10 Video Game Spiritual Successors That Get It All Wrong

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It’s natural to be inspired by games you enjoy, and sometimes copying elements can be positive. However, it’s also easy to misinterpret what makes a game great and end up imitating the wrong aspects.

It’s common to see game developers jump on popular trends without adding their own unique ideas. This often leads to games that feel empty or are clearly just made to quickly make money. When developers focus only on copying what’s popular, they often lose the passion and originality that make games truly special.

We’ll be looking at several games that tried to capture the magic of the original, but ultimately fell short, even if they were successful in other areas.

10. Deathloop

Arkane’s Downfall Starts Here

Deathloop unfortunately falls short of its inspiration, Dishonored, in several key areas. The combat feels slow and unresponsive, and the game doesn’t really showcase next-generation graphics or gameplay. But the biggest problem is the story, which lacks seriousness and features a particularly weak villain in Julianna. Overall, the game feels disjointed and unsure of its own identity.

The game challenges you to eliminate a set number of targets each day. When you fail, you start over, but with access to more abilities and routes than before. It sounds good, but exploring the island and taking out targets isn’t very enjoyable. The enemy AI is weak – you can easily defeat many enemies by simply knocking them off cliffs. Plus, the powers you unlock aren’t particularly fun or engaging to use.

The critics loved this one, but it felt like a pale imitation of Dishonored for me.

9. Left Alive

All Gears Down

To truly enjoy Left Alive, you need to approach it as a uniquely challenging survival game, not as a follow-up to games like Front Mission or Metal Gear Solid. It intentionally feels clunky – the sneaking is awkward and combat is often unresponsive. Success depends on acting as if you’ll instantly lose if spotted, because that’s often exactly what happens.

Okay, so the game tells a really intense war story, showing things from a bunch of different sides. But honestly, I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. And the graphics? They felt seriously outdated – like something you’d see on a PS3, which was a huge letdown considering it came out in 2019.

Okay, so you do get to pilot some of those awesome, classic Wanzers, which is cool, but honestly, it feels unfinished. It’s pretty clunky to control, and instead of feeling super powerful, it mostly just feels like one of those on-rails shooter sections you see everywhere. It doesn’t quite live up to the hype, sadly.

The game takes far too long to defeat enemies, and all the levels look remarkably similar – just various shades of brown and resembling military bases. It’s easy to understand why critics disliked it so much from the start.

8. Back 4 Blood

Left For Dead, Literally


Tall Boy

It seems simple enough to recreate the fun of Left 4 Dead, but Back 4 Blood really missed the mark. From clunky and uneven shooting to a surprisingly small amount of gameplay, and movement that feels awkward and unresponsive, almost everything about Back 4 Blood feels off.

This game is obviously aiming to capture the spirit of Left 4 Dead, but it falls short of replicating that game’s unique appeal, clever ideas, and originality. While it includes a similar ‘Director’ system for dynamic gameplay, it doesn’t feel as impactful or intelligent. Overall, the artificial intelligence seems noticeably weaker than what was seen in a game released many years ago.

Honestly, I’m really turned off by the way this game tries to be funny – it’s got that same kind of forced, edgy humor that was everywhere in 2020. I don’t know where that trend even came from, but it just doesn’t work! We’ve seen it in games like Forspoken and the new Saints Row, and it feels so dated. Seriously, developers, please stop trying to make this kind of humor happen – it’s not what anyone wants!

7. The Callisto Protocol

A Missed Shot in the Dark

I enjoyed The Callisto Protocol, even though it doesn’t quite live up to the standard set by Dead Space, which it clearly tries to emulate. While the game looks fantastic, it lacks the variety, atmosphere, and overall experience that made Dead Space so memorable. It’s too similar to Dead Space to establish its own unique identity.

The main character’s design and the addition of telekinetic powers feel uninspired. While the game attempts to emphasize close-quarters combat, it doesn’t introduce interesting new ways to fight, making many battles feel repetitive.

I didn’t have a strong personal connection to Dead Space, so I wasn’t bothered by the flaws in The Callisto Protocol. However, fans of the original Dead Space game were much more critical.

6. The Outer Worlds

Not Fallout, But Something Else

While The Outer Worlds is a perfectly enjoyable game, it doesn’t quite live up to the legacy of Fallout, especially considering Obsidian Entertainment—the studio behind the beloved Fallout: New Vegas—developed it. They had the experience, but the game didn’t quite reach the same heights.

The game’s biggest issue is that it clearly tries to imitate Fallout, even copying its quirky humor. However, it doesn’t do so with finesse; the jokes feel forced and awkward, and the overall tone is unpleasant, more reminiscent of a show like Rick and Morty than the serious science fiction it occasionally attempts.

Battles include a slow-motion feature similar to VATS, but it doesn’t feel special – it’s just like slow-motion in many other games. The quests are disappointing too; although the writing is well-done, the quests themselves are generally uninteresting and repetitive.

