By Stephanie Arenas
Nintendo finally released “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” on March 20 following the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing its players to interact with one another without having to leave their homes.
“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is a real time life simulation game developed and published for the Nintendo Switch.
Fans of the game have said they are immensely satisfied with the finished product. While there have been a few changes to the game’s formula, many have come to agree that “New Horizons” still has the same old charm “Animal Crossing” is known for.
The game, the fifth one in the series, allows players to create a custom-made character who is invited to a deserted island getaway. They are soon tasked as the island’s resident representatives with building, maintaining and shaping the island however they see fit.
The game play hinges on the progress one makes by either expanding their home, donating to the local museum or buying products locally.
As a means to earn money, the player can either catch bugs or fish and resell them to either Tommy or Timmy, the shop owners. By doing this, the player is able to upgrade and buy items such as furniture, tools and wallpaper for their house.
However, if one wanted to catch certain bugs and fish, those bugs and fish would only be able to come out at certain times of the day. “Animal Crossing” runs in real time which means that if it is night outside in real life, it will be night outside in the game.
Many fans of the game prefer not to wait hours for certain things to pop up, so they have the ability to change the time in order to fit their needs. This feature is called time traveling.
Another big aspect of the game is its multiplayer option. The player will have the option to open the travel gate to their island and let other people on their friends list travel there in order to explore, gather resources and marvel at the structures.
This aspect of the game could not have come at a more perfect time as many people around the world are quarantined due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With this feature, the public is able to communicate and spend time with each other via chat without having to leave the comfort of their homes.
“Animal Crossing is probably the one thing I look forward to each day,” gaming YouTuber Markie Levinsky said. “Even if I know something bad is or has happened, I can always feel a little bit better seeing all my villagers happy to see me or when a friend asks me to come to their place. I’ve always been a fan and this game makes me happy.”
Overall, a majority of the fanbase seems to be exceedingly satisfied and overjoyed with the final product of the game.
“Animal Crossing,” professional gamer Emily Utterback said. “More like Animal Fun.”
Since its release, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” has smashed record sales all over the world, marking it as one of Nintendo’s most successful launches.
