New Tower Defense Title 'Mystery of Dust' Sparks Controversy on Steam: Homage or 'Pixel-Level' Copy?

Recently, a tower defense RPG titled 'Mystery of Dust' surfaced on Steam, scheduled for a 2024 release. However, the game's store page immediately caused a stir within the community. After comparing the promotional images, players were quick to point out a striking resemblance to the visual elements of 'Arknights'.

The reactions from the peanut gallery were blunt. The comment section was ablaze, with most netizens mocking the game for being 'copy-pasted' and sarcastically referring to it as an example of an 'extremely high-level Sharingan' (a common gaming slang referring to copycat behavior, implying the thief has 'copied' the original's eyes/design). Some players initially mistook it for an official Arknights spin-off on Steam, only to realize later how egregious the imitation really was. On the other hand, some argued that this might just be a project by an indie developer, noting that such 'imitation' is not uncommon in the indie scene.