *and up* dies. Nobody can slip past the number counting down

Unfortunately, i din't see such statement :(

It's was in a prologue.

Because I 100% remember hearing somewhere " age = number and up"

[Techniv]

I think there is an error in your undertading. Maybe it's because I'm french so I played in original version and is not well translate but what I understad is when the painter write the number of your age you die the next year.

But what happend when your birthday is during this year ? It's not well explain but I understand that if you can see your age on the monolith during the year, it's over.

So, except Maelle, all member of the expedition 33 should be 33 or 32 years old if I undertand well.