- Joined
- Aug 23, 2018
To discuss game knock-offs, alternatives, or even spiritual successors to more popular games. Are they any good, which would you recommend (or not)? This doesn't have to be video games, but will likely be most of them.
Dark Souls vs The Surge
Dark Souls started a trend for "souls-likes", most of them bland or indie games. There have been a few that have a budget and competency. Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, and my favourites, The Surge and The Surge 2. These games have the elements fans claim Dark Souls has, but doesn't really. Tough but fair difficulty, fun progression, and an interconnected game world. And because they don't have the autistic fanbase of Dark Souls, you can play them or even criticize them without getting shrieked at. The sci-fi aesthetic and chopping limbs to steal armour and weapons is a fun mechanic as well.
Warhammer 40,000 vs One Page Rules
Warhammer 40k doesn't really need an introduction. A British wargame set in the grim dark future where there is only war. While the IP has gone from strength to strength, mostly on the back of PC games, the actual tabletop game appears to be a mess with shitty business practices and a flawed game that is chasing the sweaty tournament crowd.
Enter One Page Rules, formally One Page 40k, sometimes called Rage Quit 40k. A simpler game that streamlines and fixes longstanding issues with 40k. As the name implies, the core rules fit on a double sided A4 sheet. The army builder includes rules and stats for armies GW abandoned long ago. While originally intended as a 40k knock off, it has started to grow into it's own game with unique factions. Saurian Starhosts (space dinos with guns) and Duchies of Vinci (a fantasy faction based on the inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci) being personal favourites. For me, the real appeal of the game is the creativity. Leaning into the kitbashing, house rules, and approving the use of third party models. I've seen YouTube videos of people playing straight battles, to using the rules to play Ghostbusters.
Anything by Gameloft
Gameloft is a company that mostly makes phone games, but some of their work has been ported to "real" systems like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. Their body of work is mostly knock offs of popular AAA games. NOVA is basically Halo at home. Shadow Guardian is Wish.com Uncharted. etc. The brazeness of their knock-offs is impressive in it's own weird way. What seperates them from film counterparts like The Asylum is their rational. They make knock off Uncharted because real Uncharted is locked to Sony systems, so they tap the market for that kind of game on phones. And most games are derivitive anyway.
Some of their games go on to have fanbases in their own right. The Asphalt games in particular seem to have a small fanbase.
Dark Souls vs The Surge
Dark Souls started a trend for "souls-likes", most of them bland or indie games. There have been a few that have a budget and competency. Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, and my favourites, The Surge and The Surge 2. These games have the elements fans claim Dark Souls has, but doesn't really. Tough but fair difficulty, fun progression, and an interconnected game world. And because they don't have the autistic fanbase of Dark Souls, you can play them or even criticize them without getting shrieked at. The sci-fi aesthetic and chopping limbs to steal armour and weapons is a fun mechanic as well.
Warhammer 40,000 vs One Page Rules
Warhammer 40k doesn't really need an introduction. A British wargame set in the grim dark future where there is only war. While the IP has gone from strength to strength, mostly on the back of PC games, the actual tabletop game appears to be a mess with shitty business practices and a flawed game that is chasing the sweaty tournament crowd.
Enter One Page Rules, formally One Page 40k, sometimes called Rage Quit 40k. A simpler game that streamlines and fixes longstanding issues with 40k. As the name implies, the core rules fit on a double sided A4 sheet. The army builder includes rules and stats for armies GW abandoned long ago. While originally intended as a 40k knock off, it has started to grow into it's own game with unique factions. Saurian Starhosts (space dinos with guns) and Duchies of Vinci (a fantasy faction based on the inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci) being personal favourites. For me, the real appeal of the game is the creativity. Leaning into the kitbashing, house rules, and approving the use of third party models. I've seen YouTube videos of people playing straight battles, to using the rules to play Ghostbusters.
Anything by Gameloft
Gameloft is a company that mostly makes phone games, but some of their work has been ported to "real" systems like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. Their body of work is mostly knock offs of popular AAA games. NOVA is basically Halo at home. Shadow Guardian is Wish.com Uncharted. etc. The brazeness of their knock-offs is impressive in it's own weird way. What seperates them from film counterparts like The Asylum is their rational. They make knock off Uncharted because real Uncharted is locked to Sony systems, so they tap the market for that kind of game on phones. And most games are derivitive anyway.
Some of their games go on to have fanbases in their own right. The Asphalt games in particular seem to have a small fanbase.
