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"The year: 1994.
"The event: World Cup Soccer in USA.
Both Williams and Gottlieb created their respectiv [sic] pinball tributes for the event. While Williams made a great game with the official license, Gottlieb made... er... this thing with flippers."
— IPDB user Paturlas comparing World Cup Soccer and World Challenge Soccernote 

This page is a list of video games that are considered imitations of each other. Inspired by a game's success and/or popularity, others are made. Which is the original and which is the imitation is not always completely clear; sometimes, however, it is painfully so.

Of course, most of the examples shown below aren't copying other studios, but had just came out around the same time with the same theme. Keep that in mind when comparing two games or game series to each other. Most of the times it just leads to a Fandom Rivalry.

This is not related to Yu-Gi-Oh! Or Duel Masters. Or... well, you get what we mean.

    open/close all folders 

    Action Game 

  • Samurai Warriors (2004) vs. Sengoku Basara (2005)
  • God of War (2005) vs. Spartan: Total Warrior (2005)
    • Concept: Hack and Slash games set in the time of ancient Greece, drawing upon its mythology.
    • Approach: God of War is the most over-the-top, with giant bosses and lots of blood and gore. Total Warrior is a spin-off of the Total War series and puts focus on large scale battles with many combatants on both sides. Rise of the Argonauts allows the player to make a few choices through the game, affecting their character's personality.

  • Destroy All Humans! (2005) vs. Stubbs the Zombie (2005)
    • Concept: Games set in a satirical 1950s America where you play as a monster - a a grey alien in Destroy All Humans and a zombie in Stubbs - running around wreaking havok with powers.
    • Approach: Stubbs the Zombie is the more linear of the two, giving you one mission after another, while Destroy All Humans has more elements of a sandbox game, with missions being given to you as you unlock more areas.

  • Titan Quest (2006) vs. Loki: Heroes of Mythology (2007)
    • Concept: Video Game/Diablo 2 clones based on ancient mythologies such as Ancient Greece, and Ancient Egypt.
    • Approach: Titan Quest is top-down perspective, has 9 classes (can be dual-class) and all dungeons are static. Loki is 3rd person perspective, has 4 classes and dungeons are randomly generated.

  • Diablo III (2012) vs. Torchlight II (2012)
  • I Am Alive (2012) vs. The Last of Us (2013)
    • Concept: A grizzled survivor climbs and scavenges his way through ruins of a modern city after a disaster, fighting off other scavengers.
    • Approach: I Am Alive came out first and has lingered in development hell longer but Last of Us was probably initiated before Naughty Dog had even heard about I Am Alive.

  • DmC: Devil May Cry (2013) vs. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (2013)

    Action Adventure 
  • Marvel Ultimate Alliance (2006) vs. Justice League Heroes (2006)
    • Concept: Superhero games with RPG mechanics where the heroes band together in groups of four to battle a group of well-known supervillains operating under a world-threatening overarching plot.
    • Approach: The main difference is straight from the title: MUA is a Marvel Comics game, while JLH is a DC Comics game. Also, MUA does not focus in a single Marvel superteam, having members from The Avengers (both classic and New), the X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006) vs. Ōkami (2006)
    • Concept: Both are Action-Adventure games with a protagonist who has been transformed into a wolf (or, in Ōkami's case, is a wolf) and must return life/light to a world corrupted by evil. Ōkami was specifically stated to be Zelda influenced, but was released months before the other game.
    • Approach: Twilight Princess was started on first but went through development hell, so Ōkami beat it into stores. Also, the majority of Ōkami heavily focused on a paintbrush mechanic. While Twilight Princess, like previous Zelda games, takes place in a Medieval European Fantasy setting that also incorporates many elements from pre-modern Japan, Ōkami takes place entirely in a mythological ancient Japan.

  • Lord of Arcana (2011) vs. God Eater Burst (2011)
  • The Last Guardian (2016) vs. Scalebound (2017)
    • Approach: Concept: Both are Action-Adventure games developed in Japan by Team Ico and PlatinumGames exclusively for Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One respectively. Both games have a human protagonist accompanied by a Pet Monstrosity (a griffin and a dragon, respectively).
    • Approach: The Last Guardian was announced in 2009, originally for the PlayStation 3, before getting stuck in development hell. Scalebound was announced in 2014, but there was no information about it for a year afterwards. The main difference between them is that Scalebound is much more action oriented than The Last Guardian.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) vs. Horizon Zero Dawn (2017)
    • Concept: Both are post-apocalyptic open world games marketed with protagonists using archery, released in the same week of 2017
    • Approach: Breath of the Wild was the latest entry in the long running The Legend of Zelda series, being both a launch title on the Nintendo Switch and the final first-party game on the Wii U. Horizon is an original IP on the PlayStation 4, the most popular console of the generation.

