The former PlayStation head Shuhei Yoshida recognized the potential in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 early on. However, he feared that one term could become a downfall for the role-playing game.
What was the advice? Shuhei Yoshida advised Sandfall not to market their game as a turn-based RPG or JRPG. As a consultant at the publisher Kepler Interactive, the former PlayStation head had played a demo version about 2 years before the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Even back then, Yoshida saw potential in the game, which he described as a “combination of turn-based JRPG mechanics with real-time action” and which reminded him of “The Legend of Dragoon,” a title he had produced himself.
Turn-based role-playing games, and particularly JRPGs, were considered so unpopular at the time that he advised aspiring indie developers against using the terms in their marketing. Thus, he recommended the developers of Clair Obscur to find another way to describe their combat system.
“It’s incredibly well made, but I would rather not call it a turn-based RPG.” So Yoshida shared his advice during a presentation at the Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026. “That alone could lead players to overlook it.”
Ultimately, Sandfall referred to the combat system in Clair Obscur as a “reactive turn-based combat system.” On the German Steam page, it states: “In this evolution of the JRPG genre, real-time actions expand the core of turn-based battles.”
A year later, interest in turn-based games is high
Why does the advice seem ironic? At the time, there were indeed persistent prejudices that turn-based games were “out” and that no one wanted them. However, Clair Obscur was extremely successful upon release and garnered some of the most important honors in gaming, including the Game Awards, the D.I.C.E. Awards, and finally the BAFTA Games Awards in April 2026.
Many players experienced a sense of emptiness after finishing the role-playing game – and apparently they were looking for more. At least, the Google queries around the time of release suggest so:
While Baldur’s Gate 3 had already shown two years earlier that the “turn-based” label does not have to hinder a game’s success, there is at least a clear correlation between the release of Clair Obscur and the search interest in turn-based games according to Google Trends. Not only was there a significant spike at the release of the role-playing game, but interest in turn-based games continued to rise afterward.
Instead of suffering under the stigma of turn-based games, Clair Obscur was apparently so good that it at least helped reignite interest in the genre. It is therefore not surprising that the first “Ex33-likes” are already in the pipeline.
Are you Team Turn-Based or do you need action in your fights? Let us know in the comments!
If you are still looking for a game that feels like Clair Obscur … well, there isn’t (yet). But we have at least 5 strong alternatives if you have completed Expedition 33, depending on which aspect of the role-playing game appealed to you particularly.
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