Nintendo Switch’s First Advocacy Game Is PETA US’ ‘Kitten Squad’
What do you get when you combine a classic action-adventure arcade game with some serious animal liberation? Kitten Squad, of course!
Earlier this month, Nintendo released the PETA US game for the Switch, making it one of the platform’s first free-to-play games and its first advocacy game ever. Kitten Squad has held fast as the second most-downloaded free game on the Switch in the US since its release on 10 May. It has now been launched in Europe and is available to download here.
In the game, an elite team of kittens rescues baby elephants born into captivity, cows stuck on dairy farms, and orcas enslaved at SeaLand Marine Park from animal-abusing robot attackers using weaponry like carrot launchers and yarn-ball guns. Players earn cat-shaped coins that can be redeemed to dress kitten characters with shades, a crown, or PETA gear. Gamers can even play as their own family cat.
Kitten Squad was created by designer Luc Bernard – known for Mecho Wars and Pocket God vs Desert Ashes – in collaboration with PETA US and its partner sagency. The game originally came out on the PlayStation 4 in 2015 and has been downloaded well over a million times on that platform. Its missions are inspired by real-world exposés of cruelty to animals, including baby elephants who were exploited by Ringling Bros circus, mother cows whose calves are repeatedly torn away from them on dairy farms, and sheep who are beaten on wool farms, as was documented at shearing facilities in Australia, the US, and Argentina.
PETA US has created numerous online games, including parodies of Pokémon and Super Mario Bros, as well as “I, Calf”, a new virtual reality experience that shows viewers what it’s really like to be a cow born on a dairy farm.
In Kitten Squad, players liberate abused animals while also learning how they can help animals in the real world, such as by going vegan – which is the easiest way to help end their suffering. Why not make the switch today?
