Why is Dragonkin so similar to Last Epoch?

General
1

I wanted to open a discussion about the visual identity of Last Epoch and the ARPG genre in general, especially after seeing the recent footage of Dragonkin: The Banished.

Why do both games look so identical? Graphically speaking, from the UI buttons to the monsters, poison effects, and explosions, everything feels eerily similar. I don’t want to diminish the hard work of the developers, but looking at these games side-by-side is concerning. It genuinely feels like instead of a unique artistic vision, we are just looking at a standard, generic “Unity aesthetic” shared across the genre.

Last Epoch has been in development for over 8 years. How is it acceptable that the game still lacks a truly unique visual identity to the point where an entirely different, newly announced game like Dragonkin can look virtually identical to it?

I am honestly disappointed by this loss of originality, especially now that the studio is busy pushing monetization revamps and asking us to pay for extra content. I know that hardcore enthusiasts will probably still buy whatever new paid content is released. However, given this glaring lack of visual identity, it’s highly questionable if charging for this new content is even justified.

Let’s be honest: the studio wasn’t able to create visually striking, appealing skins that would naturally engage players to buy them in the cosmetic store. Or why are we, the players, to blame for their inability to monetize properly?

Pushing more paid content now is just frustrating. It comes across as if the player base is being punished and charged simply to make up for the fact that we didn’t buy into a cosmetic store that lacked inspiration in the first place.

If this is the standard for ARPGs moving forward, where games just share the same visual library of effects, fail to deliver original art, and then squeeze players for cash to cover failed cosmetic sales, it becomes very hard to justify investing time and money. Has the genre lost its visual originality?

2

Are you saying that you think it should be up to LE to change if another game came out substantially later with a similar aesthetic?

The devs didn’t blame us for us not buying enough.

Possibly, yes. :person_shrugging:

3

But the question is undeniable, and you answered it. Last Epoch lost its originality !

4

What a stupid topic. Is this rage bait? Makes absolutely no sense at all.

1 Like
5

doesnt remind me of Last Epoch at all other than some of the character names, but those are generic Euro ones I think like Yula. Graphics are not similar. Systems are not similar.

The only game Dragon Kin reminds me of is Wolcen but without bugs. lol

6

Put the crack pipe down lil bro, youve clearly had enough JRR Toke.

7

If someone copies your style, you didn’t lose your originality (being the origin), you became a trend-setter.

2 Likes
8

So if I make a game that shares an aesthetic with PoE, then GGG need to rework all of their gfx. To quote @XLVI_carpo

Maybe, but you’re looking at it arse backwards. I’m not even saying it’s a bad question.

9

It’s probably just you. I find them very different. Dragonkin uses much more vibrant colours for its effects and it has an overall look that is a bit more cartoony than LE.

You probably just feel that way due to the fact that they use both globes (health and mana) to encase the 5 available skills.
Although that is hardly a defining feature. It’s a quite common setup from even before LE.

It doesn’t, as I said, but if it did, the answer would simply be because the Dragonkin devs decided to copy it. In which case you should be on their forums instead.

Because game devs can’t control who decides to copy their things. Or writers. Or movie/tv directors. Other people copying you doesn’t make your work lose identity or originality.
Quite the contrary. When someone copies an original work, it’s they who are lacking in originality and that only makes the original originality more proeminent.