‘The Day Before’ is being accused of copying ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘The Last of Us’

The zombie survival genre has been popular since the release of the first Resident Evil game back in 1996. With several major hits within the classic horror genre, it’s no wonder companies keep searching for the next big zombie thriller. While plenty of studios have used their predecessors to source some much needed inspiration, The Day Before’s recent gameplay trailer is one for the records.

Before the trailer even begins its easy to spot one major “homage” the company pays to longtime zombie favorite, The Last of Us. While its not unusual for similar fonts to exist (This specific font has been around since the 1960’s) it was a bold choice on Fntastic’s part to use a font re-popularized by the 2013 title.

Beyond nitpicking of font, the basic model character used in the trailer bears a striking resemblance to Ellie. While a simple brown ponytail could belong to anyone, it seems too similar to be a coincidence. Within a few moments of the gameplay preview trailer, it becomes apparent why such degrading nitpicking seems to be a new favorite pastime regarding the release of The Day Before. The game play trailer is… not exciting. While the the footage does a spectacular job of showcasing truly epic feats of gaming like walking and camera movement, the admittedly beautiful open world is sparsely filled, and pretty boring. It should have been the polished visuals keeping players’ attention, but the footage was so barren users could only latch onto one thing, the insanely tight pants the female survivor was wearing.

While skin-tight pants and familiar hairstyles might be harmless by themselves, the game trailer has a few too many tributes to other popular zombie titles for many users comfort. Eagle-eyed Reddit users were quick to make several side-by-side comparisons with other zombie titles, like Call of Duty and The Division.

One Reddit user complied a video of the borrowed ideas which ranged from red thematic lighting, similar level designs and even nearly perfect shot-by-shot replicas. While one or two of these could have been viewed as inspirations, the larger implications have some potential buyers leery.

After the reaction, Fntastic released another video, this one only 40 seconds long, of a man playing a rough version of the game. The short video seemed to do more damage than good, with many users mocking the company’s efforts and even trying to point out where the player’s movement didn’t quite sync with what the character was doing. Even more reasonable potential players demanded longer clips, live streams with a player who would respond to user chats, or even a video that simply showed the hands of the person playing.

The whole ordeal has left many potential buyers with a healthy dose of skepticism and the looming anxiety that the title is more scam than game. While initially set for a release later this month, the company initially delayed the games release by nine months after a series of “trademark disputes.” Now the company is saying the pushed release date was always planned. Hopefully Fntastic manages to get The Day Before  in order over the next few months and regain the goodwill of players, but for now perhaps its better to take this one off of the wish list until more solid and believable details are released.