Animal Crossing: New Horizons Is An Escape From

Reality
April 19th 2021

A preview of some of the in-game characters and items that can be seen and used during gameplay

By: Fiona Dong

Rating: 9/10

Have you ever wanted to live on your own island paradise? Do you enjoy fishing or customizing
clothes and furniture? Animal Crossing: New Horizons has activities for all types of players and
it’s the perfect game to play if you want to relax or escape from all the bad news about the
pandemic. This life simulation game was developed and released by Nintendo on March 20th,
2020. The game is the fifth game of the Animal Crossing series and is only available to play on
the Nintendo Switch.
With all the cute animal villagers and vibrant colors, the game appeals to children however, it is
suitable for all ages. Some activities require a lot of patience which makes those who are older
more able to enjoy the whole experience of the game. Since the game was released at the start of
quarantine and the pandemic, more older people have bought the game as a vacation simulation
because all travel plans had been cancelled.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a life simulation game where the player gets to move to a
deserted island and design it however they want to by collecting items, collecting resources for
crafting, and developing their own community with ten different animal villagers. Other
examples of a life simulation games are Stardew Valley, The Sims, and Harvest Moon. In each of
these games, players can essentially design their own world. Animal Crossing is different
because it uses animals as the characters and the only human is yourself.
Animal Crossing is not other life simulation games. For those who prefer playing with friends,
Animal Crossing is the way to go. Stardew Valley does have a multiplayer option however, it is
a much more intimate experience with a plot to follow and each character having their own story
unlike Animal Crossing. The Sims also does not have a goal unless you purchase some
expansion packs. You satisfy your character’s desires and build a home for them. Animal
Crossing gives the players more options during gameplay.
ACNH is the fifth Animal Crossing game in the series and while there is no real objective to the
game, some may say that New Horizons has a goal of making the best island that you can. You
still get Tom Nook the racoon haggling you for bells to pay off your house loan and buying
turnips for the stalk market requires a lot of patience, but the new location of an island instead of
the wilderness adds a sense of chill vibes to the game.

Get Creative

A player recreates a Japanese street market with stalls, customized signs, and vending machines
Animal Crossing allows any player to express their creative side which is one aspect that most
people look forward to in the game. This is one of my favorite aspects of the game because I
have the ability to create anything I want which I can’t usually do in other games. Players can
collect thousands of items to decorate their island and some even get creative by having a
specific theme such as horror, Disney, or Japanese street markets. You are given 100 design slots
to make your own patterns for clothes, furniture, and pathing. In order to be able to start making
the island of your dreams, players must have at least a three star rating and get K.K Slider to visit
their island to unlock terraforming which is the ability to knock down cliffs, build rivers, and lay
down custom paths. Many people like to post pictures of their islands all over social media so
anyone can draw inspiration for their own island. Especially for people like me who have trouble
coming up with ideas for a theme, it’s nice to be able to look on Instagram or Twitter for what I
would like.

Let’s Get Crafty

The game does have a slow start where you have to grind to earn bells, crafting tools, and
resources. However, when you do obtain all these items, you can craft hundreds of different
items as long as you collect the recipe or DIY for it. This is one of the downsides to the game
because some resources are hard to obtain such as iron, regular wood, gold, and many others. It
could take days to reach the amount that you need unless you have the online play feature then
you could ask anyone to donate some to you. Collecting recipes are also a hassle because you
never know what you’re going to get and it is possible to get duplicates. There are hundreds of
DIY recipes to learn and as a person who has logged over 500 hours into the game, I haven’t
even collected half of the possible DIYs.
The game uses real time so if you plant trees, flowers, or build any structure, it will take a few
days for it to complete although some do get around this by “time traveling” where you change
the date and time on your switch to speed up the process. Every person starts off with a different
native fruit on their island. Some DIYs require you to have all the fruits in the game which are
hard to collect if you do not have the online play feature and can’t ask a friend for the ones you
are missing. Specific flowers are needed to craft certain items and in order to get these flowers
you will have to go through the complicated process of breeding flowers. Even though getting
the materials to craft items can be a hassle, once you get them, crafting items to decorate your
island is enjoyable.

Play With Friends

The game is much more enjoyable if you play with friends. However, in order to play with
friends, you need to have a Nintendo Online membership which costs money. I would say it is
worth it to get the membership because you can visit anyone’s island to collect resources or if
you are searching for a specific piece of furniture that can only be crafted, they can craft it for
you. It’s also fun to take cool pictures with your friends, have a bug/fish catching competition, or
even play minigames that other people have come up with. Some even like to make short films
or host events for a birthday or wedding. The online feature allows many to be able to hang out
with their friends during a time where it is unsafe to travel and see friends in real life. Eventually,
if you get bored and start feeling like you’re living on a stranded island, you can visit or invite
others for company. If you don’t feel like spending money on the membership the game is still
pretty enjoyable to play by yourself.

Meekaio on Reddit creates a tropical island theme with palm trees, white flowers, and arrow signs
with her character dressed as Lilo from Lilo and Stitch

The Escape Everyone Needs

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a great game to relax by watering flowers, visiting friends,
and terraforming your island. Because there is no real objective to the game, you can log on
whenever you feel like it. The visuals, soundtrack, and activities of ACNH gave everyone an
escape and a way to enjoy themselves during the pandemic when no one could really leave their
house.
Russ Frushtick, co-founder of Polygon, used Animal Crossing as his vacations during
quarantine. He said that he realized he would be ignoring everything around him after playing
Animal Crossing for long sessions. He also said, “Then I take a look around at what actually is
going on around me and realize that maybe I’d better stay in my island paradise for a little while
longer.”
Samuel Claiborn, a game reviewer for IGN, described ACNH as “An expanded, polished, next-
generation reboot of a classic Nintendo game.” Claiborn “time traveled” in the game to get ahead
of the slow start however, after he got passed the beginning, he was excited to see all the
surprises of ACNH. With plenty to do, he had big plans for his island and a lot to look forward
to.
Overall, if you want to make friends with animal villagers and create your own island paradise
then Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the game for you. If you would like to purchase the
game, you can buy a digital copy from Nintendo or from select stores for $59.99. This game is
worth it to help take your minds off things and hours of fun with new updates coming in the
future. Connect back with your friends and convince them to purchase the game with you!
 Works Cited

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Claiborn, Samuel. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review.” IGN, 24 Sept. 2020,
www.ign.com/articles/animal-crossing-new-horizons-review-for-switch.

Frushtick, Russ. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons Is a Much-Needed Escape from Everything.”
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crossing-new-horizons-review-nintendo-switch.

“Official Site - Video Game Consoles, Games.” Nintendo, www.nintendo.com/.

Pyun, Sabrina. “Life Simulation Games: Why They Are So Addicting!” ComicsVerse, 25 Mar.
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“Stardew Valley: Home.” Stardew Valley, ConcernedApe, www.stardewvalley.net/.

The Sims, Electronic Arts, https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims.