A new role-playing game for PC, PS5 and Xbox aims to capture the feeling of old JRPGs like Final Fantasy again. The former head of Sony is already quite in love with the project and believes that the game could serve as inspiration for the entire gaming industry.
Which game is being talked about? The game in question is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The game by the French developer Sandfall Interactive aims to be a classic JRPG with turn-based combat in terms of gameplay – exactly the kind of game that former genre giants like Final Fantasy no longer want to be.
On April 11, the “Easy Allies” podcast was visited by Shuhei Yoshida. He was the president of Sony Interactive Entertainment for many years. Yoshida left the company on January 15, 2025 (via PlayStation.Blog).
In the podcast, which you can also watch on YouTube, Shuhei Yoshida talked about the Nintendo Switch 2 as well as already released and upcoming games. Among the latter was also Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which is set to be released on April 24, 2025.
You can see a trailer for the game here:
Sony head speaks of inspiration for the industry
What does Yoshida say about the game? Yoshida is fascinated by the high quality with which the developers deliver here – and that with a relatively small team of just 30 people. Compared to other AAA developers, the team is “incredibly productive”. Yoshida even goes so far as to say: “I think this game will inspire other developers or publishers.”
A major inspiration for the combat system in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was the JRPG The Legend of Dragoon, released in 1999. Yoshida worked as a producer on this project.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will not be a 100-hour role-playing game. Including main and side quests, the game will take about 60 hours, according to Yoshida. However, the former head of Sony also says: “I think people want smaller games than large AAA open-world action RPGs.”
The smaller scope – both of the game and the production – is also reflected in the price. This was recently discussed under a new trailer for the game. You can read more about it in this article: Role-playing game for Steam and PS5 releases a new trailer, but everyone is only talking about the price
