This God Of War Clone Is Raising Eyebrows

It's not unusual for games to take inspiration from each other, and sometimes the copycats even grow to have a successful life of their own. For example, many thought that "Genshin Impact" was a "Zelda" clone when it first appeared, but it's now become successful in its own right by building its reputation with a dedicated community of gamers. In other instances, game clones can allow fans to pay homage to titles that are no longer available for play, like upcoming "GoldenEye" clone "Agent 64," which mimics the aforementioned title's polygonal graphics and sturdy controls. Most of the time, though, clones aren't a good thing. And the latest title to gain fame for copying a preexisting game is raising more than a few eyebrows online.

It's no secret that "God of War" is one of PlayStation's most popular exclusive franchises. 2018's "God of War" made news when Sony decided to make it look even better by porting it to PC in early 2022. For Xbox gamers, "God of War" still seems a world away, but a new copycat game has earned some attention for bringing Kratos to Microsoft's console.

For just a little more than $4, gamers could briefly experience "God of War" on the Xbox. Sort of. What they actually had access to was "War Gods Zeus of Child," a brief game that starred Kratos as he slashed down a never-ending mob of baddies. While it appears that Microsoft has taken down the surely copyright-infringing game, that didn't stop some content creators from snagging "War Gods Zeus of Child" in the time it was available. Here's what those lucky(?) gamers have said about this odd "God of War" clone.

Gamers shouldn't expect much, truthfully. Red Bandana Gaming on YouTube shared some footage of the game, which showed off an alternate title upon booting up: "God of Warning." After looking at the game's description, the channel's host, Logan, jumped in, displaying the simple mechanics and awkward controls of "War Gods Zeus of Child." There's no plot to speak of, as the game puts a Kratos lookalike in the middle of a coliseum to do battle with a multitude of large, gray, lumpy monsters. In fact, the game didn't even feature sound or music. Logan couldn't contain his glee as he piloted the main character, awkwardly swinging his weapons and wobbling all over the field. Perhaps most notably, the character did not have an animation for moving backward, and so he just slid smoothly across the screen.

Fans online couldn't believe that the game existed. JayTechTV uploaded a clip of the game in disbelief, saying, "It's such a cheap cash grab of a game that they didn't even care to program the characters, the enemies properly." He noted that the player didn't even need to accurately hit enemies in order to defeat them. "When you have nothing, you'll allow everything," JayTechTV said. "This is what Xbox is right now." 

While gamers are always ready to share their complaints about which console is winning the ongoing "war," there's an important backstory to how games like "War Gods Zeus of Child" make it onto the Xbox marketplace to begin with — and it doesn't have much to do with Microsoft at all.

Due to its lack of plot or actual level progression, it seems likely that "War Gods Zeus of Child" is an independent, perhaps even unfinished project made for fun. While it's unclear what the creator's motivation was in bringing the game to life, it's pretty obvious that the game isn't sanctioned by any official group, like Sony or Microsoft. 

According to a report from Eurogamer, "War Gods Zeus of Child" is part of the Xbox Creators Collection. Launched alongside the Xbox Live Creators Program, the Creators Collection is designed to give independent creators a platform to share their work and make a small profit in the process. While the Creators Collection includes many gems, it also has its share of half-finished games and student projects. Importantly, the Creators Collection games don't go through the same approval process as other games for sale for Xbox. That means that Microsoft didn't officially approve or deny "War Gods Zeus of Child," and the game itself doesn't boast any of the Achievements that normal titles would.

As Eurogamer noted, the developer of "War Gods Zeus of Child" also released "Dinasaur Falling Survival," a clear copycat of Epic Games' "Fall Guys" — which has certainly seen its own share of clones elsewhere. "War Gods Zeus of Child" no longer exists in the Creators Collection, but "Dinasaur Falling Survival" is still going strong. It's unclear if Sony will pursue legal action against the creator of "War Gods Zeus of Child," but it seems highly unlikely that the game will make a return to the Xbox Creators Collection.