Mohamed Hassan 
The highly-anticipated zombie post-apocalyptic MMO The Day Before unveiled a new trailer two days ago, offering fans a glimpse of the gameplay along with the release date. However, the spotlight has once again turned on the game for all the wrong reasons, owing to concerns about its trailer design.
Since it was oٍriginally announced in 2021 by developer Fntastic and publisher Mytona, The Day Before has suffered a series of setbacks. These include being delisted from Steam, grappling with copyright lawsuits, and allegations of trailer plagiarism, the latter of which now appears to be resurfacing.
The Days Before reeling from plagiarism accusation
The latest plagiarism controversy involving The Day Before has seen fans accuse its developer of ripping off other game trailers. This comes courtesy of YouTuber Randomly, who has skillfully edited scenes from promotional trailers for games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and Grand Theft Auto 5 and juxtaposed them with scenes from the recent upload showing off the new game.
Everything in the trailer follows a set pattern established by trailers for the aforementioned games. From the introduction of lush green environments in the beginning of the trailer, to the focus on the intricacies of weapon realism and reloading in the middle, to the bold assertion that the game represents the next evolutionary step in its respective genre. It’s all awfully similar, and the camera framing in particular feels nearly identical in many moments throughout the trailer.
The trailer’s voiceover isn’t exempt from this copycat behavior, seeing as some instances borrow lines and phrases verbatim from an old Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer. Phrases like, “To ensure combat remains deep and engaging at all times,” and “Each weapon has unique characteristics as well as realistic reloading and recoil mechanics,” are eerily paraphrased from the original sources.
In the comments left on Randomly’s video, fans vented their frustration at the trailer’s shoddiness and lack of creativity, with some even suggesting that it was all done by an AI. Meanwhile, Twitter users also expressed frustration with the trailer’s lack of in-depth gameplay information.
The video still does not answer the basic question of how the game works, despite being billed as a “gameplay” trailer.
Suspicion of Fntastic’s trailer plagiarism happening for the second time this year makes its case even more complicated. In a previous game trailer released in February, fans noticed several striking similarities to popular shooters and AAA games. The trailer’s composition and framing closely resembled elements from previous Call of Duty trailers, and static elements like the logo and screenshots on steam mirrored those seen in The Last of Us and The Division 2 promotional material. Unfortunately, the newly released trailer does not seem to have deviated from this troubling pattern.
The Day Before will launch in early access on December 7, according to the latest update.
