9 Famous Video Games That Are Actually Responses To Other Famous Video Games

Activision and EA are the Marvel and DC of video games.

God of war prince of persia
Sony/Ubisoft

Nothing in the world of media is original. Even the most beloved movies, games and television shows are inspired by, and share DNA with, other beloved movies, games and television shows. It's just how it works, as creatives are inspired to take a great idea and build upon it.

However, this sometimes goes one step further, moving beyond the world of homage and spiritual successors to the point where media is created that actively functions as a direct response to something else, either as a critique or a send up.

We've seen this in the movie business, where Antz was made by a former Disney executive to compete with the House of Mouse's upcoming A Bug's Life, even being pushed out the door early to steal its thunder and be the first animated film about bugs to hit theatres. Look, I never said that it was reasonable, only that it happened.

Unsurprisingly, this same mentality is present throughout the world of video games, as publishers and developers look at what players are responding to and attempt to go one bigger and better, or in some cases, to fill a gap in the market the comepetition has been neglecting.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.