New trendy game that is a clone?! Lets play it for 2 months then never talk about it again.

I was recently hanging out in a new streamer associate's chat. Somebody told him to stop playing Elden Ring because he would have more fun with First Descendant. As a FromSoft fanboy I took offense to this. After the conversation developed the chatter said "It is a CoD killer". I don't like CoD at all, but I know that this new game is most likely not a "CoD killer". I then told the user "say that same sentence in September". WakemeupwhenSeptemberends.MP3

As most of you have noticed these past few years in gaming alot more games have been coming and going for shorter amounts of time. I love finding new games, but I always find myself going back to Rocket League or something my buddy's and I consistently play. At first, I thought I didn't like First Descendant because it is a Destiny clone mixed with another game I have not played. (I don't care for Destiny or looters in general) Once Human then came out, this looks like State of Decay/Rust with Dungeons. Been there done that.

Am I just a hater? It is summer so I may have consumed to much hatorade with the heat. I really feel like I am getting burned out on some of these gameplay loops that keep getting re-used. Along with how fast these free to play and cheaper indie games get released. I am still leveling up on Xdefiant and now I have 2 other free to play games to check out?!

Here are some games that are either free to play, clones or generating clones.

Among us, this game is a social deduction game. It is similar to card games like werewolf/werewolves, Saboteur, The resistance and secret hitler. This one was really fun as it was during Covid time when everybody was at home. Taking card gameplay loops into video games was a pretty smart move.

Content warning, a coop horror game where you film scary content with monsters. This one seemed more unique but still was subject to 15 mins of fame.

Oh Deer! This is a Dead by daylight clone, up to 4 players vs a hunter. A funny spin on the horror genre. I don't think this one took off the ground before it crashed and burned.

Xdefiant, Call of Duty mixed with rainbow 6 or maybe even overwatch. I don't have CoD so I actually still play this one but it does not have the variety I get from Overwatch 2.

First Descendant, coming out after xdefiant and before once human. I do not see this one lasting past the summer. It is a free 3rd person coop rpg looter shooter.... that's a boat load of words! This one seems to just take x y and z from a few other games to jumble it up into a basic looking game.

Once Human, getting released so close to First Descendant and also being free to play is a bold move. Combining Rust/State of Decay elements with dungeon crawling and raid bosses. This one has some potential, but I am burnt out on most of these gameplay loops so I will probably pass on this myself. I can see this one having some longevity with patches.

Palworld, this game messed me up. Pokemon with guns, crafting and Breathe of the Wild style exploration. Taking 3 proven gameplay loops into one, what a great idea! I was in love with this game, but I definitely went to hard at it. Once the PvP patch dropped I played it for 20 minutes, and it just was not hitting like it first did. I still do like this game, despite it being pretty lackluster, no story at all, the progression is there but it is way to grindy. I suggest tweaking the XP, Stamina setting if you are just getting into this one.

Apex, Titanfall movement with a battle royale. Why? Because Fortnite was a hit success so the floodgates of battle royales with battle passes were opened. I really despise this one, bring me Titanfall 3 please. We have enough battle royales. This one does seem to have a better competitive scene. It was above all the other BR clones so I will not dive into most of the other ones.

PUBG, yo dog I heard you liked mods, so we modded your mods by adding mods to the modded mod. This game was a mod of Arma or Dayz, not sure, does it matter? Bringing back battle royales to gaming in an interesting fashion. Super buggy, clunky and filled with cheap assets but man this game was fun! People say Fortnite was the decline of gaming but I think it started here. Devs seen that you could release an unfinished game with a hard to achieve goal so it wouldn't matter. The gameplay is there, the people love it, why not release it!

Fort freaking nite. A coop survival game that took a turn once they seen the success of PUBG's battle royale. An established game that just added a game mode, what an easy layup. Congrats to whoever pitched that in the work meeting. Adding building to BR's and the rest is history. Now this game is on the forefront of gaming "innovation". No more being a CoD killer, Fortnite killer is the next marketing move. From battle passes to all the collaborations, everybody wants to copy this game. Even Magic the Gathering is going collab crazy right now.

Soulsbourne, This one is near and dear to my heart. As a FromSoftware fan boy I love Darksouls, Elden ring and have respect for the other FS games I have not played yet. This spawned a whole genre. "SOULSBOURNE" they call it. The Surge, Code Vien, Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, Cuphead and there is probably a bunch more I don't know about. Action RPG's with the staple roll/dodge with I-frames (invincibility frames). Even Palworld has a dodge roll.

I do believe I am a little salty, I find a game that I really enjoy and wish people would stay on it, but then XYZ trendy game comes to grab the attention spans of gamers. In a world of Tiktoks, memes, and youtube shorts, our attention spans are the smallest they have ever been. Maybe it is just how the world is going nowadays. I would love to hear your opinions as well.

Do you hop on every new game all the streamers are playing? Did I give a game some unwarranted hate that you are enjoying? I won't knock you for it, I know I have my special cups of tea but man it is getting exhausting keeping up with them all. How often and how long do you play trendy/clone games?