Going into 2025, I never expected one of the big discussions around video games would be the revival of turn-based RPGs and how the genre fits in the landscape of the industry. But it’s not a coincidence that, right now, so many developers are looking to the heyday of turn-based games for inspiration, and trying to update those beloved classics with a modern twist. And the success of games like Metaphor: ReFanzatio and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the perfect fuel for more developers trying to bring something unique to the genre. And that’s especially true for Starbites, a new sci-fi role-playing game published by NIS America, heavily inspired by “JRPG classics.”
“When making Starbites, we were told ‘Who would play turn-based over action?,’” game director Junho Bae tells Inverse, “So we had to talk about how turn-based games have their own feature that action games don’t, and there are reasons why players like them. Due to Expedition 33 and Metaphor’s success, it makes us very happy that there is more demand for games that aren’t just action. It created more opportunities.”
