Game recognises game

An aphorism that’s been knocking about for decades, but Steve Jobs put it most succinctly: good artists copy, great artists steal. It’s not an endorsement of plagiarism, but a meditation on inspiration and iteration. There are plenty of good artists making shameless clones out there in the darker corners of the game industry – but this month’s Hype crop features great artists paying homage to what came before in brilliantly original ways.

Hotshot Racing (p40) is the most obvious example. With its Sega blue skies, Virtua Racer- esque low-poly art style and Burnout boost management, it’s a veritable pastiche of the very best of racing games. When the results are this delightful, the remix carried out with such evident care and joy, who wants to be a pioneer? We’re happy to revisit well-trodden ground.

Skateboarding sim Session (p36), meanwhile, pays tribute not to a game, but to a sport. While the Tony Hawk’s series is a clear influence, Crea-ture Studios is eschewing its arcade-y approach for an exacting physics system that mimics real life: here, ollies aren’t one-button affairs, but exercises in precise foot- and weight-shifting. Then there’s the Annapurna-published

Maquette (p48), which you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d already played. In truth, developer Hanford Lemoore was working on a recursive puzzler long before it became something of a trend. Now, he and the makers of similar games have a group chat in which they discuss their ideas – the challenge has been finding the twist that elevates a now well-known mechanic. In the structure of a love story, he’s found it.

Riot’s artists are the perhaps the greatest of all. Valorant (p32) mixes elements ripped straight out of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch to startlingly compelling effect, thoughtfully editing each one to create a high-skill tactical shooter that also has bags of charisma, and is sure to be on every esports stage available within the year. Jobs, we’re sure, would be proud.