Opinion: I don’t care if indie games are too similar to classic franchises

Indie Games Opinion

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of, and should not be attributed to, Niche Gamer as an organization.

Indie games are great, they can cover any niche genre you want from roguelite auto-battler RPGs, puzzle solving simulations where you’re a help desk operator for fairy shenanigans, or whatever the hell Balatro is. Indie games are famous for their originality, since without corporate interests breathing down your neck you can make what you want.

But what if you want to bring your favorite childhood games back? Sure there’s plenty that are loosely inspired by old favorites, retro pastiches that honor, but not necessarily imitate the greats, as if afraid to be seen as too derivative.

If you’ve been gaming since at least the 90s, you likely have fond memories of at least one franchise or mascot character that’s been effectively abandoned.

Wario hasn’t had a new platformer since Wario Land: Shake It in 2008.

Donkey Kong hasn’t had a new game (I’m not counting remakes) since Tropical Freeze in 2014.

The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon came out in 2008 (not counting Skylanders as Spyro games).

Even Mega Man hasn’t had a proper new game since 2018 (sorry to make you feel old but that’s 7 years at this point, and counting).

With all the shiny new games every year, it’s mostly dedicated fans who feel this loss the most. That’s fair, maybe I’m being overly sensitive since I love my scrimblo platformers. But then I saw this on X today:

Project Minty Monkey. I’m not going to insult the developers or our readers by pretending this isn’t inspired by Donkey Kong Country. Is it maybe a little too derivative? That’s a matter of opinion. But I realized something, frankly? I. DO. NOT. CARE.

“Donkey Kong hasn’t had a new game (I’m not counting remakes) since Tropical Freeze in 2014.”

Over a decade since a new Donkey Kong Country style game. We’re not getting any younger and it’s clear indies are willing to do what Nintendon’t.

Is it any coincidence that some of the most hyped indie games are the ones unafraid to be inspired by popular franchises? ANTONBLAST and Pizza Tower were successful because of how similar they were to Wario Land, not in spite of it. Mullet Madjack and other “boomer shooters” aren’t afraid to be compared to Doom. Devs shouldn’t be afraid of obvious inspiration when these fanbases are being starved for content.

At this point, I don’t care if all devs do is the bare minimum not to be sued. I’ll gladly play a whimsical platformer as Mash Marmoset while he faces his nemesis Dr. New Brain.

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About

A basement-dwelling ogre, Brandon's a fan of indie games and slice of life anime. Has too many games and not enough time.


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