Sunset Overdrive developer Insomniac Games has spoken out on claims that Sunset Overdrive is pinching ideas from other games.
Insomniac has been accused in the past of taking great gameplay elements from other titles and pasting them straight into Sunset Overdrive.
“I don’t think we’ve pinched anything. No-one has made any sort of combination like [Sunset Overdrive],” explained James Stevenson, Head of Community at Insomniac Games, to TrustedReviews. “Certainly there’s inspiration from Jet Pack Radio or Tony Hawk. Peggle was a big inspiration because we wanted to have that “holy sh*t” moment when fireworks and pyros are going off.”
As you build your style meter and take out hordes of OD, you’ll spot the Peggle influences in the giant orange splats of words pasted across the screen.
“But there’s also films influences from Scott Pilgrim and I Am Legend. If you think about Will Smith hitting golf balls off an aircraft carrier, or Charlton Heston driving a big convertible down the street – that idea that the apocalypse can be fun and that there are no rules.”
“The fashion from the game is inspired by a lot places. There’s so many references to other stuff. There’s a respawn animation that’s Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and another that’s Portal.”
That’s not to say that we here at TrustedReviews believe that Sunset Overdrive is anything but a celebration of the gaming genre and popular culture as a whole. There’s even a Breaking Bad reference in the opening portion of the game.
“We wear it on our sleeve.
“It’s really a celebration of games, gamers and Insomniac’s history and the games Insomniac has made. It takes a lot of the best things we’ve done and wraps them up in a new way and also puts some brand new spin on it.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
