It’s difficult to overstate the impact Animal Crossing: New Horizons had 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, and remains 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 itself Animal 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 playing New Horizons on their Switch is liable to be jumped by tarantulas 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 of Crossy Road, a popular mobile game inspired by Frogger. 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 taken Crossy Road’s blocky graphical stylings and done something original with them, but the fake Animal Crossing: New Horizons is as straightforward a clone as they come.
Technically, Crossy Road depicts an animal crossing a road, so the term “animal crossing” fits. Fans discuss Animal Crossing so 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 reflect the wide range of animals players can meet in 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 Horizons received new content at 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 Horizons is available now exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
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Source: Microsoft Store