  • Monster Hunter: World (2018) vs. God Eater 3 (2018)
    • Concept: Both are the latest installments of hit multiplayer "hunting" games coming out to PC and modern consoles.
    • Approach: Monster Hunter started the genre while God Eater tends to follow closely in its footsteps. Both have started to differentiate from each other in recent years with these installments being the most different. Monster Hunter World adds a number of changes and improvements in an attempt to make the series bigger in the west, meanwhile God Eater 3 looks to be focusing more on their core fanbase that the game has amassed over the years.

    Adventure Game 
  • The 7th Guest (1993) vs. Myst (1993)
    • Concept: Scenery Porn Point and Click Games made as Killer Apps for the CD-ROM format.
    • Approach: Both games were very graphically impressive for their time and played a big part making the CD-ROM format take off. Neither game had much, if any, character interaction or text and instead focused on visuals, atmosphere and abstract puzzles. Interestingly, both were originally released on the Macintosh, a format known for its lack of original games.

  • Police Quest 4: Open Season (1993) vs. Blue Force (1993)
    • Concept: Law enforcement-themed Adventure Games with an emphasis on proper police procedual.
    • Approach: When Jim Walls, the designer of the original three Police Quest games, left Sierra, they decided to continue the series without him, hiring former LAPD chief Daryl Gates as a consultant for the fourth game. Walls however joined Tsunami Media, a company of former Sierra employees, and created a Spiritual Successor named Blue Force which was released the same year.

  • D (1995) vs. Phantasmagoria (1995)
    • Concept: Controversial FMV horror adventure games released in 1995 starring a young woman exploring a haunted mansion to discover the truth of why one of her loved ones have suddenly become violent and murderous.
    • Approach: Phantasmagoria used live actors and green screen while D used pre-rendered 3D-models and enviroments. Phantasmagoria used a traditional point-and-click interface while D used a first-person perspective similar to Myst. Both also had a fairly unprecedented amout of violence and gore for a video game at the time.

    Beat 'em Up 
  • Final Fight (1989) vs. Streets of Rage (1991)
    • Concept: Trilogies of urban Beat Em Ups released on rival platforms (SOR came out on the Sega Genesis while Final Fight came out on the SNES).
    • Approach: The SNES Final Fight and the Genesis Streets of Rage were both released during the 1991 Holidays season, although the Japanese version of the former actually came out earlier (being a Super Famicom launch title). While Final Fight featured more colorful graphics with larger character sprites, Streets of Rage gain favor with critics by offering a 2-Player co-op mode (a feature that Capcom later implemented in Final Fight 2).

  • Arabian Magic (1992) vs. Arabian Fight (1992)
    • Concept: Four-player Beat Em Ups set in "Arabian Nights" Days and released to arcades in 1992.
    • Approach: Taito's Arabian Magic and Sega's Arabian Fight were both produced on 32-bit arcade hardware (albeit 2-D evolutions of earlier 16-bit systems). Arabian Fight used the somewhat unusual effect of having character sprites zoom as they walk.

  • Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (1996) vs. Guardian Heroes (1996)
    • Concept: Fantasy-themed Beat 'em Ups with significant RPG Elements.
    • Approach: Made by esteemed developers (Capcom and Treasure, respectively), these games are significantly more complex than what is typical of the genre. Each game features several playable characters with distinct strenghts and weaknesses that gain levels and abilities as the game progresses. There is also usable equipment, several different special attacks and magic spells, and other features such as branching paths and Multiple Endings. Shadow over Mystara was an arcade-onlynote  sequel to Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom and is based on the popular Tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragonsnote  whereas Guardian Heroes is a wholly original title for the Sega Saturn. Guardian Heroes is also more plot-driven with a surprisingly detailed story, while the plot of Shadow over Mystara is very basic.

  • Die Hard Arcade (1996) vs. Fighting Force (1997)
    • Concept: 3D attempts at resurrecting the Beat 'em Up genre.
    • Approach: Fighting Force was originally envisioned as a Streets of Rage sequel, which would have made this an in-house dueling. Both games had sequels, but Fighting Force underwent a Genre Shift in its next installment.

  • Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance (2005) vs. Urban Reign (2005)
    • Concept: Dark and gritty Beat Em Ups.
    • Approach: Urban Reign features cameos from popular Tekken characters Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law.

    Flight Sim/Flight Shooter 
  • Star Fox (1993) vs. Cybermorph (1993) vs. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (SNES/32X versions) (1994)
    • Concept: Sci-fi themed shooting games with primitive polygonal graphics.
    • Approach: All three games came out within six months of each other. The difference is that Star Fox is a rail shooter while the other two are freeform.

