They say imitation is the sincerity form of flattery. If that’s the case then Niantic’s augmented reality hit, Pokemon GO, has been complimented quite a few times over the past few months.
Few things are certain in the unpredictable app market but, one thing is for sure: if you make something even remotely successful, you can bet there’ll be imitators. Pokemon GO might have used a lot of the bells and whistles of a smartphone, but it’s still been victim to a flood of copycats, ranging from totally bizarre to hopelessly blatant.
Just as a warning, though, we don’t recommend you download any of these apps. They’re mostly broken, lazy shovelware designed to rake in some quick cash either through hidden in-app purchases or through adverts.
Monster Ball GO
I’ll say this for Playfox Games’ Monster Ball GO: it does at least make an effort with its imitation. Most of the other games in this list follow a certain theme or appear to be rushed, but Playfox has built more of an alternate take on Niantic’s game with its own set of beasts and even a few additional game modes. It is far from unique, but certainly the least-terrible looking entry on this list.
Pixel Monster GO
When I came across my first Pixel Pokemon game I thought it wasn’t actually a bad idea for a rip off. You take a little Minecraft, you add a little Pokemon and you’ve got something that unsuspecting children will no doubt gobble up. But then I saw the legion of copy cats: Pocket Pixelmon! Pocket Pixelmon Go, Catch Pixelmon Go, Pixel Monster GO, Pixelmon:Craft GO and untold scores of others and I realized just about everyone had this idea.
Pocket Catch Games
Some developers might be hoping to grab a quick buck from copying Pokemon GO, but Pocket Catch Games wants to make an entire business out of it. There are no less than 11 terrible variants of Niantic’s forumla here, barely different in content other than the 2D pictures of animals the developer has cut around and stuck into the app. As far as shameless imitations go, this ranks pretty highly.
Hunt Monster GO
I have to confess a little soft spot for Hunter Monster GO. Or at least I would have if I could actually get the app to start. Developer Catch Ball Mobile Games has gone to the effort of piecing together individual parts of other Pokemon to create horrific Frankenstein’s monsters, the kinds of which would make Team Rocket cringe. How about a Cyndaquil with Meowth’s tail and eyes? You can’t unsee what you see here.
Cats GO
Again, it doesn’t surprise me that someone paired cats with Pokemon GO and, with over one million downloads, Banana4apps probably doesn’t regret it. I even like that you have to catch kitties with yarn balls instead of Poke-balls, but that still doesn’t change that this is something entirely based off of someone else’s idea.
