Searching for the Haunted Paws Switch 2 Demo on the eShop? Watch Out for Ghostly Whiskers, a $12.99 AI Knockoff
Among the standout announcements during Wednesday's October 2026 Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Haunted Paws charmed co-op fans by dropping a free playable demo on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC right after the presentation. Yet players typing the game's title into the Nintendo eShop search bar are running straight into a trap: Ghostly Whiskers, an unauthorized copycat built with AI-generated assets that is already being sold at full price ($12.99) on Nintendo's digital storefront.
An eShop Search Query That Surfaces a Paid Copycat
Developed by two-person independent studio LazyFlock, Haunted Paws is a cozy co-op horror adventure (supporting two players locally and online) slated for a full release in May 2027 across Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series X|S. Players step into the paws of two customizable puppies sneaking through a haunted mansion to rescue their kidnapped human friend by sniffing out clues, digging, and solving puzzles.
However, immediately after the Indie World broadcast wrapped up, while the official Haunted Paws store page and free demo were still propagating across the eShop, searching for "Haunted Paws" returned a suspiciously similar game that launched back on September 23-24, 2026: Ghostly Whiskers.
Even though the phrase "Haunted Paws" does not visibly appear in the public description of Ghostly Whiskers, the Nintendo eShop search algorithm surfaces it directly alongside LazyFlock's title. Worse still, Ghostly Whiskers lifts the exact same premise as Haunted Paws: two cute pets teaming up in co-op to explore a haunted mansion in search of their missing human owner, merely swapping the two puppies for two kittens.
LazyFlock's Official Warning Against Nostra Games' AI Ripoff
This store confusion is no accident. Back on January 7, 2026, when Ghostly Whiskers first surfaced on the PlayStation Store months before Haunted Paws was even finished, developer LazyFlock issued an urgent public warning on its official X account:
"THIS IS NOT A HAUNTED PAWS GAME. IT IS A DIRECT COPY. This is an unauthorized copy that steals our concept, visuals, and story, using AI-generated assets, releasing on the PlayStation Store."
The store banner for Ghostly Whiskers exhibits the telltale signs of unedited generative imagery, complete with overly sharpened animal renders and warped pawprints. Unlike Valve's storefront on PC, neither the PlayStation Store nor the Nintendo eShop requires publishers to disclose the use of generative AI on product pages.
Ghostly Whiskers is published by Nostra Games, a company with a well-documented track record of flooding console storefronts with rapid lookalikes of trending indie and mainstream hits. Its catalog includes Shelter 78 (mimicking Fallout Shelter and Fallout 76), Two Hands Hospital Assistant Simulator (Two Point Hospital), Weed And Greed (Schedule I), Risky Roads (Crossy Road), Only Up Rush (Only Up!), Hole Digging Master (A Game About Digging A Hole), and Ultra Bonk Survivors (Megabonk). On Steam, where Nostra Games listed a port of Trading Card Shop Simulator, the company explicitly admits in its mandatory disclosure that "in-game art can contain AI generated textures."
Official Links to Download the Real Haunted Paws Free Demo
The situation mirrors the wave of AI clones currently clouding discoverability during Steam Next Fest. If you want to try the authentic free demo showcased during Indie World (which lets you customize your pup across several dog breeds and coats, though certain breeds like the Yorkshire Terrier are not included in the demo) or wishlist the real game ahead of its May 2027 launch, make sure the developer listed on the store page is LazyFlock.
Here are the verified official storefront links for the real Haunted Paws:
- Nintendo eShop (Nintendo Switch 2): Official Haunted Paws - Nintendo Switch 2 Page (LazyFlock)
- Nintendo eShop (Nintendo Switch): Official Haunted Paws - Nintendo Switch Page (LazyFlock)
- PC (Steam - Full Game & Free Demo): Official Haunted Paws Steam Page and Direct Steam Demo Page
- PlayStation Store (PS5 / PS4): Official Haunted Paws PlayStation Store Page
Check Haunted Paws deals on Allkeyshop→
My Perspective
This is genuinely infuriating to watch. Securing a slot in a Nintendo Indie World Showcase as a two-person team like LazyFlock is supposed to be a career-defining milestone, the moment years of passion finally connect with players through a free Switch 2 demo. Instead, the exact second viewers open the eShop to download it, Nintendo's own search bar hands their traffic over to a $12.99 AI-generated knockoff churned out by a serial clone publisher. The fact that Nintendo and Sony happily collect their 30% store cut on blatant copycats without enforcing basic originality checks or mandatory AI disclosures is a massive moderation failure. Before you hit download or spend a dime on the eShop today, double-check the developer name: LazyFlock's puppies deserve your support, not Nostra Games' shameless clones.
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
