Summary
With 2024 shaping up to be the year of hero shooters, the latest title making waves in the community isStrinova, an upcoming anime-style shooter by iDreamSky Technology. Not yet out of its testing phase,Strinovais being marketed as aunique third-person tactical shooterthat emphasizes competitive play. Notably, while the game boasts characters that can switch freely between three-dimensional and two-dimensional forms, its maps are being called into question for being incredibly similar to locations inOverwatch 2.
Overwatch 2, released in 2022, is Blizzard’s sequel and successor to the original 2016Overwatch. Though the game has had a rocky lifespan, mostly due to the battle pass system and PvE pitfalls, the title has managed to maintain its status as the face of the hero shooter genre. As similar games begin to emerge, it has become evident that some developers may be drawing creative inspiration from Blizzard’s designs.
Strinova May Be Following in Marvel Rivals' Footsteps
Marvel Rivals' Tokyo 2099 Controversy Is Still Fresh
NetEase Games’Marvel Rivalsfaced criticism in early May after unveiling Tokyo 2099. This map was revealed to be a hybrid, blending elements of Domination, a familiar capture-and-hold mode, with Convoy, a version of the classic Payload mode seen in other games. SomeOverwatch 2enthusiastscriticized Tokyo 2099 as a copy of Hanamura, putting the futuristic Shin-Shibuya setting under scrutiny for its similar themes and architecture.
These allegations arose after theories that characters like Bruce Banner and Peni Parker were meant to be NetEase Games' answer to D.Va. Similarly, it seems that several othercharacters fromMarvel Rivalshave counterparts inOverwatch 2. AsStrinovaexpands to Western markets, it appears to be following a path previously taken byMarvel Rivals, with a success rate that remains to be seen.
Some of Strinova’s Maps Seem Eerily Familiar
Any pixelation or blurriness inStrinova’s images may be the result of screenshots from the game being of poor quality. They should not be used as an indication of the playtest rendering inadequately.
In what may feel like history repeating itself, one ofStrinova’s Escort maps, Albazino Industries (directly translated from Chinese as Yaxa Factory),has sparked comparisons toOverwatch’sWatchpoint: Gibraltar following a viral Twitter post by ixLyuna. The post claims the maps are near-identical and with parallels in all three points,Overwatchplayers have been quick to voice their opinions. However, it’s important to note thatOverwatchwas not the first hero shooter to find mainstream success, and it likely took inspiration from games likeTeam Fortress 2.
SinceWatchpoint: Gibraltar debuted as an Escort mapeight years ago in the firstOverwatch, it’s hard to ignore the similarities between the two. A YouTube channel named Falling5tar even uploaded a short video to highlight each segment of Albazino Industries' payload route. If one searches throughStrinova’s official Discord server, they’ll also find the same user has included a blueprint of both maps in a top-down format for further analysis.
Furthermore, although it didn’t garner enough attention to become a viral sensation, someStrinovaplayers have also observed that the Departure map may have been inspired by King’s Row. Despite forgoing the first capture point of Kings Row, the first and second stretches of Departure share various similarities toOverwatch’s London-based map. One specific similarity is a bookstore located in the same spot as Moriarty’s Fine Books Bookshop, a store tucked into the left corner ofKing’s Row’s second point.
StrinovaHas Taken Clear Inspiration From Valorant and Counter-Strike
WhileStrinovaemploys a third-person perspective, its featured game modes closely resemble those typically found in tactical shooters. This currently includes, but isn’t necessarily limited to:
At present, Escort does not seem to be a core game mode forStrinova, and the developers have not confirmed whether it will be included as one in the future.
Additionally, due to its overlapping communities, some have noted that Area 88 bears strikingsimilarities toCounter-Strike’s Dust 2, a popular map that was first released in 2001. Known byStrinova’s characters as the “Wall Street of Paradise,” the hub has analogous choke points, most recognizably in Long A and Pit. However, despite featuring models and textures reminiscent ofValorant,Strinovahas the potential to carve out a name for itself by blending mechanics inspired by various popular shooters.
Overwatch 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
