Hilarious Clone Of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Recalls Other Blatant Chinese Rip-Offs

It has been a banner year for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a stylish RPG that has racked up awards and praise with ease.

Even the awkward moment of having one prize revoked over AI usage barely registered as a speed bump in its success story.

Developer Sandfall Interactive has gone from relative obscurity to global acclaim almost overnight, and, as gaming history reliably shows, success like that rarely goes un-copied for long.

Sword and Fairy 4: Remake's Combat Looks Very Familiar

Enter Sword and Fairy 4: Remake, a newly announced Chinese title that has already raised eyebrows for reasons that have very little to do with nostalgia.

Sword and Fairy 4: Remake, developed by UP Software, was revealed via a trailer on Gematsu's YouTube channel, alongside a Chinese-language upload on bilibili.

The footage opens with sweeping shots of a mythic fantasy world, complete with varied biomes and a bustling city hub. So far, so traditional. Then the combat begins, and the tone shifts.

That sense of déjà vu has sparked equal parts amusement and irritation online. Longtime players have seen this cycle before: a breakout hit establishes a visual or mechanical identity, and shortly afterwards a lookalike emerges, sometimes blurring the line between inspiration and blatant copying. With Sword and Fairy 4: Remake, the similarities feel especially hard to ignore.

The turn-based battles are reminiscent of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 almost beat for beat. Camera angles, UI elements, and even the pacing of attacks feel eerily close.

Sandfall Interactive did not invent turn-based combat, but Clair Obscur's perfect parries, cinematic choreography, and exaggerated abilities gave the formula a distinct identity. Sword and Fairy 4: Remake appears to borrow that identity wholesale.

Game Clones and Where Inspiration Becomes Imitation

Sword and Fairy 4: Remake is far from an isolated case. The industry is currently watching a much higher-profile dispute involving Sony and Tencent.

Reported last July by PC Gamer, Sony is suing Tencent over Light of Motiram, an upcoming open world game that bears striking similarities to Horizon Zero Dawn.

According to the lawsuit, Light of Motiram is a 'slavish clone' that copies Horizon's aesthetic, themes, and gameplay closely enough to risk consumer confusion.

The irony is hard to miss. Sony previously promoted Light of Motiram on the PlayStation China Weibo account, and the game was slated for release on PlayStation 5 and Steam.

The Steam description spoke of a world 'overrun by colossal machines' and enemies called 'Mechanimals', language that sounds uncomfortably close to Horizon's own marketing. Sony is seeking an unspecified amount of damages and an injunction to protect its IP.

Unlike Nintendo's patent-based case against Pocketpair last year, Sony is pursuing copyright infringement, suggesting confidence that the similarities cross a legal line. Sony also claims Tencent previously pitched a Horizon-based project that was rejected, only for Light of Motiram to emerge later with familiar ideas intact.

Clones, however, are not always villains. Vampire Survivors famously drew inspiration from Magic Survival, and its Castlevania-style aesthetic later led to an official partnership with Konami rather than a lawsuit.

Context matters. When inspiration flows between small developers, it can feel like healthy iteration. When massive companies mirror each other, the stakes, and scrutiny, rise sharply.

As for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it is unlikely to spawn a full 'Expedition 33-like' genre in the way Dark Souls did. Turn-based combat has been around forever. Sandfall Interactive simply added flair. Still, if Sword and Fairy 4: Remake is any indication, that flair has already made a strong impression, even if the copying is a little too close for comfort.