Why PlayStation Veteran Shuhei Yoshida Warned Sandfall Against the 'Turn-Based' Label for Expedition 33
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
PlayStation veteran Shuhei Yoshida advised the creators of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to avoid calling the game a turn-based RPG to prevent players from dismissing it. By shifting to terms like reactive turn-based battles, the team helped set the stage for the game's massive commercial and critical success.
When Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 first turned heads with its striking trailers, its high-octane combat immediately challenged conventional expectations of traditional menu-driven gameplay. According to recent comments by veteran PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida at the Busan Indie Connect Festival, shared via Automaton and 4Gamer, he advised developer Sandfall Interactive to drop the turn-based RPG label entirely during early development. Having served as an advisor to publisher Kepler Interactive, Yoshida argued that older genre descriptors often cause modern players to overlook genuinely innovative titles simply out of ingrained habit.
Taking that guidance to heart, the team shifted toward framing the experience around reactive turn-based battles, highlighting the real-time parrying and dodging mechanics that define the moment-to-moment action. That linguistic pivot proved prescient as the title resonated widely across cross-platform audiences. Blending classic strategy with active engagement helped the game secure massive commercial success, selling millions of copies and dominating award circuits following its launch.
While marketing terminology often feels like industry semantics, Yoshida's advice highlights a very real challenge for developers trying to innovate within legacy genres today. Players carry heavy preconceptions about what labels like turn-based actually mean for pacing and interactivity. By updating how they communicated their mechanics, Sandfall managed to bridge the gap between retro nostalgia and contemporary player expectations without compromising their creative vision.
Tags: Clair Obscur Expedition 33, Sandfall Interactive, RPG, Industry News, Gaming
Original article: Eurogamer