Random Video Game Review - Animal Crossing: New Horizons

 

So back when we were in lockdown, many people wanted to find ways to experience life as it was before lockdown happened. Nintendo just happened to release this game at the right time, as people needed a life simulator to experience life before lockdown again. They probably didn't even realize that by releasing this game at the time it was initially released, it became a hugely successful game. Nowadays, with things returning to how it was (with most restrictions eased), many people probably don't play this as much. Well, I decided to give it a play, having been among the things I decided to take from my sister (may she rest in peace). I will say that the Animal Crossing games are OK. They come across as games that expect you to return to time and time again. But for people like me, it's usually not all that appealing and honestly, outside of holiday events and what have you, there isn't really much to it. Anyway, let's see what this game offers and see if it excites me or not:

As is how the series works, New Horizons is a life simulation game set in real time, where you purchase a package from Tom Nook and end up on an island in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere with the weather adjusting accordingly. You are given essential things and then begin doing all the things that the series gives you to do like fishing, finding insects, selling, buying, trading, making things and finding friends in the animal villagers. All that, plus the ability to meet other players on other islands and over time, you can expand the island to ultimately make it a village and possibly more later down the line. Expanding the island also lets you create and destroy cliffs, bodies of water and paths. If you have Animal Crossing amiibo figures and/or cards, you can use them to temporarily invite villagers to the island and convince them to join your crew.

While it may not be getting major updates any more since November 2021, I can see why it was a successful game. Releasing during the pandemic, being one thing and showing what life used to be like, being the other thing. It's fun for a little while, but like the rest of the games, it overstays its welcome and parts are once again tedious and sometimes get mocked. But if I'm being honest, the series has come a long way since its initial beginnings on the Gamecube and this game, in spite of its flaws, did what it set out to do whether it was Nintendo's intention or not, and it was alright for the most part. 8/10