Samの英語チャンネル

Unkore gives “shit game” a whole new meaning.

For generations people have been saying there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and in the modern era we could probably add that there’s no such thing as a free-to-play mobile game. Sure, they might not charge you anything to start off, but it’s only a matter of time before a difficulty spike blocks you off from experiencing the rest of the game’s content until you agree to some microtransactions.

So that’s likely to be the situation with Unkore, a just-released game for Android and iOS devices. You can download the game and start playing for free, but if you want the characters and items that are going to help you complete your quest in the fantasy realm of Utopia, it’s microtransaction time. The twist, though, it that Unkore isn’t interested in the money you make, but the stool, as you earn in-game currency by telling the game’s cast of cute anime girls about the real-life turd you’ve dropped that day.

▼ Details asked for include color (ranging from “ocher” to “ashen white”) and consistency (with response options such as “muddy” and “banana-like”).

Unkore is not, however, the latest in the Japanese video game industry’s sub-genre of odd fetish titles. Instead, it’s an educational and wellness effort from the Japan Unko Society. If you haven’t deduced it yet, unko is the Japanese word for “poo,” and the Japanese Unko Society is dedicated to raising awareness about digestive track health, including such serious issues as colon cancer.

▼ Even the map of Untopia looks like the human digestive system.

Since the quality of your feces can be an early indicator of health problems, Unkore tracks your answers, and if your responses are starting to look abnormal, will recommend seeing a doctor for an examination. It also rewards you with the in-game means to recruit characters and obtain items through its gacha/lootbox drops for use in clicker game-style battles against harmful bacteria and tumors, represented as monstrous slimes and demons.

The characters you can recruit are all, naturally, cute girls, but the theming continues as they’re anthropomorphized versions of helpful intestinal bacteria and other references to health in that region of the body. For example, this 19-year-old swordswoman is Anri Hartmann, whose name bears an uncanny resemblance to that of French surgeon Henri Hartmann, who developed the colectomy procedure that’s since been dubbed the Hartmann’s operation.

▼ Sadly, Unkore‘s original working subtitle, “There is a life that can save in the shit,” has been changed to “A Colon Bacillus as Healthy Life.”

Unkore has had a long development cycle, but the game’s finished version was finally released on Sunday. User reviews so far are very positive, with the game having an average review score of 4.9 (out of 5) on the App Store and 4.3 on Google Play, and the game can be downloaded here (iOS) and here (Android) if you’re ready to take up arms for this quest by dropping a deuce.

Sources: Unkore official website, Livedoor News/Denfami Nico Gamer via Hachima Kiko
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Google Play, Unkore official website (1, 2)
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Source: SORA NEWS24