A game has appeared on the PlayStation Store that looks exactly like popular Nintendo franchise Animal Crossing. In addition to having an extremely similar art style, the description of the game could easily be used to describe Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Copycat games on digital distribution platforms have become unfortunately common in recent years. Some of them are rip-offs with little in common with the actual game beyond the title, while others do a decent job of replicating the gameplay of the original, but in either case, the developers are typically trying to capitalize off of gamers who stumble across their game instead of the real thing.
Animal Crossing Fans May Have the Perfect Excuse to Revisit New Horizons When the Switch 2 Launches
When the Nintendo Switch 2 is released this year, Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans may have the perfect opportunity to revisit the game.
Animal Crossing-Like PS5 Game Appears Online
Now, a game called Anime Village Online has appeared on the PlayStation Store. The title might be enough to raise some eyebrows, but the real issue is the description of the game and the included image, which is blatantly similar to the art style found in Animal Crossing. The image shows a cartoony girl leaping into the air with hills and trees in the background, with such strong similarities in the art styles that one could easily mistake it for a promotional image for an upcoming Animal Crossing game. The description details a solo/co-op game with up to 10 players, with gameplay revolving around building a home, decorating, growing crops, and catching fish. The game also claims that cross-platform multiplayer will be available when the game launches in 2027. Curiously, it seems extremely similar to another Animal Crossing copycat game called Anime Life Sim, which disappeared from the PlayStation store after being discovered earlier in 2025.
Aside from that, nothing else has been said about the game. However, a little digging reveals that the person listed as its developer, Wisnu Sudirman, also has a second game listed on the PlayStation Store that may look familiar. That game, called Rooted: Survival, is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is trying to survive the results of bacteriological warfare. The sole image looks very similar to The Last of Us, with greenery overtaking a city landscape. In this case, the store listing even directly refers to The Last of Us, stating that its players would likely enjoy Rooted: Survival, as well as a disclaimer mentioning that no copyright infringement is intended.
While the visual similarities with Rooted: Survival might be explained if the game is using purchased Unreal Engine assets, Anime Village Online doesn't have that excuse. It seems unlikely that it will actually release, at least with its current look. Nintendo is known for being extremely litigious towards anything infringing upon its IPs, making the similarities to its wildly-popular Animal Crossing franchise extremely risky.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- March 20, 2020
- ESRB
- Everyone / Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