  • Air Combat (1995) vs. Warhawk (1995)
    • Concept: Arcade-style flight combat games released in 1995 for the PlayStation.
    • Approach: Air Combat is set in the present; Warhawk is set in the future. Air Combat, while not a port or sharing any assets, is directly related by developer to the 1992 arcade game of the same name and its own sequel Air Combat 22 from earlier in 1995, while Warhawk is a PlayStation exclusive that has no ties beyond the name to the 1986 arcade game.

  • IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey (2009) vs. Heroes Over Europe (2009)
    • Concept: WWII-themed flight games released within one week of each other.
    • Approach: Birds of Prey attempts to bridge console and PC sensibilities by offering multiple settings of varying realism, whereas Heroes over Europe is purely an arcade affair.

    Light Gun Game 
  • Laser Ghost (Sega) (1989) vs. Beast Busters (SNK) (1989)
    • Concept: Two of the first light gun arcade cabinets to allow up to three players simultaneously, against hordes of horror creatures, released at around the same time.
    • Approach: Both Laser Ghost and Beast Busters are set in a random American town, overrun by ghosts and zombies respectively; the former has a more cartoonish tone but both are inspired by Western horror B-movies.

  • Virtua Cop (Sega) (1994) and Time Crisis (Namco) (1995)
    • Concept: Original light gun games that have some "saving the day from terrorist/criminals" plot.
    • Approach: Both games use systems to allow the player to hide out of the way of incoming fire.

  • Silent Scope (1999) vs. Golgo 13 (1999)
    • Concept: Light Gun games where the player takes the role of a sniper (or assassin).
    • Approach: Both featured rifles fixed to the cabinet. While the scope in Silent Scope was a smaller monitor, the scope in Golgo 13 was a real scope. The screen itself would zoom in when it detected the player was peering through it.

    MMO 
  • Everquest 2 (2004) vs. World of Warcraft (2004)
    • Concept: High fantasy MMORPGs
    • Approach: The first Everquest was the first successful 3D MMO, but its unforgiving game mechanics were beginning to show their age. Menaced by game juggernaut Blizzard's first MMO, the sequel was rushed to market and suffered for it.

  • Pet Society (2008) vs. Pet Ville (2009)
    • Concept: Multiplayer Facebook games based around raising Funny Animals.
    • Approach: PetVille is a sister game to FarmVille. Pet Society came out first but is rather similar to FarmVille.

  • Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011) vs. Guild Wars 2 (2012)
    • Concept: Next-generation story-focused MMORPGs that are (optionally in TOR's case) free-to-play.
    • Approach: Not actually a case of initiator and imitator, these games were the hope of 2012 ushering in a new generation of MMORPGs with a much greater emphasis on story and defying established conventions of the genre.

  • World of Tanks (2011) vs. War Thunder (2012)
    • Concept: Vehicular Combat MMO with focus on World War II and early Cold War tanks.
    • Approach: World of Tanks was the first on the scene, with more focus on competitive gameplay, while War Thunder was more of a Follow the Leader but initially focused more on aircraft. With the latest updates however, tanks are also becoming a big focus. When compared to each other, World of Tanks has a more arcade-like feel while War Thunder focuses heavily on realism, though both games have lots of Shown Their Work between them.

    Puzzle Game 
  • Boulder Dash (1984) vs. Repton (1985)
    • Concept: The founders of the rocks-and-diamonds genre, with Boulder Dash having comparatively more focus on dexterity, Repton more on logical puzzle-solving.
    • Approach: Repton creator Tim Tyler was inspired by a description of Boulder Dash, but had never actually played the game.

  • Tetris (Game Boy) (1989) vs. Columns (1990)
    • Concept: Simple to play but highly addictive games based on Falling Blocks.
    • Approach: Though neither was originally developed by a major video game company, and both had appeared on numerous computers previously, Nintendo and Sega acquired the rights to release console versions of these games, and they were among the launch titles for the Game Boy and Game Gear, respectively. (Sega also produced several Tetris Arcade Games.)

  • Puyo Puyo~n (1999) vs. Magical Drop F (1999)
    • Concept: 4th mainline entries in competition-based arcade series, released exclusively for consoles in 1999, that mostly ditches Super-Deformed character art and experiments with field-clearing Limit Breaks.
    • Approach: Two fundamentally different puzzle games (Puyo Puyo is a Falling Blocks game, Magical Drop is a "grab and toss" sorting game) with near-identical premises, created by two companies desperate for a hit.note  Puyo Puyo~n released first, with Magical Drop F coming seven months later.

  • Lumines (2004) vs. Meteos (2005)
    • Concept: Stylish Falling Blocks games, developed by Q Entertainment and released in 2005 for portable systems.
    • Approach: Meteos was a launch title or close to it for the Nintendo DS, while Lumines was the same for the PlayStation Portable.

