10 Games that More Games Should Copy

3 hours ago 2

Published May 13, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT

Adam Braunstein is a Staff Writer at DualShockers who has been covering games professionally since 2019. He primarily writes lists and features, with a focus on RPGs, JRPGs, action-adventure games, VR, long-running franchises, nostalgia, and the broader state of the gaming industry.

Before joining DualShockers, Adam contributed to gaming outlets including Venture 4th, GameSkinny, The Nerd Stash, Attack of the Fanboy, and Daily Gamer. He has also interviewed developers, written occasional guides and news articles, and reviewed games for previous publications. Adam holds a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing.

There have been plenty of copycat games throughout the years, and while the moment they come out, they typically get destroyed by critics and fans alike, when the years go on and we suddenly find ourselves with a lack of a particular game genre, we start to yearn for experiences like those we once had.

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The knockoffs can be bad, but every so often, a copycat game uses a blueprint to become something even greater than its inspiration.

There are genres that have gone the way of the dodo, and that's because of the reception the copycat games get. Developers get scared to imitate the things they love, as it's hard to replicate that same kind of recognition and sales. But now that we see so many game types disappearing, it would be great to see some of them make a comeback.

Here are some games I wish would get a copycat in this day and age.

10 Alpha Protocol

RPG Spy Games

Alpha Protocol is one of those games with so many ideas, but maybe due to the lackluster reception and poor reviews when it released, it's never been a game that companies look at and go, "Let's do that." But if you look at what the game is in its concept, which is a Spy RPG, how do you not try and improve upon what was done here? A role-playing game where you can build up a spy as you please, making tons of choices throughout the game that alter the fates of characters and the path the story takes. Does that not sound incredible to you?

Obsidian was a bit out of their depth in this game, to be fair, as the combat was just a bit of a janky mess, but the ideas at play here are ripe for being copied by maybe a developer who has some shooter experience, let's say. It's the only game I can think of that's relatively well known that has no real second attempt made at it.

There are no Alpha Protocol copies. It's a concept that has so much possible juice to it that you can just imagine how many possibilities there are to this formula. A game where you can become a double agent if you want, shift allegiances, serve yourself, etc. We've seen it done in the fantasy realm, but someone should take the reins from Alpha Protocol and try this one more time, because it could be really special.

9 Unreal Tournament

The Extreme Option

As far as the multiplayer world goes, there used to be way more variety in the shooters. One game that offered something so different than anything else was Unreal Tournament. You moved at breakneck speed, wielded impossibly powerful feeling guns, and unleashed severe levels of gore on your enemies in dazzling displays of explosions and viscera. It's a type of game we just don't really see anymore. There was no real single player to take note of in this game, so it was just about multiplayer only, and competition was the name of the game.

It's the shooter that got left in the past for no particular reason. I used to pour hours and hours into this one with my team online, and it seemed to disappear as the consoles progressed into the next generation. But it would be great to see either the Unreal series return or someone take the spirit that fueled this amazing game in the late '90s and early 2000s to bring a different kind of multiplayer experience back to the table. One that made you feel like a one-man army, all while fighting alongside a team of players who felt the same.

It was over the top, full of fast-paced rock music, and felt so perfectly 2000s. And hey, we're in the nostalgia era, so throw some Saliva on the soundtrack and give me a Flak Cannon, because I miss those days.

8 Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Your Actual Sanity's On the Line

I love the idea of a game that plays you as much as you play it, and with Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, that idea is in full swing. This era-hopping horror from 2002 is one of the more unique horror games ever made, because the scares aren't just in the game; they involve you, too. In true Kojima fashion, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem messes with you, but it's taken to the extreme here.

It can show you false system resets, your volume not working, corrupted screen displays, error warnings, crazy fourth wall messages telling you that you're actually just going insane, and the best of all, out-of-nowhere death sequences that make no sense until they're rewound in real time during the game just to show how the mansion is messing with your mind.

There are also sequences showing you having your saves deleted, and all in all, it's a psychological horror game for the ages. And we haven't seen anything close to this since. I thought The Evil Within might've leaned that way a bit, but it was way more Resident Evil than anything else. As far as really unique horror games go that consistently play with your mind, we really need more of these.

With everything technology-related these days, imagine a game where you connect your phone to it, and maybe the game calls you periodically, or something of the sort. There are endless possibilities, like having the actual main character email you, begging you for help; I can go on and on. I would love to see more horror games lean into this level of psychological horror because there was nothing like it at the time, and there haven't been any copies of it since.

7 Valkyria Chronicles

World War Anime

Valkyria Chronicles takes World War 2 and turns it into a JRPG. It's a wild mix of things, and though it shouldn't work, it absolutely does. With charming visuals, challenging combat, and an ultra addicting combat system that has you utilizing various characters, it's easy to see why this series was a hit. What isn't easy to see is where the games inspired by it are. I'm a recent fan of the series, and immediately after playing it, I went and looked for anything like it, anything that utilizes this kind of combat, and I thought I would see a ton of games like it.

I found zero. There are no other games like Valkyria Chronicles out there. Despite having maybe the best combination of real-time combat and turn-based combat that I've ever seen, not a single other game exists that has tried to copy this system. This series should've given others inspiration to create other anime-based takes on old wars using this same system. But it wasn't to be, and in the future, there is nothing upcoming that feels like it either.

It would become its own genre if only someone else would take the ball and run with it, much like so many did with, say, the Soulslike.

6 Phantom Dust

An Arena Fighter Unlike Any Other

Phantom Dust is an old game that was never all that popular, and I never really understood why. Because at a glance, visually, it is striking. There was such a unique and strange art style to this game that compelled me from the get-go, and the world and the combat did the rest to hook me.

