Graphic by Louise Nillas | Mercury Staff
Popular simulation game lets players virtually socialize during stay-at-home orders
Video games have a bad rap for ultra-violent gameplay filled
with guts, gore and bloody violence. While “DOOM Eternal” did release back in
March, a different game released on the same day. I opted for the other game
instead, because sometimes, you just want to go to a deserted island and
participate in the turnip stalk market.
If you haven’t caught on, I’m talking about “Animal
Crossing: New Horizons.” With its multiplayer functionality, relaxing game loop
and ability to be an escape in the time of the novel coronavirus, it’s an
excellent way to start playing Animal Crossing and become indebted to Tom Nook.
For the uninitiated ,
“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is a game where you go to a deserted island and
make it your own. You’ll have the help of the various anthropomorphized animals
that cohabit the island with you, including the raccoon Tom Nook, who provides
you with much initial guidance in the game. Ultimately, the goal is to expand
your deserted island into a thriving island town, complete with a personalized
home, a variety of villagers and all the flora and fauna that you can discover.
Essentially, it’s a casual living simulator where you can insert yourself into
a virtual avatar to live the island life.
Progressing through the game is also unique in comparison to
most other experiences. Many major events only happen once a real-life day
passes by, so you’re actually encouraged to log off every once in a while to
let construction projects finish overnight or allow trees to grow new batches
of fruit. Players can circumvent this by advancing the system clock manually,
but personally, I like the way the game progresses. It’s perfect for someone
like me, where I can check in and play for 30 minutes to an hour, and then get
off without feeling like I’ve left something unfinished. That’s not to say you
can’t dump hours into the game even without time travel, as there’s always
something to do every time you log onto your island and walk out of your house
(or tent, if you’ve just started).
But what makes “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” fun? A common
complaint with some games is that they devolve into meaningless fetch quests,
sucking the soul out the game and turning it boring. But the game manages to
take the fetch quest and turn it into an art form. Everything you do is in service to making
your island bigger, better and more to your liking. Why did I just deforest
half the island? I wanted a wooden block stereo. Why did I just fish for three
hours straight? I’m looking for the next new undiscovered fish to add to the
local museum. There’s always something to do, and it manages to be a relaxing
escape from the reality of COVID-19.
It’s not for everyone, though. While its popularity has
exploded onto the internet, this style of game is still niche. There’s a weird
limitation of only one island per console, meaning multiple users of a Switch
won’t be able to make their own islands, to the detriment of any family or
group of roommates sharing a Switch. But this edition is arguably the easiest
one to pick up for anyone new to the series, as it comes with all of the modern
polish and the amazing soundtrack that the new decade can provide, in both a
portable and TV-setup package.
“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is the ultimate deserted
island getaway experience for the bored and
quarantined. If you have a switch, I recommend picking it up and
distracting yourself with a nice island vacation for a while. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” gets a bell
out of ten, and if a deserted island isn’t the getaway for you, I hear the
portals to Hell are still open.