The Truth About That Doom And Animal Crossing Crossover
If you've been on the internet in the last few weeks (and we know you have), you may have noticed an interesting trend in video game memes. Namely, there seem to be a bizarre number of mash-ups between two upcoming titles: Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
It all seems to have started when folks on Reddit realized that Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Doom Eternal come out on the same day. Naturally, this didn't raise any red flags for anyone. Both games are so unbelievably different from one another. New Horizons will allow players to settle on a cute little island (but only one per Switch console) and build a life for themselves, while Doom Eternal looks to take all of the gory action that players loved in the previous installment and crank it up to 11.
In other words, the vast differences in style means there's basically no fear of one overpowering the other in sales. Both franchises also have a fervent fan base, with Animal Crossing fans ready to dive back into daily life with their favorite animal pals and Doom fans ready to cause some serious damage.
However, this being the internet, the shared date was just too funny for some people to let go of. What has resulted is a crossover between the two fandoms, inspiring fan art and memes that play on the excitement surrounding both release dates.
In fact, the fan art has taken many different forms, from straight-up mash-ups to more bizarre fare. Many of these fan images depict Animal Crossing's Isabelle and Eternal's Doomguy palling around in sweet (yet intense) ways. In one drawing, Isabelle perches on Doomguy's shoulder and excitedly calls for him to "Rip and tear, until it is done!"
One meme that has been making the rounds has brilliantly redesigned the logos of the two games to resemble one another. You haven't lived until you've seen the words Animal Crossing in a font that looks like it belongs on a death metal album cover.
Even the official Doom Twitter account got in on the action. When Nintendo announced their Animal Crossing Direct earlier this month, the official Doom account asked if Isabelle would be in attendance. This was followed by another fan posting images of Doomguy and Isabelle attempting to buy copies of each others' games.
Honestly, now that it's in everyone's heads, is there anything more wholesome than imagining the Doom Slayer being super into Animal Crossing? As one YouTube commenter puts it, "Imagine after slaughtering demons for days, Doomguy sits down, covered in demon guts and blood, powers up his Switch and goes fishing to pay of [sic] his house mortgage and decorate his house in Animal Crossing."
It probably wouldn't be as cute if things were reversed. After all, Tom Nook is already a pretty demanding guy. Maybe he doesn't need to be handed a chainsaw or a plasma rifle. Then again, maybe the other folks in town would be more likely to pay up in a timely manner.
Regardless of the logistics of a shotgun-toting raccoon, it's great to see two such wildly different fandoms embracing one another and wishing each other's favorite franchises the best of luck.
Even more noteworthy than the crossover fun itself is the just how supportive the two fandoms have really been. Just last week, a Redditor from the Doom community posted in the Animal Crossing subreddit, "Please know that we fully support your game as it launches at the same time as our game. Let us support each other and wish the best for both games. I wish you a hellishly good day." This was accompanied by fan art depicting Doomguy and Isabelle saying that they're huge fans of one another. Seriously, does it get sweeter than that?
Not only do fans of the two franchises have their love of memes and shared excitement in common, but there's yet another reason for them to feel the hype. It was just spotted that both games will have their regular retail prices discounted by $10 on release day at Walmart stores. This could even encourage folks who have been smitten with the crossover to pick up both games and give them a shot.
Now if only we could get a full-on crossover. Oh, well. Maybe when the DLC comes out? We already know that Doom Eternal will feature a home base for the Doom Slayer, so wouldn't it be great if we could get him some Animal Crossing-themed decorations for his arsenal?