  • Crush the Castle (2009) vs. Angry Birds (2009)
    • Concept: Physics-based games that involve you firing things into objects to make them crash and kill the opponent
    • Approach: Crush the Castle is a free browser title and is more violent than Angry Birds

  • Angry Birds (2009) vs. Pirates vs. Ninjas vs. Zombies vs. Pandas (2010)
    • Concept: Physics-based strategy games that revolve around firing characters to destroy structures in a quest for revenge.
    • Approach: Birds is more linear and cartoony, while PvNvZvP is a different, more serious art style, has more characters, and allows the order of the firing devices and character line to be changed.

  • Professor Layton and the Last Specter (2011) vs. Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights (2011)
    • Concept: A Victorian-era puzzle game where you're a European archaeologist with a top hat and a younger sidekick, for a Nintendo handheld. With Layton and the Last Specter specifically, specify the sidekick as a young lady and add "released Fall 2011".
    • Approach: Doctor Lautrec is said to be inspired by Layton, though Lautrec adds stealth gameplay and Mons combat to Layton's pure puzzles. Further, Layton is a Quintessential British Gentleman while Lautrec is a French Jerk.

  • Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (2012) vs. Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure (2012)
    • Concept: More Victorian-era puzzling with snappily dressed protagonists, this time on the Nintendo 3DS.
    • Approach: Rhythm Thief, like Lautrec, is also inspired by Layton, while adding musical-themed mini-games and puzzles to the mix.

  • Tetris Effect (2018) vs. Tetris 99 (2019)
    • Concept: The PlayStation 4 gets a console-exclusive Tetris game. Not to be outdone, three months later, the Nintendo Switch gets one too.
    • Approach: Tetris Effect is focused on the visual effects, has a large soundtrack, and has gameplay centered on single-player with rule variants. Tetris 99 is pretty minimal in visual presentation, has a much more limited selection of skins and music, and sticks to traditional Tetris gameplay but with 99 people playing at once under a Battle Royale system, as popularized by games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite.

    Real Time Strategy 
  • Total Annihilation (1997) vs. Starcraft (1998)
    • Concept: Futuristic RTS released in a close timeframe in 1997.
    • Approach: The two are very much polar oppposites despite being in the same genre. Starcraft has three different factions with markedly different playstyles, simple resource management, heavy emphasis on unit micromanagement, and an involved plot with many characters. Total Annihilation has only two factions with minor differences, a complicated flow based resource system, a similarly complicated tier system for unit creation, an emphasis on large-scale action and long term strategy with almost no micromanagement, and a sparse backstory with no named characters.

  • Star Wars Force Commander (2000) vs. Star Trek: Armada (2000)
    • Concept: Real-Time Strategy games, based on the massively popular Star Wars and Star Trek franchises.
    • Approach: Both games were released in early-mid 2000. Armada had a top-down viewpoint, while Force Commander had a full 3D camera system.

    Role-Playing Game (Western) 
  • Ultima I (1981) vs. Wizardry (1981)
    • Concept: Trope Codifiers of Western RPGs, inspired by Dungeons & Dragons
    • Approach: Ultima focused on a single slightly customizable hero(ine) while Wizardry featured an entire party of characters created from scratch.note  Both initially stuck closely to the spirit of Dungeons & Dragons, but Ultima eventually shifted away from it to focus more on story and morality. Wizardry however embraced the spirit fully and remained a hardcore dungeon crawler.

  • Dungeon Crawl (1997) vs. Dungeons of Dredmor (2011) vs. Tales of Maj'Eyal (2012)
    • Concept: Roguelikes typically played with tileset graphics as opposed to the traditional ASCII graphics, with a focus on polishing the genre for a modern audience.
    • Approach: Crawl is generally considered the heir to Nethack, featuring a single dungeon, a hunger system as a time limit, and a focus on resource management. ToME has an overworld with many dungeons, no time limit of this type, almost no consumable resources to manage, and generally takes longer to play, a full game taking 12-18 hours as opposed to 4-8.

  • Dragon Age II (2011) vs. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011)
    • Concept: Sequels to Western RPGs set in a Dark Fantasy setting with lots of Black-and-Gray Morality.
    • Approach: The Witcher is focused on one pre-set main character, while Dragon Age utilizes a customizable protagonist and party-based gameplay.

  • Wasteland 2 (2014) vs. Fallout 4 (2015)
    • Concept: Sequels to western rpgs set in a Post-Apocalyptic United States.
    • Approach: Wasteland 2 is played as an Isometric CRPG with a turn-based combat system similar to Fallout 1 and 2. Like Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Fallout 4 is an action RPG that can be played in a first or third person perspective. Ironically, Wasteland 2 is made by many of the people (Director/Producer included) who worked on Fallout 1 and 2. They created Fallout as a Spiritual Successor to Wasteland because they couldn't get the rights from Electronic Arts at that time. Now a lot of Fallout veterans see Wasteland 2 as a Spiritual Successor to the first two Fallout games.

  • Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) vs. Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017)
    • Concept: Open-world WRPGs with a strong sci-fi bent, which were both released in Spring 2017.
    • Approach: Despite Horizon taking place After the End, and Andromeda being a Space Opera, they shared a lot of similar story and gameplay elements, in particular the widespread presence of ancient, hostile machine enemies, and exploring high-tech underground installations.

  • Fallout 76 (2018) vs. The Outer Worlds (2019)

    Rhythm Game 
  • DanceDanceRevolution (1998) vs. Pump It Up (1999)
    • Concept: Rhythm games that debuted extremely close to each other (November 1998 and August 1999, respectively) in which the player steps on panels as instructed by on-screen arrows.
    • Approach: Dance Dance Revolution is four panels and developed by Konami under their BEMANI line, Pump It Up is five panels and developed by Andamiro. Both games have their own unique styles and songlists, complete with in-house artists, and both sport more difficult modes of play for more advanced players, but each with their own spin.

  • Rock Band (2007) vs. Guitar Hero post-World Tour (2008)
    • Concept: Rhythm games wherein you play songs by hitting notes on a plastic guitar or drum pads, or sing along and try to match the pitch.
    • Approach: You read that right. Following the success of Rock Band, Guitar Hero added drums and vocals to its fourth main installment, which it continued to use in subsequent Mission Pack Sequels.

  • Power Gig: Rise of the SixString (2010) vs. Rock Band 3 (2010)
    • Concept: Rhythm games that also teach you how to play real music.
    • Approach: Rock Band 3 has keyboards, and cymbals for drums. Power Gig doesn't have keyboards or bass, and has air drums.

  • Just Dance (2009) vs. Dance Central (2010)
    • Concept: Rhythm games that require you to dance. Notably, they both require you to do full-body motion.
    • Approach: Just Dance is, as the name implies, all about dancing, while Dance Central has some Excuse Plot and characterized avatars, and was the first full-body dancing console game released (whereas Just Dance initially required the player to hold the Wiimote in one hand; the series was later adapted for Kinect beginning with Just Dance 3, thus supporting full-body motion as well). However, Just Dance has several features not present in Dance Central, the most important one being having different dance routines for multiple players for the same song (in Dance Central, this can only be achieved by having the two players choose different difficulty levels; Dance Central Spotlight changes this by including eight routines for every song). Also, the difficulty for the dance routines in Just Dance are on average easier.

  • Dance Central (2010) vs. Dance Masters (a.k.a. Dance Evolution) (2010)
    • Concept: Rhythm games that require you to dance.
    • Approach: Dance Central involves actual dancing while DanceMasters requires you to just hit targets or strike poses in the style of dancing. It is fun to actually perform the dances involved in Masters, though.

  • Rock Band 4 (2015) vs. Guitar Hero Live (2015)
    • Concept: Resurrected music games wherein you play songs by using plastic instruments, both due for a late 2015 release.
    • Approach: Rock Band 4 has the classic five button gameplay, allows transfer of most previous DLC and disc songs, and is intended to be a "platform" for all future updates through patches and further downloadable content rather than creating entirely new sequels. Live returns to guitar-only gameplay with a new, six button (three rows of three) controller. Due to changes in the gameplay system, previous songs, both on-disc and DLC, cannot be transferred to Live. The Guitar Hero TV system seems intended to provide a better downloadable content experience to compete with Rock Band's.

  • Aikatsu! Photo on Stage!! (2016) vs. 8 Beat Story (2016) vs. Idol Connect -Asterisk Live- (2016)
    • Concept: Mobile female idol rhythm games which follows the success of Love Live! School idol festival and The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls.
    • Approach: Idol Paradise relies on GPS as a method to scout for idols. Tokyo 7th Sisters has weekly events which has only breaks during maintenance. IDOL-RISM is the only idol game which has idols of both genders. Idol Chronicle has a relatively unique gimmick of having fixed characters and uses equipable clothing and accessories instead. Aikatsu Photo On Stage is an adaptation of a formerly existing game series. 8 Beat Story has a unique system where characters can only evolve after maxing affections instead of levels or having duplicate copies in other rhythm games. Idol Connect -Asterisk Live- is more or less a clone of The Idolm@aster Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage, except with an addition of a fan system.

     Simulation 
  • Gungriffon (1996) vs. Armored Core (1997)
    • Concept: Console mech games with a Real Robot flavour.
    • Approach: Armored Core is played from a third-person perspective and is heavily focused around building your own mech. Gungriffon is played from a cockpit view and casts the player as a participant in combined arms scenarios.

