By: Gracie Swind, Contributing Writer
Holding the top slot in the Nintendo eShop for the three months following its release and taking the internet by absolute storm, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the newest installment of the Animal Crossing franchise, has provided gamers of all stripes a welcome distraction amid self-quarantines and limited traveling this summer.
Players are given a ‘deserted island getaway package’ and dropped off on an island all their own, where they can decorate and play the laidback story at their own pace and in their own way. From tending to fruit tree orchards to (much later in the game) terraforming cliffs and carving out rivers in the natural landscape of the island, there’s always something to do in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Online play allows for a maximum of eight players on the same island at once.
The game’s most recent update, dubbed the ‘Summer Update Part 1’ released on July 3rd, opening the oceans to swimming and diving for the player, with plenty of new seas creatures to discover and donate to Blathers, the museum curator. Another update, aptly called ‘Summer Update Part 2,’ is slated for release in ‘early August’ and will likely expand on the ocean features that were introduced earlier this month, or add in a feature that debuted in previous games.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers gameplay that is essentially a la carte – you can focus on (or not focus on) whatever you’d like – but most players will assert that some of the most fun moments from playing will come from visiting or hosting friends via online play. With the exception of a few courtesy-based exclusions, the game allows friends to meet up on each other’s islands and play the game together as normal.
Additionally, there are some mechanics in place that reward the player for playing with friends. Watering a friend’s flowers (or having them water your own) will increase the chance for rare flower hybrids to spawn.
KFC’s corporate island features a lake with the letters ‘KFC’ spelled out of land and dotted with a myriad of red flowers, a outdoor dining area complete with custom KFC bucket hats and KFC-print stalls, and a special, pillared waterfall area where the KFC secret formula is kept safe.
In the spirit of Animal Crossing’s ‘as-you-like-it’ playstyle, many fans have flocked to the online resource ‘Nookazon’ to obtain hard-to-find villagers, items, and crafting recipes. The site, launched in mid-March of this year, acts as an online marketplace where players can create listings for items, villagers, resources, flowers, fruit, and much more; these listings can then be picked up by other players who are seeking that item, villager, etc. and the two can trade for Nook Miles Tickets, Bells (the in-game currency), other villagers, or other items.
In a similar move to last winter when they streamed Pokémon Shield, the official Wendy’s Twitch account took to streaming Animal Crossing: New Horizons, documenting the beginning of their brand new island life.
Although Nintendo hasn’t made their position on Nookazon entirely clear, they have openly condemned the other common practice of players selling popular villagers (such as Raymond the smug cat or Audie the peppy wolf) for real-life currency on sites like eBay, citing it as a violation of the Terms of Service.
Animal Crossing players were invited to visit the KFC island for a chance to win free, real-life chicken earlier this year; the island’s status as ‘open’ or ‘closed’ was announced via Twitter, along with the Dodo Code needed to visit.
Individuals aren’t the only ones picking up a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and as with many online trends, a few large corporations have grabbed hold of the trend and opened up their own islands. Most notable, KFC and Wendy’s have each created themed islands meant to replicate their stores, complete with custom patterns and villager outfits.
Animal Crossing, although diverse in its playstyle, is at its core meant to be a game that is played daily, prompting free daily chore lists to pop up across the internet.
No matter how its played, Animal Crossing has been a friend for many during the coronavirus pandemic, and it continues to distract its players from the harsher edges of reality with the allure of an easy, laidback life spent on you own deserted island paradise.
Nook Miles Tickets are a big part of obtaining resources and finding new villagers to invite to your island; clever players have collaborated together to create lists of the different island types and what kinds of resources they provide.
