Can I use famous characters in my game?

Question

Copyright

Is it possible to use well-known characters in your game as, for example, non-main enemies or NPCs, and rework a little externally - let's say we take Mario, call him Shario and dye his jumpsuit blue?
And how is this different from Easter eggs, for which publishers do not bite so painfully? And if you can still use images, will there be problems with platform users (for example, Playmarket is strict with all sorts of quizzes that use screenshots from games and movies)?

Answer 1

There is such a wording "Similar to the degree of confusion." That is, in the case of the court, an examination will be appointed, which will take Mario and Shario and will decide whether this is plagiarism or just some kind of similarity. Will the average consumer associate Shario with Mario, or will they consider him an original character?
By the way, there is another workaround. If it is positioned that Shario is a parody of Mario, and not plagiarism and exploitation of the image, then from the point of view of copyright it is quite legal.

Answer 2

It should be noted that, first of all, you are interested in the laws of the country according to which the market operates. Only in the second - the laws of your country (so that they do not sue with certain consequences). But it is also worth considering the laws of all those countries where the game will be sold.
And these laws will be different.

Answer 3

Can not use. Such games do not pass moderation or are quickly deleted.

Answer 4

It is possible if, in general, the characters are visually similar, but in details they will differ.
For fun .... dressing Mario in a steampunk outfit will be recognizable and quite fresh and, most importantly, you’ll find fault with it. History from games. There is a rust lord character in fornite. If you look closely at him, he is copied from one of the characters in the Marvel universe, but again, the marvel flies, because the rusty lord, although visually reminiscent of a marvel superhero, is in fact legally an artistic processing.
History from life. But on topic. Chocolate Alenka, a girl is depicted on the wrapper. So, it is copied from a real photo. And when the girly dad asked for some money from Red October, the court ruled that a photograph was a photograph. And on the cover, an artwork made based on a photograph and dad flies past the money.