The leads behind one of 2025’s best games,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, have recently opened up about how they feel regarding the current state of turn-based JRPGs and the previous"uncool"perception that the sub-genre was getting.Expedition 33has taken over mostGame of the Year conversationsas a turn-based RPG inspired by several JRPG series, but even its developers know that the road to getting there was rocky.
In an interview withAutomaton, creative director Guillaume Broche and lead programmer Tom Guillermin were asked about how they felt creating a turn-based RPG in a market dominated by action games. Broche feels turn-based RPGs still often get a bad rap, despite selling better in recent years, saying:“I feel like the prejudice against turn-based RPGs isn’t completely gone.”
Clair Obscur Devs Feel Like There Is A Bias Against Turn-Based RPGs
Though That Has Been Changing In Recent Years
Broche added that developer Sandfall Interactive didn’t set out to make"the cool"JRPG, though. Broche explained that the ideas forExpedition 33’s stellar combat systemwere implemented simply because Sandfall wanted to have them, not because they wanted to chase an action-oriented audience.“It’s not like we added the parry system and built such a narrative experience because we wanted to avoid our game facing prejudice…“said Broche.
Expedition 33takes a lot ofinspiration from classic JRPGsof the late 90s and early 2000s, likeThe Legend of Dragoon,Lost Odyssey,Persona, and, of course,Final Fantasy. After early failed attempts at adding real-time systems with a parry system, Broche explained he was playingSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceat the time and turned towards that game for ideas on how to refine the game’s mechanics.
A Turn-Based Renaissance Era Seems To Be Here
There Are A Lot Of Great Turn-Based Games Now
Broche specifically cited that the turn away from turn-based RPGs, in his opinion,began during the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 generation, when more games started to feature larger, open-world gameplay.Blue Dragon,The Last Remnant,Enchanted Arms, and other JRPGs were still released, but they didn’t receive the same attention as games likeCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, orFallout 3.
Luckily, for turn-based RPG fans, the early-to-mid 2020s have beenfull of great turn-based RPGs, likeBaldur’s Gate 3,Metaphor: ReFantazio,Octopath Traveler 2, and several more. AfterClair Obscur: Expedition 33’s wild success, it seems like turn-based RPGs are on the rise once again, even if there’s more ground to cover in the future.
