As Helldivers 2 draws Metal Gear Solid 5 comparisons, Obsidian RPG master Josh Sawyer says "more games should just directly copy stuff that feels good"

In amongst the expected Star Troopers chatter, a less obvious comparison for Helldivers 2 has quietly been making the rounds: 2015's Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Unexpected overlap in stealth, movement, and gunplay has brought Kojima's open-world action espionage masterwork back into the spotlight, and director Josh Sawyer of RPG powerhouse Obsidian reckons it's all just more evidence that more games shouldn't feel bad about copying stuff that works well and feels good. 

"I’m not kidding when I say more games should just directly copy stuff that feels good from games they like and then riff from there," Sawyer said in a tweet sharing a video from AnthonyCSN, who reckons Helldivers 2 feels Metal Gear-ish in many ways. Anthony points to gameplay from 2014's bite-sized treat Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes specifically, with prone shootouts being one touchstone for it and Helldivers 2. The two games obviously pursue different goals, but there's a case to be made for shared DNA in their bones. 

"The act of copying something requires you to do a lot of critical analysis and it’s extremely informative even if you scrap everything and start over," Sawyer adds. 

Now it makes sense why I’m obsessed with Helldivers 2 so much pic.twitter.com/ktsOGSTffDFebruary 28, 2024

Sawyer is, of course, correct, and the wording and timing of his assessment has raised a few interesting points. I'm reminded of the time-honored advice that artists, especially new artists, should wholeheartedly copy their favorite art as a step on the way to discovering their own style. Art inspires art which inspires art, and similar iteration ideation happens in games all the time, on mechanical, technical, and artistic levels just to name a few. 

Countless Stardew Valley-likes have put a spin on its farming sim formula, which is itself based on Harvest Moon. How many post-Genshin Impact games are there? How many Vampire Survivors-likes? Slay the Spire-likes? Games like Pokemon? Just last month, a