Y'all knew it was coming eventually, I couldn't NOT talk about the new Animal Crossing!
Been playing the (new) Animal Crossing: New Horizons for a little over a month now, and it has really helped keep both Kyla and I sane during this time at home. The premise of Animal Crossing has always essentially been "Routine the game," which you have to imagine is right up my alley! Everyday I wake up, and go about my daily tasks, and then I'm free to do whatever!
People ask what the point of the game is, and to be honest, that changes depending on the person. You see, Animal Crossing is a real-time game, which means certain things will take time, or need a day passing to complete. This is great for people like me, who likes doing a little each day, and messing around for the rest of the time. Others, will rush to get all the achievements done, or filling out the museum; and some prefer not to wait changing the time on their Switch to 'time travel' in the game.
Right so what is there to do? Well at first not a whole lot, you're brought to an uninhabited island with two other Animal Villagers, and the Tanuki (Raccoon Dog) Tom Nook! Basically the more you build, and the more things you catch, the more things become available. Tom Nook gives you a new place to live, asks for your help expanding the island, and straps you with a huge bill for the excursion!
(A slight tangent, a lot of people think Tom Nook is a bad dude because he constantly puts you in debt, but I would like to point out he NEVER comes to collect this debt, and the only reason to pay it is the incentive of a larger house. Which is fair, you want more, pay your previous debts. He essentially provides free housing to everyone.)
You begin getting tool recipes, and even start opening up a general store! Eventually, you even get a wonderful clothing store! You can invite more and more Animal Villagers to come live on the island, and as you befriend them you get even more recipes and gifts!
So now there's lots to do, you can dig for fossils, catch bugs and fish, chop trees, plant flowers, build and buy furniture, decorate the island and your home, visit other islands, breed new flower colours, design outfits; the list is endless.
This all seems so overwhelming, but once you get into a routine, it is so unbelievably relaxing. Nothing is quite like throwing on a playlist, and clearing a field of trees with your brain shut-off. If you want more brain stimulation though, move onto decorating, where the only limit is what you have, and your own imagination. Kyla and I both have built several adorable areas, including a Flower Centre/Insect Lab, Outdoor Cafe, Bee-Keeping Flower Field, Nature Reserve; among other things!
The Museum has always been my favourite part of the Animal Crossing games. Something about collecting things, and getting to see them up in this space was so cool for me. The Museum in this game is no joke, it is GORGEOUS, and getting to see all my little insects and fish around the exhibits is so nice. Not to mention the fossil section, where you get to see a large collection of dinos come to life in all their boney glory. As of the most recent update, there also has been another section added for Art and Sculptures! That itself is another minigame, as you can only buy them from a shifty fox named Redd, who will also sell you fakes! So you have to inspect the Artwork, and look for discrepancies from the real ones!
There's also different events that happen seasonally, and different characters that will only come to the island sometimes. There's Flick and CJ, who will buy Insects and Fish respectively for a high price; and CJ also hosts a Fishing Tourney once per season! There's also different vendors that appear in front of City Hall on different days, including a returning favourite, Leif the Sloth! He sells rare flowers and bushes! The seasonal events are also really cool, right now we're in an earth day event, that has you earning things for doing different Nature related tasks. What I'm extra excited for is wedding season coming around June!! We'll be able to decorate beautiful wedding and honeymoon photos for different characters!
As you can see, there is so many different ways to approach and play this game, and when faced with a total loss of routine like we are in now; a game like this REALLY helps keep some level of normalcy. It is an extra reason for me to wake up in the morning, make a cup of coffee, and get the day rolling!
I'll include some photos below of the game!
Anyway, I hope you have a fantastic day!
