April Fools’ Day has arrived a bit early this year, with a few of the video game industry’s creations coming out a day ahead of time.
It can be hard to keep track of what’s real and what isn’t–Rocket League’s Fast and Furious DLC and Final Fantasy show Daddy of Light somehow both fall into the “real” category–so we’re rounding up some of the best video game jokes for you here.
If you come across any we haven’t included, be sure to let us know in the comments below. We’ll update this post over the weekend as more surface.
Square Enix’s New Tactics Game
Square Enix produced a trailer for a fake game called Tactics Alexander as a spinoff of MMO Final Fantasy XIV. This is somewhat of a cruel gag, as the game actually looks pretty fun.
Yet Another Fire Emblem Game
Nintendo’s Fire Emblem series has not been lacking attention in recent years, which makes the prospect of another game seem pretty reasonable. That is, at least until you check out the specifics and images laid out on this Japanese-language website for the supposed 3DS/Switch game, Fire Emblem: Battle of Revolution.
Ms. Pac-Man On Google Maps
As it has in the past, Google is allowing you to transform a set of streets on Google Maps into a playable level of Pac-Man (or Ms. Pac-Man, as the case may be). It works surprisingly well.
Nvidia’s New Gaming Assistant
The newest (fake) innovation from Nvidia is G-Assist, which is essentially an AI player that can take your place in online games or help to give you an edge in difficult boss fights. It’s even supposed to warn you when it’s time to pause and get something to eat or drink, which is like a weird twist on those notifications in Nintendo games telling you to take a break.
A New Street Fighter EX Game
Here’s one that could potentially be mistaken for a real game, as Street Fighter EX developer Arika has put together a trailer–complete with gameplay–for a fake fighting game.
World of Tanks’ Mars Mode
In a rare instance of an existing game offering an April Fools’ joke for real, World of Tanks has a limited-time mode called Mars mode. In it, you’ll head to Mars to use lasers and deal with UFOs.