Many video game players have pondered the idea of creating one of their own. Doing it, however, can be daunting. It takes learning to work with a new game engine, or even coding from scratch if one wants to bring their vision to life.
Over the years, a number of the most popular titles have put powerful creative tools in the hands of gamers. This has led to the creation of unique experiences almost unrecognizable from their foundation. Here are some of the most amazing games made using other games.
While Halo Infinite’s initial reception was mixed, the multiplayer mode has a strong following. Thanks to the title’s Forge mode, Spartans can create custom maps and experiences using Halo’s mechanics, including, yes, Mario Kart.
YouTubers Its L0L0 and The MagicalSock1 made a colorful recreation of one of the Mario Kart franchise’s most infamous tracks. The goal is simply to race around on a Mongoose and reach first place. It has all the jumps, twists, and turns that one would expect from a Mario Kart track, including a loop de loop.
Fortnite’s free Battle Royale mode took the world by storm and changed not only Fortnite but also Epic Games forever. It became their major property, with base construction, shooting, and llamas. Thanks to Unreal Editor for Fortnite, others are adding to the craziness that is the Fortnite universe.
Creator 3D Lab brings the world a nautical creation called Pirate Adventure. Pirates search for treasure on an island, craft tools, and explore other islands on an in-game map. The environments look like something one would find in the Monkey Island video games, and it is hilarious to see the likes of Master Chief serve grog to pirate skeletons.
Roblox has become a staple experience for children on the internet. It provides tools to create interactive social experiences, as well as adventures that are more scary than colorful.
One such case is Doors, a horror game developed by Roblox User Lightning_Splash and co-developed by RediblesQW. It takes inspiration from the game Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion, where Roblox characters must navigate through a series of haunted rooms. Such creatures encountered include a tentacled monster looking for college money, a mischievous goblin named El Goblino, and a skeleton simply named Bob.
What can be said about Minecraft that has not been said already? With the immense set of tools and resources available, anyone can make anything imaginable. These tools range from pickaxes to in-game circuitry and command blocks. Minecraft's inhabitants are even building full-blown games within Minecraft itself.
Creator Dominexis recreated the original Pac-Man without mods. It allows one to play as either Pac-Man or one of the game’s ghosts, and multiplayer is an option as well. The visuals and sound are recreated faithfully to the original game, something sure to give anyone Pac-Man fever.
What does one think of when they think of Little Big Planet? Likely, one thinks of an adorable, smiling, rucksack doll frolicking through levels made of papercraft items. The franchise has had several entries and millions more player creations. A strategy game based on the Roman Empire would probably not be something that one would expect, but here it is.
Rise of Rome from Shaggy40000 doesn’t have a single Sackboy in sight. Instead, one is greeted by a map of Europe in the time of Ancient Rome. Each country is conquered via skirmishes utilizing classical military units, with new ones unlocked throughout the game. It even includes the ability to save one’s progress.
Garry’s Mod is a virtual sandbox where players can put together objects to create anything they want or pose the Half-Life universe’s characters in awkward scenarios. It is even possible to build custom games with it.
One of the biggest breakout creations from Garry’s Mod is Prop Hunt. It splits players into hunters and hiders, who take on the form of objects within the game map. Community maps have added extra variety to the experience, and it has made for some hilarious YouTube Let’s Plays.
In late 2023, GameMill Entertainment released Avatar: The Last Airbender – Quest for Balance, which was received negatively by critics and players alike. It was essentially an undercooked Breath of the Wild imitator with the Avatar license. One project made in PlayStation 4/5’s Dreams, a game with immense creative freedom, may be the game Team Avatar has longed for.
Elca Games’ Four Seasons attempts to create a full game experience based on the franchise. The current demo offers an open island in which Avatar protagonist Aang can roam around the island and fly around on his glider, as well as find and open all the chests. The project has been in development for nearly five years now and has come a long way since then. Even Toph and Sokka themselves are impressed by it.
Super Mario Maker on the Wii U granted Mario fans the opportunity to create the levels of their dreams. It gave them a creative toolset of classic Mario power-ups, enemies, and contraptions to lay out in graphical and gameplay styles from across the franchise's history. Super Mario Maker 2 on the Switch expands on this premise, by allowing Mario makers to create a full-fledged Mario game, complete with an overworld.
YouTuber RubberNinja did exactly this with Super RubberRoss World. It is a gauntlet of devious challenges, ranging from elaborate contraptions to frustrating survival trials. Many levels require absolute precision with movement and jumping and have been the bane of YouTubers such as the Game Grumps.