I recently started playing Animal Crossing for the first time on Switch, and since I've begun, there's one thing I've struggled with more than anything else: How do I explain this to other people? I have friends who I think would love this game. I know people who are baffled by the appeal and I want to explain it for the sake of explaining it (I like explaining things).
But this post isn't about that. Not exactly, anyway. This post is a tiny bit more specific. This post is about why you should give Animal Crossing New Horizons a try Right Now, in the Spring of 2020, specifically.
The appeal of this series has long escaped me. Since the very first release, I've had friends try to explain the game to me, in an effort to get me interested, and my response has always been the same "That seems cool, but it's not for me."
It turns out, at least in this moment in time, I was wrong.
Aside from all the soothing busywork that this game provides, from paying off your home loan, arranging your furniture, hunting for bugs, or harvesting fruit, there's one thing that Animal Crossing has been able to provide that few other games can: A sense of community.
In a time where most of us are stuck indoors, and can't spend time with friends, loved ones, or even our co-workers, Animal Crossing has been a game that has allowed us to feel, on some level, a sense of connection with people around us.
Animal Crossing as a series has always built a sense of connection into it's mechanics. The series creator, Katsuya Eguchi, has explained that was part his intention when creating the game. He has stated he got the inspiration from the lonely feelings he had when moving cities to work at Nintendo. He said he wanted to make a game where the player could feel like they belonged. Eguchi stated in an interview with Edge magazine: "Animal Crossing features three themes: family, friendship and community. But the reason I wanted to investigate them was a result of being so lonely when I arrived in Kyoto! Chiba is east of Tokyo and quite a distance from Kyoto, and when I moved there I left my family and friends behind. In doing so, I realized that being close to them – being able to spend time with them, talk to them, play with them – was such a great, important thing. I wondered for a long time if there would be a way to recreate that feeling, and that was the impetus behind the original Animal Crossing."
Besides being connected to the game itself, Animal Crossing connects you with your friends in all kinds of subtle ways, without having to coordinate schedules in order to play together at the same time. It's great to start your game up and find someone sent you a postcard, or left a message on your bulletin board the last time they were over. Animal Crossing finds small ways to remind you that even if there's no one on your island right then, you're not playing alone.Animal Crossing may not be the game I go back to for years to come (Then again, maybe it will be). It may not be the game I hold up as my favorite. But right now, in this moment in time, it's a game I'm very grateful for. And if you can spare the cash, and you're looking for something to do, I highly recommend you give it a try. As long as we're all at home, this game will be something you look forward to playing every day. And right now, that's a rare find.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to gather my fruit before the shops close.
