- Michael Kamm claims several specific design ideas from Ouros also appeared in Zenless Zone Zero’s mini-game.
- amm also responded to claims that Ouros copied another puzzle title called Primo.
Michael Kamm, the indie dev behind the relaxing puzzle game, Ouros, has accused miHoYo (HoYoverse) of copying his game and turning it into a mini-game inside the popular 3D action game, Zenless Zone Zero. This sparked a heated discussion across social media about originality, game mechanics, and more.
The similarities between Ouros and Ether Tuning have sparked debate
So, according to Mr. Kamm, Ouros launched in 2024 across Android, iOS, and PC, while Zenless Zone Zero introduced a similar mini-game called Ether Tuning last June. And since HoYoverse is a globally “recognized, billion-dollar studio,” Mr. Kamm claims many ZZZ fans are now “assuming that their version is the original, and mine is the clone,” leading to all the backlash online.
Besides stating the obvious, Mr. Kamm also pointed out several features in the video that he shared on X that he believed are simply too similar to let go of, including the curve portals, dotted influence lines, reverse direction controls, unordered targets, soft flowing backgrounds, and even a hint system that reveals the correct shape. Honestly, while games can naturally share ideas, I can now see why the ZZZ fans were accusing Ouros as the clone, when so many details line up side by side.
Talking about Ouros, it is a relaxing puzzle game where you need to shape flowing curves and guide an orb through targets in a mathematical space. Moreover, this game includes over 120 handcrafted puzzles, which I’m sure are fun to solve, since it has very positive reviews on Steam and decent downloads on the Play Store, even as an underrated premium title.
Fans questioned Ouros’ originality with Primo comparisons after the accusations
What I found even more funny is how some fans pushed back against Kamm’s accusations by claiming that his puzzle game, Ouros, itself is a copy of another title, Primo, which was released one year earlier than his own. And in response, Mr. Kamm clarified that Primo allegedly resembles an “original game jam version I made for this game, Splines ‘n Shapes,” which he created back in October 2020.
At the time of writing, miHoYo has not publicly responded, and while I personally believe game mechanics shouldn’t be patented, I still feel miHoYo is in the wrong here because the similarities are just too much, especially when most of Kamm’s specific design choices also appear in the mini-game. That said, you can try Ouros via the Google Play Store or App Store, if you want to support the dev.
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