‘We Got Expedition-Like Genre Now’ — Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Fans Say Sword and Fairy 4 Remake Is a Little Too Close for Comfort

The debut trailer for Sword and Fairy 4 Remake is out in the wild — and it looks a lot like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Developed by Chinese studio Up Software and published by Cube Game, Sword and Fairy 4 Remake is a single-player turn-based role-playing game made in Unreal Engine 5 due out on PC and consoles at some point.

The official trailer, dubbed “Unpredictable Divine Will,” has already drawn comparisons to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s eye-catching battle system, from the dynamic user interface to the action heavy parry system. Even the camera perspective and the way the camera moves during battle rekindles memories of Sandfall Interactive’s hugely popular RPG.

https://twitter.com/CubeGameCN/status/2005594647792656573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

“Set off on a journey to find the immortals with Tianhe Yun’s team,” reads the official blurb. “In the meantime, a hidden truth that has been sealed for a long time is revealing itself.”

The Legend of Sword and Fairy is a Chinese video game franchise that encompasses nine mainline Chinese mythology/xianxia-themed role-playing computer games. The first game launched in 1995 for PC and enjoyed critical and commercial success across China. Many sequels and spinoffs have followed in the years since.

The Legend of Sword and Fairy 4 is in fact the fifth installment in the mainline video game franchise, and acts as a prequel to the third game. The latest game, The Legend of Sword and Fairy 7, came out in 2021 as the ninth mainline entry on PC, with an English version released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S in 2022 under the name Sword and Fairy: Together Forever. It was seen as an alternative to the recent mainline Final Fantasy games, which of course inspired Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s development.

Fans are drawing a line from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to Sword and Fairy 4 Remake, and some are accusing its developer of copying Sandfall’s game. “Totally not copy and paste combat, style, parry, from Clair Obscur Expedition 33,” said one commenter. “Is this DLC of Expedition 33?” said another. “We got Expedition-like genre now,” added another fan. Others, however, are saying Sword and Fairy 4 Remake just looks like a modern turn-based RPG in the Persona style, and are pointing to previous entries in the series as evidence of its credentials.

https://twitter.com/Dreamboum/status/2005499063819800626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Cube Game has said an English version of the trailer will be revealed in the coming days by a “regional publisher.” We’ll hopefully learn more about Sword and Fairy 4 Remake then.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, meanwhile, is enjoying a new surge of interest off the back of a record-breaking haul from The Game Awards 2025, where it took home the coveted Game of the Year. At the awards, Sandfall shadow-dropped Clair Obscur DLC.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.