An upcoming Tencent game is drawing ire for how similar it looks to Horizon Zero Dawn. Former Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra even took to Twitter to mention it, writing, “Ladies and gentlemen – Tencent,” above the game’s announcement.
Light of Motiram is a “mechanimal” multiplayer open-world survival crafting game that many have pointed out looks unbelievably similar to the Horizon series. It’s due to launch on PC and consoles in 2025, the same year we’re expecting the Horizon MMO that’s already in the works to come.
Like Horizon, Light of Motiram also features a bow-wielding red-haired protagonist in what appears to be Native American-inspired clothing. The game is about rebuilding human civilization in “a lush world dominated by mechanical beasts.”
One of the promo images for Light of Motiram has a near indistinguishable composition to one of Horizon’s. Both feature their protagonists standing on the left of the frame, under a tree while looking over a valley filled with huge robots, and each has snow-capped mountains in the distance – even the sun is streaking in from the same direction. Light of Motiram’s image has a slightly higher angle and is closer to the protagonist, but at a glance these images look very alike.
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I’ve reached out to the game’s PR agency, but no comment was provided by the time of publication.
There are some key differences between the two games, however. As per a press release and as can be seen in a gameplay video, Light of Motiram is more of a survival game. It has a building system with “realistic physics simulation where every beam or brick is subject to physics and the forces of nature.”
A cross between Ark: Survival Evolved and Horizon Zero Dawn is honestly a very solid elevator pitch for a game, and is very reminiscent of Palworld which features Pokemon-like creatures but with survival mechanics. Palworld is currently dealing with a lawsuit from Nintendo, though.
If you’re a fan of the genre, why not check out the best survival games you can play right now?