For anyone who doesn’t own a Switch, it might be agonizing to see all the fun players have withAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, but they shouldn’t be fooled by a newAnimal Crossinggame on the Microsoft Store. The fraudulent game usesAnimal Crossingassets to attract players, but actually plagiarizes gameplay from something else altogether.
It’s difficult to overstate the impactAnimal Crossing: New Horizonshad on the gaming market when it launched in March 2020. As gamers worldwide entered quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the game provided a sense of routine and easygoing fun. It’s no wonder, then, that the game broke sales records, andremains a best-seller one year after launch. As one might expect, the game’s success has attracted imitators looking to capitalize off its iconic characters and imagery.
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The Microsoft Store game calls itselfAnimal Crossing New Horizons, but something is clearly off. The game is rated Everyone 10+ for “Fantasy Violence and Mild Blood,” which is a far cry from the real game’s E rating. While anyone playingNew Horizonson their Switch is liable to be jumped bytarantulas and scorpions, the worst that can happen is the player character passing out. Nothing that could be construed as blood or violence ever threatens players.
Reading the description and seeing associated images reveals that the game is actually a clone ofCrossy Road, a popular mobile game inspired byFrogger. Players take cartoonish characters across busy highways and other areas, with the goal of travelling as far as possible. The game ends when players die, typically after being hit by a car. Some games have takenCrossy Road’s blocky graphical stylingsand done something original with them, but the fakeAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsis as straightforward a clone as they come.
Technically,Crossy Roaddepicts an animal crossing a road, so the term “animal crossing” fits. Fans discussAnimal Crossingso much it’s easy to forget the pun of the game’s title in English. An “animal crossing” sign on a real-life road would indicate that animals frequently run across the road there, telling the driver to be cautious. Since the term “crossing” can sometimes indicate a meeting place or forum, it also serves to reflectthe wide range of animals players can meetin the game.
Even a year after release, fans of the game have plenty to keep them busy without resorting to a fake version.Animal Crossing: New Horizonsreceived new contentat the end of April, and the game’s collaboration with retailer Build-A-Bear Workshop is a huge success. Hopefully, the ongoing popularity of the actual game leads to Microsoft noticing the clone and removing it soon.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis available now exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
