Clair Obscur: Expedition 33Developer: Sandfall InteractivePublisher: Kepler Interactive Availability: Out 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S (and Game Pass), and PC (Steam and Epic)
It’s fair to say Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 caught the eyes of many – myself included – when it was revealed during the Summer Game Fest Xbox Showcase. Here, among the multiple sequels and remakes of familiar franchises, was something completely fresh: a turn-based RPG in a Belle Epoch setting to pull the genre into a modern era.
“It was very overwhelming,” creative director Guillaume Broche tells me of the attention the game has received. “I was expecting turn-based fans to stand up and say ‘oh this looks cool’, but I wasn’t expecting this community to be that excited actually. It’s like we awakened a sleeping dragon.”
Indeed, it’s the game’s turn-based combat with action elements that’s turned heads most of all. Not since Xbox 360 exclusive Lost Odyssey has there been a “big realistic” AAA turn-based game, says Broche. And while Sandfall Interactive’s game isn’t AAA in budget, it’s certainly aspiring to that look and feel.
“I’m a very big fan of turn-based games and I was deeply lacking something that had high-fidelity graphics,” says Broche, mentioning the likes of Persona and Octopath Traveller as stylish and nostalgic alternatives. “If nobody wants to do it, I will do it. That’s how it started.”