Everyone needs to shut up about it looking like Cave Story. It's blatantly obvious it looks similar, but who gives a shit? Seriously, there are plenty of games out there that copy other games ideas, at least this one is going to play differently. I doubt Pod would let the game turn into a clone of Cave Story, he's got more imagination than that.
Graphics alone don't decide what a game's like. The story, the characters and the gameworld will decide on whether or not this is a Cave Story clone. If it weren't, you could call Metroid and Castlevania Cave Story clones as well (or the other way around: Cave Story a Metriod/Castlevania clone)
So far, the characters seem different enough and the gameplay feels different, like Cave Story being more action-RPG, while this being more platformer. It's quite shallow to call a game a clone of another if it uses just a similar graphical style.
Anonymous #5 here again. If I say it looks like Cave Story, it's because it shares A LOT of similarities, not just gameplay issues (which I don't know about since I haven't played it). To say a few:
- Small and cute characters. - Little numbers pop up whenever you maim or kill an enemy. - Very similar small HUD on the top left corner. - Chiptune music. - NPC companion. - General feel.
Tell me this is a Cave Story mod, or a very influenced game, and I'll say "this is good work". Tell me it is an original game and I will have a hard time believing it.
The guy freely admits where his influences come from. Jesus even the music has the same melodies and progressions. It's not like he's trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, or he'd be a bit more subtle. Yeah, he's treading the fine line between creating a great work that will stand on its own and simply riding on Pixel's coat tails, but I think the game looks like it plays well enough to place it in the former category.