A new trailer for The Legend of Sword and Fairy 4 — Remake landed on December 29 and the internet’s reaction was immediate: does it look a little too much like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?
Up Software’s remake, being rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 and published by Cube Game, retells a story from a long‑running Chinese mythology RPG series that first launched in 1995. The short reveal, titled “Unpredictable Divine Will,” shows flashy turn‑based combat, dramatic camera swoops and what appears to be an action‑adjacent parry mechanic — features that many players now associate with Sandfall Interactive’s breakout hit, Clair Obscur.
“Totally not copy and paste combat, style, parry, from Clair Obscur Expedition 33,” one commenter wrote on the trailer. Others joked it was “DLC of Expedition 33” or dismissed it as the inevitable birth of an “Ex33‑like” subgenre.
Where the comparisons come from
It’s not hard to see why people are drawing lines. The remake’s UI flourishes — vivacious zooms as you select attacks, a visible turn order, camera choreography during abilities — echo the visual grammar that made Clair Obscur stand out at The Game Awards and beyond. The parry/defend prompts in a largely turn‑based framework are another conspicuous touch: Clair Obscur’s hybridization of turn structure and real‑time reaction windows has become, for many players, a defining feature.
But influence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Critics and defenders alike point out lineage: Clair Obscur borrowed from a long tradition of JRPG spectacle — think Final Fantasy or Persona’s dramatic menus — and Sword and Fairy 4 itself predates both. The 2007 original used different UI conventions; the remake’s apparent systems may be less copying and more adaptation to modern expectations.
Context matters — and so does tone
Some reactions have veered into nationalist dismissiveness of the Chinese‑language announcement, while others offer a more generous reading: great ideas get reused, refined and recombined. That’s how genres evolve. Titles as diverse as Vampire Survivors and Dark Souls inspired waves of imitators before becoming shorthand for entire design approaches.
For developers, that can be both flattering and fraught. Players want more of what they loved — and they’re quick to call out what looks derivative. Developers often have to choose whether to lean into a popular mechanic, reinterpret it, or deliberately carve a different path.
If you want a snapshot of this broader trend — studios experimenting with turn‑based reinvention — look at other projects that are pushing on similar mechanics. Recent updates in the turn‑based space are visible in games such as Pillars of Eternity’s turn‑based beta, which shows how veteran franchises are also reworking old formulas for modern tastes.
What Sword and Fairy’s team has said (and not said)
Cube Game has promised an English trailer soon via a regional publisher, but release windows and platform specifics remain sparse beyond “PC and consoles.” The original series’ pedigree gives the remake internal legitimacy: Sword and Fairy has a devoted following across Greater China, with nine mainline entries and many spin‑offs and adaptations.
Meanwhile, Clair Obscur’s profile — a record haul at award shows and a post‑awards surge in attention — means any visually similar RPG will be measured against it. Trailer reactions are part of the modern launch ritual; remember how reveal clips drove conversation for other anticipated projects like Metroid Prime 4’s 'Survive' trailer. Buzz can make or break early impressions.
How fans are splitting
Online, the split is plain:
- Some call the remake a “cheap copy,” citing camera angles, menu behavior and the newly hinted parry mechanic as near‑identical to Clair Obscur.
- Others point out the shared ancestry of RPG ideas — and note that updating a 2007 interface for a modern audience often looks like borrowing from whatever’s fresh and popular.
At least one useful way to read the reaction: players are hungry for fresh takes on turn‑based combat, and they’ll hold newcomers to a high bar. That hunger is creating a spotlight on any game that tries to pair spectacle with strategic pacing.
So what happens next?
We’ll get a better picture when the English trailer arrives and when the devs discuss combat details. For now, Sword and Fairy 4 Remake stands as the first high‑profile candidate many players can point to as an “Ex33‑like.” It may prove to be a genuine evolution of an older game, a bold reimagining that stands on its own, or just one of many titles that nod to the contemporary winner.
If you like playing turn‑based games on consoles, you may be thinking about hardware too — newer systems spotlight these kinds of cinematic, frame‑heavy experiences. A current high‑end option is the PlayStation 5 Pro, which many players choose for next‑gen performance and crisp visuals.
Either way, the conversation around the trailer is itself a small industry moment: it shows how a single, stylish game can reshape expectations, and how quickly the community will search for the next thing that captures that same spark.
(English trailer promised by Cube Game; release date and platforms still unconfirmed.)