Summary
After months of silence from developer Fntastic,The Day Beforehas finally gotten a new trailer, but the new footage quickly landed the zombie MMO in more hot water. Following a tumultuous development cycle,controversy surroundingThe Day Beforehas radiated around the project since its initial announcement back in 2021.
The drama surrounding the zombie survival title has been one of the most baffling stories in gaming for the past two years. Not only hasThe Day Beforereceived backlash for using volunteers, but Fntastic has also been embroiled in a copyright dispute involving the game’s title. On top of all that, the game has been accused multiple times of copying other games, and this newest trailer seems to have copied several major titles once again.
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The Day Before Has a Record of Copying Other Games
The newest trailer forThe Day Beforecopies previous announcement trailer scripts nearly verbatim, and one of the most glaring moments of plagiarism in the new trailer comes straight from aRed Dead Redemption 2trailer. When talking about the various weapons and shooting mechanics inThe Day Before, the trailer states that developers have insured to make combat “deep and engaging at all times” and that “each weapon has unique characteristics with realistic reload and recoil” which are nearly word for word copies of theRed Dead Redemption 2trailer script.
Grand Theft Auto 5
Red Dead Redemption 2isn’t the only Rockstar titleThe Day Before’s new trailer uses as a muse. A nearly identical voiceover fromGTA 5narrates the new trailer, while the scripts continue to be eerily similar. Back in June, Fntastic released a short teaser trailer that was a simple clip of a sports car zooming through the post-apocalyptic streets. The addition ofluxury cars inThe Day Beforewas a super confusing choice, especially when the car looked so out of place in the environment. However, after seeing the similarity to aGTA 5announcement, it now seems clear that Fntastic has been greatly influenced by this Rockstar property as well.
Cyberpunk 2077
Once again, the script forthe new trailer forThe Day Beforeends with dialogue pulled straight out of another trailer forCyberpunk 2077. The end of the trailer asks players to “immerse yourself inThe Day Before”, while the trailer forCyberpunk 2077says the exact same thing, except for the differences in titles, of course. It’s also worth mentioning that the city inThe Day Beforeis called New Fortune City, which sounds pretty similar toCyberpunk 2077’s Night City. Although the similarity between city names isn’t plagiarism itself, the name of the city coupled with the copied script makes the influence clear.
Metal Gear Solid 5
This is just a brief moment in the trailer forThe Day Before, but it’s still worth mentioning due to the similarities. InThe Day Beforetrailer, it’s stated that the player’s journey begins after being rescued by survivors of the Woodbury Colony, followed by a clip of a doctor reviving you. However, this brief clip feels a lot like the prologue fromMetal Gear Solid 5when players are in the care of Dr. Constantinou. There is a vague resemblance between the two, and although this could very well be a coincidence,the current track record ofThe Day Beforedoesn’t bode well for just mere accident being the explanation.
The Last of Us
This was one of the first accusationsThe Day Beforereceived in terms of copying other games. Once the first poster was revealed forThe Day Before, many were quick to point out that the title used the same font seen inThe Last of Us. As one of the first points of controversy, these accusations of copying other games has made some wonder ifThe Day Beforehas any hope for redemption. WithThe Last of Usbeing one of the most successful zombie titles in modern gaming, it makes sense forThe Day Beforeto want to use it as inspiration. However, the use of the same font makes it look like Fntastic isn’t confident in its product, with the studio using the popularity of other properties to gain attention.
The Division
Once again, it makes sense forthe team behindThe Day Beforeto be inspired by a major post-apocalyptic title likeThe Division, but these two posters viewed side-by-side give further weight to the theory that Fntastic wants to use the popularity of other games as a way to bring attention to their project. Some accusations of copying could truly be coincidence, like the similarities between the two doctors, but this comparison ofThe Day BeforeandThe Divisionis one of the more obvious points of plagiarism.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Last, but certainly not least, isCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.At the beginning of 2023,The Day Beforewas accused of copyingCall of Dutybecause of the shocking shot-for-shot remake of the popular shooter’s Zombies mode trailer. This was one of the more jaw-dropping accusations simply because there was no denying that Fntastic copied the contents of theCall of Dutytrailer. From the lighting to the angles of shots, the trailers are nearly identical.
From posters to trailers,The Day Beforehas taken a generous amount of influence from some of the most popular games around. Being accused once is one thing, but multiple accusations ofThe Day Beforecopying other gameshas shrouded the game in a thick blanket of skepticism, with some even accusing the game of being a scam. Sometimes coincidences happen, but the similarities have become so blatant that it’s hard to ignore, and the most recent trailer from Fntastic highlights this problem even more clearly.