The game feels limited compared to its ambitions. It’s unclear if this was due to funding or the development team, but it didn’t live up to the hype as a true follow-up to Fallout. Fortunately, it seems the next installment is taking these issues into account.

5. Atomic Heart

A Different Kind of Shock

Atomic Heart initially felt like a spiritual successor to BioShock, sharing a similar dystopian setting, atmosphere, character abilities, and a complex, twist-filled story. It seemed poised to become the next big title in the genre, but ultimately fell short. The game lacked the memorable characters, immersive world-building, and captivating story that made BioShock so special.

It felt like a rehash of familiar stories, and the constant chatter from the main character and a talking glove was irritating. The plot was overly complicated, and even when it started to make sense, it wasn’t very compelling. Ultimately, the gameplay was the weakest part of the experience.

The abilities in the game aren’t used to their full potential, and even the most helpful one – which just shoots icy projectiles – feels weak compared to the amazing powers in the original BioShock. It’s surprising to see a sequel, given the first game wasn’t very well-received, but hopefully this new installment will finally deliver on the promise of a truly great BioShock experience.

4. Avowed

Heir to the Throne

Avowed feels very much like a spiritual successor to Skyrim, with similar visuals and the option to play in both third- and first-person perspectives. It also shares a connection to the Pillars of Eternity games, being set in the same universe, though it doesn’t follow the story directly as a sequel or prequel.

Unfortunately, the game doesn’t quite deliver on either of its goals. It’s not as enjoyable to explore as Skyrim, and it doesn’t offer the same level of RPG complexity as Pillars of Eternity. It feels caught between those two ideas, prioritizing action-focused fighting over creating a rich and captivating world.

The role-playing aspects are the weakest part of the game. While there’s a lot of conversation, most of your choices don’t have a real impact. Even in important quests, your decisions don’t seem to matter much. For example, during the main story, you can choose to let one of your companions go with an evil sorcerer, but it doesn’t change much.

These little details often feel pointless – they’re introduced and then completely forgotten, like a side character who just sticks with you for no reason. The game is filled with these baffling instances, which unfortunately detract from what could have been a truly exceptional RPG.

3. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

Can’t Hang With the Classics

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes aimed to recapture the magic of the classic Suikoden games from the 90s. While it featured key people from the original development team – even the franchise creator – the game ultimately fell short. It boasted impressive visuals, decent combat, and good voice acting, but it lacked the special something that made Suikoden so beloved.

The story felt too cheerful considering the series previously showed a harsh war, and it seemed geared towards a younger audience – most players were probably in their 30s or 40s by this point. The game didn’t really grow or change, and that includes the battles. While the combat system is similar to Suikoden, it felt sluggish, and you could often win just by letting your characters automatically attack without actively participating in fights.

While having a hundred recruitable heroes sounds impressive, they aren’t very well developed, and unlocking them isn’t as enjoyable as it was in the older Suikoden games. It often feels like a tedious task, sometimes even requiring repetitive actions to recruit them. The game seems to focus too much on appealing to fans of the originals and forgets what made those games great – memorable characters, a captivating world, and a compelling villain. Unfortunately, you won’t find much of that here.

2. Ninja Blade

A Futuristic Ninja Tale Missing an Edge

It’s surprising to look back and remember that FromSoftware, now famous for its critically acclaimed games, once struggled to find its footing. A prime example of this was Ninja Blade, a game that very closely imitated Ninja Gaiden. It borrowed so much from the atmosphere, combat, and visual style of the original that it almost felt like a copy.

Let’s be blunt: Ninja Blade isn’t a good game. The dialogue and voice acting are terrible, the character movements feel clunky, and the combat is surprisingly shallow for a character action title. It clearly tries to emulate the Ninja Gaiden series, but falls far short, lacking the depth of moves, strategic options, and strong boss and level designs that make those games great.

The game features uninspired environments and unoriginal enemy designs. You’ll experience everything it has to offer within the first 20 minutes. It’s a weak imitation of other games, lacking in creativity. However, if you can tolerate frequent quick-time events, cheesy dialogue and voice acting, and average combat, it’s not the worst game you could play.

1. Mighty No. 9

The Least Mega Man

When Mighty No. 9 was first announced, there was a lot of excitement because it promised to recapture the classic action of old-school Mega Man games with a modern twist. The game generated a huge amount of buzz, and even back then, I thought the previews didn’t look very promising.

Ultimately, the game was a disappointment. Despite being delayed several times, it turned out to be a very weak platformer. It suffered from clunky controls, poor graphics, and a frustrating design, with difficulty jumping unexpectedly and unfairly.

The game’s levels weren’t very good and didn’t capture the exciting, exploratory feel of classic Mega Man games. The main character’s design was also uninspired, which was obvious even in the game’s promotional materials. Despite this, many fans bought it anyway, hoping nostalgia would make up for the flaws, but the game ultimately disappointed.

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2025-10-27 21:14