Kim Kardashian: Hollywood was steps away from its 10th anniversary when publisher Electronic Arts shut down the popular fashion mobile game in April. A small but dedicated community was devastated: For 10 years, they’d been investing time and money into the game. After the announcement of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’s closure, game players immediately started looking for something new.
Months after the server shutdown, there might be a contender: Influencer Story: Rise to Fame from Hong Kong-based mobile developer Mars-Game. The most immediate similarity is the art style, which is seemingly influenced by the stylized characters in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.
Influencer Story: Rise to Fame begins more like one of those absurd mobile game ads: You’re kicked to the curb, makeup dripping down your face, after you walk in on your boyfriend in bed with a hotter, more popular influencer. From there, you’re to rise to fame as an influencer after meeting an agent and schmoozing your way through photoshoots, parties, and dates. Like in the Kardashian game, you tap bubbles to move your way through these experiences — a bubble for changing a pose, for instance, or having a drink with your agent.
Influencer Story: Rise to Fame also seems to take some inspiration from the likes of Love Nikki with fashion challenges that require you to create outfits themed toward a descriptor: cute, chic, trendy, modern, elegant. Clothing pieces are tagged with these descriptors, and you’re to put together outfits to rack up points in the right categories, making the game a little more involved than Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.
But while Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’s writing felt self-aware, Influencer Story: Rise to Fame does not — it’s a bit cringe and self-serious, whereas the Glu Mobile writing team played up its exuberance and fantasy. Influencer Story: Rise to Fame lacks diversity with regards to gender, skin tone, and body type, as well as the clothing options that are available. There’s an energy system with a premium currency that’s purchasable with real money and earnable in small quantities in-game. It hasn’t been much of a roadblock in the early game, but I can see it becoming more of an issue — having to pay for new, better clothing options — as I continue my playthrough. Kim Kardashian: Hollywood had problems with body diversity and pay-to-play accusations, too, but I never felt the need to spend a cent; I was able to unlock enough just through gameplay.
If you’re desperate for a replacement for Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’s fashion options and rise-to-fame narrative, Influencer Story: Rise to Fame is good enough. It’s also much, much earlier in its development and lifespan than the Kardashian game, meaning there’s a lot of room for it to evolve. Influencer Story: Rise to Fame has been out for a few months on Android and just days on iOS devices, and frequent updates and storylines are expected, as is common with games of this sort.
Influencer Story: Rise to Fame is available to play on Android and iOS devices.
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