At the Gates isn't particularly novel, the problem with it was that it was boring. It is very similar to Thea: The Awakening but with a slightly different focus. Thea was developed by a couple of people on their free time and made them enough money to go full time for their next title, so it wasn't that At the Gates lacked budget instead it lacked a skilled game designer. Jon Shafer might be great on an AAA title with already decided direction, but it doesn't seem like he understands what makes a game fun.