    Shoot 'em Up 
  • Dodonpachi (1995) vs. Touhou Project (1996)
    • Concept: Bullet Hells featuring lots and lots of bullets and an Excuse Plot as per most Shoot 'em ups. The difference is Dodonpachi uses the traditional ships and Touhou is about little girls shooting each other.
    • Approach: It should be noted that when ZUN first unveiled the series, he made a direct Take That! to Dodonpachi, stating his series could have more bullets thanks to the Hitbox Dissonance. ...It's clear the idea caught on, because later installments of the Dodonpachi series and MOST Bullet Hells used this.

  • ONE. (1997) vs. Apocalypse (1998)
    • Concept: 3D overhead shooters exclusive to the original PlayStation, exhibited side by side at E3 1997.
    • Approach: One has more emphasis on platforming and cinematic setpieces. Apocalypse is more actioney and features Bruce Willis's likeness as its main selling point; unfinished in its original version, the game was redeveloped by Neversoft after its resemblance to One was noted.

  • Zombie Apocalypse (2009) vs. Nation Red (2009) vs. Burn Zombie Burn (2009) vs. Dead Nation (2010)

    Sports Game 
  • NBA Jam Extreme (1996) vs. NBA Hangtime (1996)
    • Concept: Fast-paced two-on-two basketball games with over-the-top dunks, no fouls besides goaltending, and players catching fire after making three straight baskets.
    • Approach: Midway made the first two NBA Jam games for arcades and Acclaim ported them to consoles. A dispute over the name led to a split where Acclaim kept the NBA Jam name and made a sequel, while Midway made its own sequel under a different name. Also notable is that Extreme is in 3D, while Hangtime remains 2D.

  • 1080° Snowboarding (1998) vs. Snowboard Kids (1998)
    • Concept: Two snowboarding games come out for the Nintendo 64 almost simultaneously.
    • Approach: Though 1080° Snowboarding was developed first, Snowboard Kids had a substantially shorter production cycle and actually beat 1080 to release by a few weeks. One crucial difference is that 1080 is focused on realistic snowboarding and executing tricks, but Snowboard Kids is essentially a kart racer with snowboarding physics, with very stylized character design and surreal settings, and a focus on the racing aspect.

  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (1999) vs. Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX (2000) vs. Jet Set Radio (2000) vs. Aggressive Inline (2002) vs.Evolution Skateboarding (2002)
    • Concept: Early extreme sports games
    • Approach: Activision and Neversoft put out THPS, while the latter four were done by Acclaim, Z-Axis, SEGA and Konami respectively. AI, Dave Mirra and Evolution generally copied the look and feel of the THPS games while Jet Set Radio tried to separate itself from the others through its use of Cel Shading and emphasis on Graffiti tagging.

  • Madden 2005 vs. NFL 2K5
    • Concept: Realistic football simulations based on the (then upcoming) 2005 NFL season.
    • Approach: Madden was more known for leaning more towards an arcadey-feel, while NFL 2K set out to be the most realistic football game in the market. NFL 2K5 also had the licence of ESPN and was able to use their personalities, while EA didn't have a particular network license, but it did have Al Michaels and John Madden calling the games.

  • Kinect Sports (2010) vs. Sports Champions (2010)
    • Concept: Sports game compilations showing off a system's new motion controls.
    • Approach: Let's face it, the real fight's between the control systems: Wii Sports demonstrated the Wii Remote, Kinect Sports is made for the Xbox 360's controller-less camera system, and Sports Champions utilizes the PlayStation Move.

  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Proving Ground (2007) vs. Skate (2007)
    • Concept: Wide-Open Sandbox Skateboarding simulators.
    • Approach: Tony Hawk relied mostly on name recognition (with the Hawkman and several other pro skaters making appearances), while the skate series promised a different approach to trick control (utilizing both analog sticks on the PS3 and Xbox 360 controllers instead of the face buttons and D-Pad).

    • UFC 2009 Undisputed vs. EA Sports MMA (2010)
    • Concept: Video games based on Mixed Martial Arts, the former focusing on UFC (and Pride in a future installment), the latter on Strikeforce and several smaller promotions
    • Approach: When EA's game was announced, UFC President Dana White was furious, since he had failed to make a deal with EA before eventually partnering with THQ for Undisputed. White later even declared that anyone who signs their likeness to EA will never work for UFC (which he later retracted).

