Collect bottles as a homeless person in Russia’s hottest RPG

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Photo: Roman Okulevich/Ok Apps
Hot iOS game Homeless: Life Simulator hops on a weird Russian trend. Photo: Roman Okulevich/Ok Apps

One of the hottest iPhone games in Russia right now isn’t Angry Birds or Candy Crush, but an app that lets you collect bottles as a homeless person.

Homeless: Life Simulator, which just launched in the United States, recently hit the No. 1 spot in the Russian App Store’s role-playing games category.

“Begin your life as an unknown homeless to become a president of your country!” says the marketing copy on the App Store.

The app itself looks really basic — screen-spanning buttons, a couple of casino mini-games and that’s about it. Apparently, being homeless is fun in Russia, because you can gamble your way to success!

The weirdest thing? It’s not the only “homeless” simulator going.

Multiple games by Russian devs in the App Store and on Google Play mimic this bare-bones style of gameplay, with homeless protagonists that range from stereotypical bums to cute little ponies and cats living on the street.

The developer of the app chalks up its success to Russians’ love for a classic rags-to-riches story.

“I think it’s because people in Russia like the main idea of the app: to rise from the homeless to the president,” said developer Roman Okulevich of Ok Apps. He also pointed to the game’s competitive aspects. “The ladder that we have in our app allows people to compete with each other.”

Despite being a somewhat pale imitation of shockingly successful social-climbing game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Okulevich’s underdog game has become the No. 1 paid app in the Role Playing Games category on the Russian iTunes App Store.

Okulevich said there’s another possible reason for the game’s astonishing success.

“I can tell you that there was a humorous TV show about the adventures of two homeless, who live in a luxury part of Moscow and their life is much more interesting than life of most people in Russia,” he said. “This show was extremely popular — that’s why ‘homeless’ is some kind of a trend in Russia.”

If you’re itching to experience Russia’s hottest gaming trend, here’s what you’ll find in
Homeless: Life simulator. The game lets you live a virtual life, starting out as a homeless person looking to improve your station in life. The ultimate goal is to become famous — maybe even president of your virtual country. Every action in the game is equivalent to one day in game time: You’ll need to monitor your mood, health and hunger each time you choose an action.

You can collect bottles, work different jobs or even get married. The choices you make affect your health and wealth, and you can even travel around the world or head into space. The graphics are basic and the gameplay mechanics are incredibly simple, although a slick promo video (below) sort of hides the fact that you’re just tapping buttons.

A couple of casino mini-games let you play roulette or thimbles, but how gambling connects to the idea of a simulated life story that takes you from homeless to president is beyond me. Somehow, it seems to be working.

You can grab your own copy of Homeless: Life simulator on the App Store of your choice, like the U.S.-based one here, for 99 cents.

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