Fans blast Horizon Zero Dawn clone as being just as bad as Palword

Horizon Zero Dawn artwork and Light Of Motiram — Real ‘can I copy your homework’ energy here (Tencent/Sony/Metro)

No, Sony hasn’t announced a new Horizon game, but Light Of Motiram bears more than a few obvious similarities.

In a recent article on GTA clones, we mentioned how, in games, imitation isn’t inherently a bad thing. Some of the very best games out there have cribbed elements from what came before, such as Astro Bot feeling like the Sony equivalent of Super Mario.

However, those sort of games typically offer their own spin or unique element that differentiate them from their inspirations. But sometimes an imitation can be so blatant, and so derivative, that you have to wonder if the people behind it foolishly believed no one would notice.

The latest example of this is with action adventure game Light Of Motiram, which was announced earlier today by Chinese conglomerate Tencent and has quickly, and understandably, drawn comparisons to the Horizon games on PlayStation.

The key art depicts a ruined but lush post-apocalyptic world, with a young woman surveying it who’s dressed almost identically to Aloy, protagonist of Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel.

Easily the most contentious similarity is how Light Of Motiram’s world will be populated by mechanical beasts called mechanimals. While the concept of robot animals isn’t unique to Horizon, had we shown you the designs shown in screenshots and the trailer with no context, you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re from a new Horizon sequel or the upcoming online spin-off.

The only real difference is that Light Of Motiram is billed as more of a survival game with an emphasis on co-op multiplayer rather than a single-player adventure like Horizon Zero Dawn.

This means gathering resources and building bases, so it’s also got some hints of Palworld in there, with how you can tame mechanimals to either aid you in battles or assist with production.

Given Palworld itself went viral upon its reveal for being deemed a Pokémon rip-off, maybe Light Of Motiram was hoping for the same thing.

The difference, though, is that Palworld combined cute and colourful pokémon-like monsters with realistic guns, making for an eye-catching juxtaposition, Light Of Motiram doesn’t have anything like that and is pretty unadventurous in how it apes Horizon.

Plus, Palworld’s Pokémon similarities have earned it a lawsuit from Nintendo, so why would anyone be trying to follow its footsteps at the moment?

Regardless, the obvious Horizon similarities seem to be all anyone’s talking about. Practically every comment under the announcement trailer mentions Horizon and a quick search through X for posts about Light Of Motiram brings up nothing but similar observations.

‘How do you invest so much money and time into developing a game when you know it’s blatantly copying the core visual elements and art direction from another game?’ writes TerrelleGraham.

‘I give the Horizon IP a lot of c***, but it has a very distinct art style and design. Light Of Motiram is a clear example of not being original,’ says Dragonraygaming.

A few also ponder if this will actually invite legal action from Sony, while others, like La Lidia, have reacted to the announcement with the Guy Incognito joke from The Simpsons.

Light Of Motiram is currently scheduled for a PC release but lacks an exact date. That’s assuming Sony doesn’t have something to say on the matter.