10 Worst Things Gaming Did In 2024
8. Copycat Game Design
Given that video games have been commercially available for about 50 years, it’s only sensible that most of them iterate on established templates rather than do something truly innovative. Even so, this year was marked by at least a handful of titles that unashamedly chased trends and ripped off specific influences.
When its CGI trailer debuted at PlayStations’ Sate of Play in May, Firewalk Studios’ first (and now only) release – Concord – lost a lot of hype because viewers realized that it was basically just combining the overdone (Overwatch-esque) first-person hero shooter model with the overdone (Guardians of the Galaxy-esque) ragtag-group-of-quippy-rebels model.
There was virtually nothing new or enticing about it, and its subsequent downfall led to it being shut down two weeks after it arrived and arguably ranking as the central failure of 2024.
Back in February, Foamstars confirmed suspicions that it was little more than PlayStation’s slightly altered answer to Splatoon, and on a smaller scale, Tencent Games’ newly announced open-world survival adventure, Light of Motiram, was immediately and rightfully called out for overtly plagiarizing Horizon Zero Dawn.
Although it received generally positive reviews, Nikoderiko: The Magical World’s emulation of the Donkey Kong Country franchise is another clear attempt.