In the gaming industry, April 1 has always been a date when companies could relax with jokes and pranks involving their games and characters. The year 2019 was no different, and several companies joined the fun. Without further ado, let us look at the examples:
Kirby... Square?
HAL Laboratories, the company responsible for the Kirby series, shared images on its website and social media of the little pink ball... with a look more like a pink “cube.”
Kirby, are you okay? You lost some polygons....
As it happens, the company is also responsible for the BoxBoy series and posted images of the character Qbby, now with a rounder appearance. Quite a swap, right?
Would that affect the game's difficulty?
Crash Bandicoot's Social Media Taken Over by... Fake Crash?
On this day of fake news, it was only fair for a “fake” character to have his moment in the spotlight. That is why Fake Crash apparently took control of the social media for the Crash Bandicoot series. Not everything is a prank, however, because the character was revealed for Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, which was already to be expected since he was playable in the original game.
A Dating Simulator for... Rivals of Aether?
The fighting game Rivals of Aether received nothing less than a dat— I mean, friendship simulator! The game, called Lovers of Aether, is just a joke, but it is available on Steam and is completely playable!
That is not the only joke, as the game released a new patch whose patch notes are available on the... Brawlhalla subreddit. On that same subreddit—which received a new look—Brawlhalla announced crossplay with... Rivals of Aether. More details can be seen in the post itself.
I am... confused.
Brawlhalla and Rivals of Aether, two platform fighters, have collaborated on other occasions, so it is not strange to see the two joining forces to prank their players.
A Sonic... Battle Royale?
Not wanting to be left behind by the latest trends, Sonic the Hedgehog's social media announced a Battle Royale-style game for the series. The announced content included matches with 1,000 players, cryptocurrency DLC, and customization with more than 4 million characters. The game also features the “Dating Simulator” and “ARPG” genres.
#coming2020 ...wait, is that a QR Code?
For Honor Invaded by... Rabbids?
Ubisoft's little rabbits are already used to meeting other franchises, but this time they ended up in an unusual game: For Honor.
It may sound like only a prank, but during the day they were enemies in the game!
Anyone who disliked the little rabbits had their chance
Yakuza Became a... Turn-Based RPG?
No, this is not a new Persona! Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio released a video “leaking” a supposed RPG featuring characters from the Yakuza action series. The original video was deleted, but fortunately people made reuploads.
A Smart Home Assistant for... Final Fantasy XIV?
Square Enix announced a new product: an Omega Smart Home Assistant, based on a boss from its MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. Perhaps it will compete with Skyrim installed on Alexa, which Bethesda announced last year?
As always, these jokes made the day even more fun! There were many more April Fools' pranks from several companies. Did you fall for any? Do you think another joke deserves attention? In the end, the important thing is to have fun!
