Total party Kill was one of many inspirations but the core concepts of the games are different. I can see why you think this though and if I develop this game and have a chance to add more mechanics I hope it'll become its own unique game.
I didn't think it was a ripoff at all! There are plenty of games that use 3 characters. E.g. Trime. There are still a lot of directions you could take this. I agree that it looks similar so far.
