Yeah some are going to be more blatant than others.
When you look at what influenced a game’s development more often than not there will be a long list. Look at Fallout New Vegas for example and how many movie references it has.
Comment on TV Tropes' list of video game spiritual successors
Ophioparma@feddit.de 8 months ago
The used definition is sometimes really broad here. I mean, ok, Dead Space to Callisto Protocol or Titan Quest to Grim Dawn is obvious but Hotline Miami is the Spiritual Successor to Hitman because… you are have to kill people and when you fail you habe to try again? Very weak. Just being influenced or having a vaguely similar theme shouldn’t make it a “successor”.
CorrodedCranium@leminal.space 8 months ago
Ophioparma@feddit.de 8 months ago
But you would not argue that F:NV is the spiritual “successor” to those movies just because they were referenced.
If I didn’t know about Hotline Miami and you told me about like: “It’s like somebody made a new Hitman game!” I would be completely lost playing the game. Whole different perspective, style, flow. IMO being a “successor” implies more than just similar elements or references.
That said, wtaching out for examples I do not find so many other, that I think are similiarly weak as the Hitman/Hotline one. So it may be the exception in the list.
hitmyspot@aussie.zone 8 months ago
Lol, the last of us as spiritual successor to uncharted. They have some similarities in control and game engine, but hugely different tone, themes and gameplay.
One a heartfelt zombie horror survival, the other a spiritual successor to tomb raider, itself a spiritual successor to Indiana Jones.
This list is not useful.
Ophioparma@feddit.de 8 months ago
Yeah, absolutely right. “X is like a new part of Y” must make sense for being a successor. Nobody will say “Last of Us is just like Uncharted IV”!