Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the new Nintendo game that came out on March 20, 2020 to all the Switch consoles for $59.99. This game follows you, the player, as they go around their new founded deserted island and have friendly new relations with their animal colleagues, as you grow your island together. It is very different from the Animal Crossing game previous to this one (Animal Crossing: New Leaf) where you had your own deserted plot of land to build your village with a bunch of your animal colleagues. This new game had upgrades in video graphics, in-game functions, and many new added characters for the players liking!

Oh Animal Crossing, you funky little game. If you don’t know what Animal Crossing is, then you probably can’t get the hype around what this game is all about. “So what you’re telling me is that you just run around and fish, plant trees, decorate your island, and talk to animals all day for $60?” Well yeah, and no, it’s a bit more than that but you’re getting the idea. I think the selling point of Animal Crossing can be attributed to a few things that are unique to this game alone. One of the things that has always been appealing to the Animal Crossing fans have been the cute designs of you, the main player, and your quirky animal villagers (or islanders in the new game). In this game there are so many visual upgrades that makes everything feel nice, calm, and cute for you as you build your own personal town on this island. The upgrade with in-game functions this time around, gives you a lot more freedom to do as you please with your time and gives you the opportunity to be creative. And let’s not forget the new nifty online mode, where you can go visit your friend’s island and hang out (we love a safe social distancing environment) and vibe till your heart’s content.

Speaking of distancing, this game is a great time waster that you can spend all day playing, which conveniently came out right as the time of social distancing and quarantining started. Its gameplay is practically endless so you never have to feel like you’re reaching the goal of finishing the game in totality. For this reason (and the fact that the game is generally loved anyway), I feel like the popularity that sprouted out from the internet was inevitable. Everyone and their grandmas are stuck at home trying to get this game and play it and may I add that it’s practically sold out everywhere at the moment. Honestly speaking, I get it. I get the hype and it’s worth it. Animal Crossing, while addicting, is calming and has a certain vibe to it that ever gets old and makes it seem almost nostalgic, even to first time players. This game will distract you from everything going on in the world right now, if only for a split second. Oh if only there was a funky island that we could all social distance on with quirky animals, maybe the world would be a bit better.