The remarkable success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has garnered significant attention. Interestingly, the enthusiastic response from players was unexpected, particularly since the game is a turn-based RPG launched in an era dominated by fast-paced genres like roguelites and action-packed titles. This shift in player preference has not gone unnoticed by Sandfall Interactive, where Creative Director Guillaume Broche has raised concerns regarding the declining acceptance of turn-based mechanics.

During an interview, Broche expressed,

“I could talk about the prejudice forever. Personally, I think Japanese turn-based RPGs were extremely popular up until the Xbox 360 era. However, with the rising popularity of open-world games, [JRPGs] began to be perceived as ‘uncool.’”

He specifically mentions JRPGs, but it’s clear that this trend has similarly affected Western RPGs, many of which have adopted real-time combat systems since the days of Baldur’s Gate.

Despite the resurgence of interest in turn-based gameplay, especially after the popularity of tactical games like X-COM, Broche acknowledges that mainstream RPGs often still favor real-time mechanics. He considers titles like the Persona series as the outliers in the current gaming landscape. Broche asserts,

“While they do sell a good number of copies, I feel that the bias against turn-based RPGs isn’t completely gone.”

Interestingly, he emphasizes that the inclusion of real-time mechanics, such as parries and dodges, in Clair Obscur was not a reaction to any perceived prejudice, stating,

“It’s not that we added the parry system to escape prejudice; we incorporated it because it fit our vision!”

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Image credit: Sandfall Interactive)