10 SHAMELESS God of War Knock Off Games

10 Shameless God of War Knock-Off Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at games that copied “God of War” a bit too closely, whether they were good or bad.

“Dante’s Inferno” (2010)

When we say “‘God of War’ clone,” this is the game that probably comes to mind for many. It’s loosely based on the first section of Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy,” and sees you as Dante braving the nine circles of Hell. Releasing the same year as “God of War III,” it was impossible not to notice the similarities. Dante uses an extendable scythe that’s basically a singular Blade of Chaos and uses quick time events on larger enemies. He can even take control of large beasts and crush other foes, similar to Kratos. Critics and players were quick to point out the resemblance on release. However, it still had rich source material to pull from and, despite being a clone, it was still fun to play.

“Ghost Rider” (2007)

To be fair, it would’ve been hard to make a 3D action game starring Ghost Rider and not get “God of War” comparisons. Both have vengeful protagonists with flaming, chain-based weapons. But it seems, outside of the motorcycle sections, the developers didn’t try too hard to set themselves apart. In fact, they leaned into it hard. One must only look at a single combat scenario for proof. Combos are incredibly reminiscent of Kratos, you gain orbs from fallen enemies, and the camera stays pulled back except for finishers, when it zooms in on the action. Still, it’s better than some other tie-ins that also tried to copy Sony’s homework, but we’ll get to that.

“Hero of Sparta” (2008)

There are a lot of mobile releases that attempt to give players a more affordable alternative to games on expensive consoles. “God of War” has “Hero of Sparta.” Released in 2008, this isometric action game follows a Spartan King battling mythical creatures in ancient Greece. While a mobile game obviously couldn’t copy the combat finesse or deep story of “God of War,” it did attempt to copy pretty much everything else. Apart from the premise, gameplay, and title, you also gain orbs that are color-coded the exact same way they are in “God of War.” Comparisons weren’t too kind on release, but that didn’t stop “Hero of Sparta” from finding success. People liked it enough for it to get a sequel in 2010.

“Heavenly Sword” (2007)

Released the same year as “God of War II,” “Heavenly Sword” found itself in a similar situation to “Dante’s Inferno” a few years later. Combat was where the similarities were most obvious; the player character’s main weapon can change into different forms, including two small blades chained together. Nariko could even perform similar finishing moves. Still, its blood-drenched style, massive environmental puzzles, and reliance on quick time events seem to have also been inspired by “God of War.” At least Ninja Theory’s game had a unique story and lore, as well as a secondary playable character with different gameplay. But as far as everything else goes, it was very much a “God of War” clone.

“X-Blades” (2009)

If you don’t remember this game, don’t feel too bad. It isn’t really worth remembering. “X-Blades” follows Ayumi, a woman wielding two gun-blades in search of two artifacts that can grant absolute power. On top of the fairly generic plot, the protagonist was about as scantily clad as Kratos in the early days, though not nearly as interesting. It almost solely focused on arena-style combat to clear areas. And Ayumi’s weapons, despite having two functions, covered around the same range as Kratos’ blades. But whereas he could gain a variety of weapons, her combat grew incredibly tedious. It got some unfavorable comparisons to “God of War” and even “Heavenly Sword,” but was seen by most as pretty dull.

“Clash of the Titans” (2010)

It’s one thing for a company to greenlight an uninspired movie tie-in. It’s something completely different for that tie-in to rip off another game. As “Clash of the Titans” was also steeped in Greek mythology, the developers knew exactly what to do. And you probably know exactly what we’re going to say: hack-and-slash gameplay, a ton of quick time events, and orbs that fly out of dead enemies. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the developers had included anything unique like those of “Heavenly Sword” and “Dante’s Inferno.” But with shallow gameplay that only amounts to button-mashing and a bland color palette of various browns and grays, it’s pretty clear they didn’t. Oh well, it’s not like the movie it’s based on was any good anyways.

“Thor: God of Thunder” (2011)

The last movie tie-in on our list, “Thor: God of Thunder” at least had a different mythological world for players to explore. However, when it came to actually playing in that world, it seems the developers just looked to the biggest action franchise at the time. The game’s UI, gameplay, camera, and combat scenarios are all essentially “God of War,” though at least Mjolnir has a little more range than the Blades of Chaos. It isn’t as blatant a copy as some others, like “Ghost Rider,” but it also isn’t nearly as much fun. It’s the very definition of surface level, not even attempting to match the quality of the series it’s copying. Weirdly, there’s a DS version from a different developer that plays completely differently and was much more warmly received.

“Garshasp: The Monster Slayer” (2011)

Long before any “God of War” game made it to PC, “Garshasp: The Monster Slayer” gave players the “God of War” experience. Or, at least, as much of the experience as a much shorter indie game could. It followed the titular hero, a figure from Persian mythology, fighting hordes of monsters to save the human race. The different mythology could’ve been interesting, but a lack of its own style certainly hurt it. The fixed camera angles, arena-style combat, and epic music were all there, though none of the aspects held the same high quality of Sony’s franchise. Of course, you also had orbs to collect, though blue ones healed you instead of green ones. Reactions were appropriately mediocre, but the game did well enough to warrant a sequel the following year.

“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” (2010)

Back when Konami even cared enough to try rebooting “Castlevania,” it came up with “Lords of Shadow.” Series sales were on a decline, and so the studio turned to the popular hack-and-slash genre, not too big of a stretch from the action platformers that made up the majority of the series. Since “God of War” is one of the most popular within the genre, more than a few elements made it into “Lords of Shadow. Gabriel Belmont’s whip operates very similarly in combat to Kratos’ blades. It also features a ton of other elements that we’ve already seen in other copycats, like gaining orbs from slain enemies. However, there were enough other unique features to set it apart and lead to a couple sequels.

“Conan” (2007)

Conan the Barbarian has starred in multiple games. But for his 2007 adventure, THQ and Nihilistic Software played a bit too close to “God of War” territory for comfort. The camera system, combat, a severe uptick in gore over previous games, and orbs- I’m sorry, “runes”- floated towards you out of dead enemies and smashed pots. It’s no surprise this game turned out to be a knock-off. THQ set out to make an action game similar to “God of War” when it picked up the license. It even hired Mike Reagan to compose the score, who had previously worked on the “God of War” series. It seems most saw “Conan” for what it was, as it sold quite poorly.

Have you played any of these “God of War” clones? Which do you think stands on their own? Share your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great gaming videos every day!