Hokko Life: Animal crossing New horizons for PC gamers?

A new game is being released on Steam for PC gamers. It's titled Hokko Life and it bears a striking resemblance to the fan-favorite, Animal Crossing.

Hokko Life is described as a cozy, cute, life simulator game. Sound familiar? In Animal Crossing, players own islands, build houses, pay bills and just generally live life. It appears that Wonderscope has seen the growing popularity for Animal Crossing and wants to try it for PC gamers.

Hokko Life: Similarities to Animal Crossing

The first similarity would be the game description. Animal Crossing is described as a social simulator game, and Hokko Life is described as a life simulator game. They are obviously very similar.

The second similarity is in the art and animation style. The style for Hokko Life is akin to the style that Nintendo used for Animal Crossing. This sort of "Chibi" style has become rather popular for games. Animal Crossing: New Horizons and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening are two popular examples.

Hokko Life's art style in-game. Image via Rock Paper Shotgun

For reference, here is Animal Crossing. Both games are very similar in layout, animation and art style. This is a popular art style, but given all the similarities, it can't be overlooked.

Animal Crossing gameplay. Image via iMore

The game shown here is strikingly similar to Animal Crossing. Of course, it's not an exact replica, but it's very clearly influenced by Nintendo's hit game. It is also influenced by another similar game, Stardew Valley.

Hokko Life is inspired by games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, but it puts a special emphasis on creative freedom: it's up to you to design, build, and decorate homes for all of your new friends! Coming to Steam Early Access on June 2nd. pic.twitter.com/BB66QxWZzL

— Wholesome Games (@_wholesomegames) May 31, 2021

Players can be seen in the trailer for Hokko Life doing activities that can also be done in Animal Crossing. Houses, digging and beach activities are all things the player can do in Animal Crossing that is also shown being done in the Hokko Life trailer. It is so similar that some players are even calling it PC Animal Crossing.

I have bought the early access version of Hokko Life, aka "what is animal crossing but on the PC"details to come

— 🧀Cheesy Bri🧀 (@BriOnACracker) June 3, 2021

Some fans are quite excited about another Animal Crossing-esque game. Many fans are tweeting in support of the release and in anticipation of Hokko Life.

To all my animal crossing lovers a new game just came out today on steam called hokko life! It’s basically animal crossing for the pc!!It’s 19,99€ and I’m so excited to play it 🤤

— 𝕝𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕪🖤⛓ (@primrosefinity) June 2, 2021

While they are similar, opening up this type of game to a brand new audience is sure to be a success. Animal Crossing is wildly popular, but it is a Nintendo exclusive. For those without a Nintendo console, they are left in the dark. With Hokko Life, though, they can enjoy something similar without buying a Nintendo Switch.