    Stealth Game 
  • Metal Gear Solid (1998) vs. Syphon Filter (1999) vs. Splinter Cell (2002)
    • Concept: Stealth-based third-person action-adventure games in which you play as a grizzled badass soldier on covert missions, untangling complicated terrorist plots with the help (or hinderance) of Mission Control.
    • Approach: Metal Gear Solid mixes stealth gameplay and technical detail with anime tropes. Syphon Filter blended stealth and run-and-gun gameplay with its conspiracy plot. Splinter Cell was supported by techno-thriller author Tom Clancy, and was more of a pure stealth game with a slower pace than the other two, though later installments leaned into the Actionized Sequel trope. Metal Gear Solid used an isometric perspective but later games moved to a traditional third-person camera, while Syphon Filter and Splinter Cell used traditional third-person perspectives from the start.

    Survival Horror 
  • Eternal Darkness (2002) vs. Resident Evil remake (2002)
    • Concept: Nintendo GameCube-exclusivenote  survival horror games released in spring 2002, set in a vacant mansion filled with grotesque monsters and idiosyncratic puzzles. At the time, they were the only M-rated GameCube games on the market.
    • Approach: Eternal Darkness is a psychological horror game strongly inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, while Resident Evil (aka the REmake) relies more on Body Horror, science fiction elements, and jump scares.

  • Infestation: Survivor Stories (formerly The War Z) (2012) vs. ZombiU (2012) vs. State of Decay (2013) vs. DayZ (2013) vs.
    • Concept: Four Zombie Apocalypse games built heavily around survival, with players experiencing Permadeaths when killed and being given new characters instead of respawning.
    • Approach: DayZ began life as a PC-exclusive Game Mod for ARMA II that takes place in that game's Eastern European setting, eventually being expanded into a stand-alone game in 2013. State of Decay and Infestation are set in rural America, with Decay available on both Xbox Live Arcade and PC, whereas Infestation is a PC exclusive. Finally, ZombiU takes place in London and is exclusive to the Wii U, making use of that console's touch screen controller.

  • Dead by Daylight (2016) vs. Friday the 13th: The Game (2017) vs. Last Year: The Nightmare (2018)
    • Concept: Asymmetric Multiplayer horror games where players take on the role of either the killer out of a Slasher Movie, or the would-be-victims trying to survive his rampage.
    • Approach: Dead By Daylight has a selection of original killers along with classic killers like Michael Myers from the Halloween series, Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Freddy Krugger from A Nightmare on Elm Street to play as. Friday the 13th is a licensed adaptation of the film series, boasting the involvement of special effects artist Tom Savini, composer Harry Manfredini, and actor Kane Hodder, all of whom are famous for their work on the films. Initially, the studio was working on a Spiritual Adaptation of the Friday films titled Slasher Vol. 1: Summer Camp (which would've dueled with the Friday game itself), but when Sean S. Cunningham (the director of the first film) saw their work, he gave them his blessing to make a licensed adaptation.\\ Last Year, meanwhile, was successfully funded through Kickstarter, but is currently on hold due to an IP dispute with New Line Cinema over similarities to the Friday films. The developers have continued working on it, however, and intend to release it in fall 2018 with the offending elements removed. The game also notably has a more lighthearted tone, informed more by '90s teen horror movies than the '80s slasher influences of Friday or the Torture Porn of Dead by Daylight.

    Tower Defense 

    Turn-Based Strategy 

  • Final Fantasy Tactics (1997) vs. Tactics Ogre (PS1 Updated Re-release) (1997)
  • Star Wars: Rebellion (1998) vs. Star Trek: Birth of the Federation (1999)
    • Concept: Strategy and empire-building games based on the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises.
    • Approach: Both games were released around a year apart. Rebellion (also known as Star Wars: Supremecy) was a hybrid of turn-based and real-time elements, whereas Birth of the Federation was a more straight-up turn based game.

  • XCOM: Enemy Unknown(2012) vs. Xenonauts (2012)
    • Concept: Squad-centric Turn-Based Tactics games focused on repelling alien invasion due for release in 2012
    • Approach: Until Firaxis revealed Enemy Unknown, which is a full-blown official "reimagining", Xenonauts was considered the only credible Fan Remake of the original. Xenonauts is more faithful to the original's mechanics, while Enemy Unknown has made some changes to the formula. On the record, both sides are fairly sporting about the competition.

  • Eador: Masters of the Broken World (2013) vs. Age of Wonders 3 (2014) vs. Warlock 2: The Exiled (2014)
    • Concept: Turn-based strategy games set in fantasy worlds with hex-based battlefields released in late 2013/early 2014. Also, three of the four games are sequels to other turn-based fantasy games, two of whom were direct competitors (Elemental and Warlock).
    • Age of Wonders has the pedigree and history, with this being the first entry in the series since 2003. Warlock is based off of the Majesty universe, but is considered the spiritual successor to Wonders old rival Master of Magic and was released to take advantage of Wonders fans' waiting. Elemental is marred by the abysmal failure of its first game, while Eador brings something different to the table with its "shards" of territory.

