

You may be wondering though, if this game is so closely linked to the long-running Nintendo property, why don’t I just stick to the tried and tested franchise? It’s a great question and one I aim to answer in this review. That being said though, the similarities between Animal Crossing and this new clone are as clear as day. Or worse, have to wait for in-game timed events. Admittedly, it’s not quite the same as there are aspects of Hokko life that make it slightly more linear, and there is a unique design feature that gives players autonomy over the assets within the world, rather than relying on ol’ Tom Nook to restock his shop. The indie game featured in this Hokko Life Review is the non-Nintendo player’s way to experience gameplay that is so closely tied to Animal Crossing that they might as well sue Team17 here and now. Well, that is until now in the form of Hokko Life. I never got the chance to play genre-defining titles on the Gamecube like Pikmin or Super Mario Sunshine, and aside from LittleBigPlanet, I have never had access to a life simulator sandbox akin to Animal Crossing. I didn’t get to witness the sublime mechanics of Breath of the Wild until Fenyx: Immortals Rising and Genshin Impact put their own spin on things. As someone that has always admired Nintendo’s brand of whimsical and wholesome titles from afar, never quite mustering up the courage to branch out to another strand of consoles for more than a generation, I have found myself locked away from titles that have had the gaming Populus enamored.
