The Day Before has attracted plenty of controversy during its development, which, so far, has included a copyright strike and accusations of plagiarism.
Developer Fntastic has once again drawn flak as the studio released a bizarre PR statement addressing issues hounding its upcoming survival horror MMO.
Just two days before the game’s release, Fntastic shared a post on X titled “Revelations from Fntastic – ahead of the Day Before release.” In the lengthy tweet, the studio requested the community not to accuse it of “scamming” and apologized for not having the “best marketing” for the highly anticipated survival game.
The statement started by addressing future players of The Day Before and people who “didn’t believe in us.” Fntastic said to its doubters, “We made this game for you, too. We accept any kind of criticism and don’t hold a grudge against you.”
📢 #thedaybefore #fntastic pic.twitter.com/nKJ3mqSHnt
— Fntastic (@FntasticHQ) December 4, 2023
The studio also discussed the poor marketing and accusations of copying teasers from other titles. The game has been called vaporware by skeptics based on the most recent trailers. Many in the gaming community also believe that the initial gameplay trailer was designed specifically to draw attention to the game and deemed that the project was overly ambitious for a small independent studio to finish.
“Please forgive us for not doing the best marketing and teasers. We learn something new and improve ourselves every single day,” the statement reads. “Please don’t accuse us of scamming; that’s not true. We didn’t take a penny from anyone.”
It continues, “Please don’t accuse us of asset flip; that’s not true also. Our team worked day and night for five years to make our dream game a reality.”
The studio continued by saying that players shouldn’t “underestimate our work” and that the devs worked hard on the title. Fntastic shared that it is happy that The Day Before will “finally see the light of day.
The Day Before was revealed in 2021 through a gameplay trailer that showcased the basic mechanics of the survival horror shooter. The title was initially scheduled for release in June 2022 but was pushed back to March 2023 as Fntastic migrated the game to Unreal Engine 5.
At the start of the year, Steam removed the game’s listing because of trademark concerns. It was later revealed that the developer of a calendar app named “TheDayBefore” issued the copyright strike.
To prove that the game was real, Fntastic released a new gameplay trailer in February, which drew even further criticism and controversy. The internet had a field day with the 10-minute gameplay footage for its rudimentary mechanics and general lack of visual flair compared to its original trailer from 2021. Despite the backlash, this didn’t deter Fntastic. Last month, Fntastic announced that the game will be coming as an early access title on Steam.
We’ll find out soon if Fntastic will deliver on its promise with The Day Before. It is a fantastic title on paper but recent trailers and statements have left most, including us, doubtful. We will be keeping an eye out for the upcoming reviews of the game and keep you posted.
The Day Before is arriving on Steam on December 7.
