A review of indie horror game Heartworm and indie JRPG Bloomtown: A Different Story.
I recently played these two games almost back to back and both of them are sub-par copies of different games I have also played. I've been thinking about them a lot, especially Bloomtown: A Different Story, which is such a funny title since the "different story" it's talking about is just Persona 5.
In fact, try taking a drink every time I say "In Persona 5" in this review. You will be dead by the end of it if your drink is alcoholic. And if it's not, you will really need to pee.
How much can you steal before your game goes from "inspired by" to downright plagiarism? When a developer copies the surface level aesthetics of a game they enjoy without understanding the underlying mechanics, will they ever be able to make a truly great video game? Let's find out.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro3:00 - Trangender Law Center Shout-Outs6:52 - Heartworm27:50 - Bloomtown43:32 - "I copied Persona but forgot to make its battle system good"1:03:43 - "I removed the stakes and timeline of Persona and it messed up everything"1:18:33 - A Non-Exhaustive List of the Things Bloomtown Stole from Persona 51:38:44 - "This game isn't finished"1:51:00 - "Hey, why is the tone like that?" or "Please Don't Punch That Baby"
Me when I'm stealing character designs.
Me when my game isn't finished and the equipment item ID is in the description by mistake.
If you're into Persona stuff, you might like my needlessly in-depth Persona 5 Royal mechanics breakdown.