  • Auto Chess (2019) vs. Dota Underlords (2019) vs. Teamfight Tactics (2019) vs.Hearthstone Battlegrounds (2019)
    • Concept: "Autobattler" games: players buy units, place them on a grid, and have them fight against other players' armies.
    • Approach: Auto Chess started off as a very popular Game Mod in Dota 2. Valve attempted to contact the mod's creators, Drodo Games, to collaborate with them in making a stand-alone version of the mod (similar to Dota 2's own history as a custom game in Warcraft III), but found that they had already started work on such a project, so they made Dota Underlords in response. Dota Underlords thus started out as a nearly identical port of Auto Chess, though later patches have since caused it to become significantly different by introducing new items, heroes, alliances, and Underlord units. Teamfight Tactics is Riot's own answer to the autobattler phenomenon, featuring League of Legends characters and items. Unlike its competitors, TFT is played on a hexagon-based grid, and it is played within the League of Legends client, rather than as its own stand-alone game; this also means it does not have a mobile version, unlike the other games mentioned here. Battlegrounds, Blizzard's take, uses a simplified format with two rows on the field instead of a grid and combat using a fully turn-based attack order. It is also directly built into Hearthstone's client, and is available on both PC and mobile.

    Miscellaneous 
  • Mario Paint (1992) vs. Art Alive (1992)
    • Concept: Console painting programs.
    • Approach: Even though Sega released Art Alive first in 1991, Mario Paint's SNES Mouse made painting easier and had more things to do with its custom stamp maker and music composer, and the flyswatter game made Mario Paint more recognizable.

  • The Firemen (1994) vs. The Ignition Factor (1994)
    • Concept: Super Nintendo Action games where you play as fire fighters, putting out fires.
    • Approach: Of the two, The Firemen is more cartoony, while The Ignition Factor is more grounded in reality.

  • All-Star Cheer Squad (2008) vs. We Cheer (2008)
    • Concept: Wii-based cheerleading games.
    • Approach: THQ's ASCS shoots for realism, while Bandai Namco's We Cheer games take a more cartoony approach.

  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) vs. Dragon's Dogma (2012)
    • Concept: Wide-Open Sandbox High Fantasy Action RPGs with a large focus on dragons as an antagonistic force.
    • Approach: Skyrim is the fifth game in the long-running Elder Scrolls series, while Dragon's Dogma was created by Japanese developer Capcom. Dragon's Dogma, however, has much in common with Western RPGs, particularly from an aesthetic standpoint.

  • Katawa Shoujo (2012) vs. Everlasting Summer (2013)
    • Concept: Animesque freeware visual novels with romance and erotic elements, both made in the West and originated on Image Boards (4chan and the Russian iichan) roughly at the same time. Both have An Aesop: "the disabled are people too" and "don't waste your life".
    • Approach: Summer was originally conceived as a horror game and so is more fantastical than Katawa, including elements of time travel, alternate dimensions and such. Also Summer wears its imageboard origins on its sleeve, with lots of references to Russian anon culture and in-jokes.

  • Fate/Grand Order (2015 (JPN), 2017 (NA)) vs. Fire Emblem Heroes (2017)
    • Concept: Gacha games based on two established franchises, with an overarching original story and the catch of gathering your favorite characters throughout the franchises to form a dream team as well as being playfully referred as a 'waifu simulator' using both franchises' characters.
    • Approach: FGO was a Japanese exclusive release at first, FEH had a simultaneous global release, then FGO had its global release two months later. Because of this, the FGO NA players actually are given insight on what to come next in order to prepare their savings.

  • Ensemble Stars! (2015) vs. IDOLiSH7 (2015) vs. THE iDOLM@STER: SideM (2015)
    • Concept: Idol training games born from the gamut of idol training games made in the mid 2010s, but focusing on boys instead of girls.
    • Approach: The majority of these games are spinoff of some sort; Enstars is a spinoff of the female idol training game Ensemble Girls! from the same company, and SideM is spun off from the main iDOLM@STER franchise.. IDOLiSH, on the other hand, is an original work.

  • Dreams (2020) vs. Game Builder Garage (2021)
    • Concept: Console-exclusive Game Maker games that uses built-in programming nodes to program game logic.
    • Approach: Dreams is a Spiritual Successor to the LittleBigPlanet games, allowing players to design detailed environments, characters, and even sounds and music. Game Builder Garage is a stand-alone expansion of the "Toy-Con Garage" editor from Nintendo Labo and is simpler to use than Dreams, but is more limited in that only built-in models, characters and environments can be used, outside of a limited sprite editor. Last but not least, Dreams has an in-game online portal allowing players to easily find new content while Game Builder Garage content can only be shared through codes on other online platforms.

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