The idea is simple: face off against various enemies in an arena using an increasingly devastating set of powers that you acquire throughout the game. The combat was amazing looking for the time, with spells both ranged and melee soaring across the screen to devastating effect. The destruction in this game was awesome; you could level entire highways, throw people through structures, and it just felt powerful to be a part of.

There was a solid multiplayer component, too, and testing your build against others online was just amazing. There is a PC version now available, but I feel like I'm one of the only ones to appreciate this gem of a game. It's a setup that feels so simple, yet it's so addicting. You're consistently facing tougher and tougher opponents while learning how to fine-tune your powers to be used most effectively. There aren't really other games like this outside of, say, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2.

It would be great to see more arena fighters in this vein come out. It's got the destructability of an Armored Core game with the combat of something akin to Dragon Ball Z. It's such a cool mix and a game I think needs more fans, if only so they could go off and create something just like it.

5 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

Stealth Action Rules

Splinter Cell Sneaking Through A Shadowy Room

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

Splinter Cell is one of the most legendary and unique franchises around. The adventures of Sam Fisher stand alone in their tone, their gameplay, and really their overall vibe. We haven't had anything close to Splinter Cell since Sam Fisher hung it up in 2013 with Splinter Cell: Blacklist. I don't understand why. Stealth gameplay is among the easiest to replicate, and it seems like nobody is really trying to remake the magic here.

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It seems to be that companies are just afraid of making a "guy with the gun" game. For whatever reason, it's fallen out of style, but regardless, Splinter Cell has never been about that. It's been about the atmosphere, the tension, the moment-to-moment fear of getting caught. It's the reason the Splinter Cell series holds up amazingly today, but where are the fans of these games? Did none of them become game developers?

We need those fans to get inspired because I miss espionage, I miss the lighting, I miss hostage taking, and interrogations. We've lost this somewhere along the way, and it needs to come back.

4 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon

The Military Disappeared

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands

Another one from Ubisoft, Ghost Recon had a relatively steady presence in the gaming world until 2019, when Ghost Recon: Breakpoint unfortunately killed the franchise for the foreseeable future. It's a tragedy because when I was growing up, military shooters were all over the place: SOCOM: Navy SEALs, ARMA, and so much more. Since then, though, there has been very little resembling a military shooter in the video game world.

I think that Spec Ops: The Line was a bit of a reflection point on the genre, and it's left companies perhaps a bit gun-shy as to how they should approach the subject matter since then.

Still, it's ultimately an easy gameplay formula to copy for sure, and one that could really be incredible in this day and age. Imagine a highly realistic military squad shooter with today's technology and third-person squad mechanics. There's barely anything like that anymore, and while ARMA soldiers on, we need way more games doing what Ghost Recon used to be, and what it represented.

3 Uncharted

The Cinema Has Been Lost

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Uncharted is a series that seems like it's a prototype that should've been copied time and time again until the end of the gaming world, and yet, other than Tomb Raider in some aspects and one absolutely atrocious rip-off, there hasn't really been a game like Uncharted. You would think that a straightforward third-person action game with big set pieces would be an easy template to follow, but if you look in the near future or really the past 10 years, where are these games?

Some have tried to copy the Nathan Drake vibe; for example, Ryder from Mass Effect: Andromeda. But in terms of the gameplay that Uncharted has? With the action and puzzles? Maybe Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order? Other than that, it's pretty much its own thing. But it shouldn't be. In an era of open-world madness, there is nothing wrong with a tightly paced action-adventure game with well-written characters and a clear path forward.

There are plenty of big companies that are looking to rebound from bombs all over the place. Why not make a 15-20 hour experience that leaves the bloat behind and just gives us a damn good time? It can't hurt, and that style of game would be welcomed in this day and age.

2 Parasite Eve

Real Time Horror

Parasite Eve is one of those series that deserved far more love than it got. It lasted three games, with really only the first being a game worth noting. But the atmosphere, the music, the combat system; it was all so damn special. Then the series ended, and I haven't seen a game with that type of combat or vibe since. Yes, 1990s Square Enix was operating on a different level, but the fact that it's taken over 20 years to even see something similar, like, for example, the upcoming Parasite Mutant, is baffling to me.

It seems like we're entering the era where indie developers are bringing back the style of older games, like your Sea of Stars or the various Resident Evil clones that are popping up left and right. But Parasite Eve has always been its own thing, and I think that combat system is so good that it could span multiple genres if a developer got their hands on it. I'm hoping that the upcoming Parasite Mutant can remind everyone how awesome this style of game really was.

1 Mass Effect

Cause and Effect

Mass Effect Shepard sees a Reaper Sovereign on Eden Prime

Mass Effect is a series I hold dearly, and while early on there were certainly stabs at copying it with games such as The Technomancer and more recently, Greedfall, it seemed like Spiders was the only company willing to try and do that type of game. These titles are heavy, choice and consequence-based action RPGs. But in this regard, I'm talking about a cover shooter RPG with squad elements. As far as those types of games come, there is only one game that tried to copy Mass Effect, and it's The Bureau: X-Com Declassified, which is a pretty solid spin-off adhering closely to the Mass Effect Formula.

The problem there is that the game came out in 2013, and since then? I haven't seen a game with a squad wheel with various powers I could direct them to use. I haven't really seen squad-based shooters in the RPG space, period. I had hopes that things like The Outer Worlds 2 would maybe get back to that feeling, but that game was clearly not trying to even approach what Mass Effect did. It's really a shame, because the sci-fi RPG is something so unique and special when done right, and we haven't had anything like that franchise in over a decade.

Luckily, there may be help on the way in 2027 with both The Expanse: Osiris Reborn and Exodus trying to revive this particular style of game. But it shouldn't be reserved for big studios to only approach; there should be far more independent projects that throw their hat in the ring with this genre as well.