Before I picked up the newest Animal Crossing game for the Nintendo Switch, I already new full well that I would love it. Why? Because I've been a fan of Animal Crossing ever since the original released in 2001 for the Gamecube. I put a countless amount of hours into the original, played Wild World and New Leaf on the Nintendo DS and 3DS respectively, and even dabbled in the mobile game Pocket Camp as well. So I do consider myself somewhat of an Animal Crossing expert but I was left completely stumped when my friend on Facebook asked why she should get Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I didn't have a concrete answer for her. It isn't like there is a rich story to it or compelling gameplay. So then I had to think long and hard as to why I liked the series and why I was so hyped up for the newest release this past March.

For those who may be a bit lost, Animal Crossing is a game where you play as a human who moves into a village (or in the case of the newest game, an island) that is inhabited entirely by anthropomorphic animals. You can decorate your house with any type of furniture you can get your hands on either by buying it at the shop from Tom Nook or by acquiring them your fellow villagers. Thinking of it, your house is the closest thing to a goal Animal Crossing has. When you first move Tom Nook gives you a house that you can never pay off upfront so you then go into debt. A debt that has entirely flexible payment options but debt none the less. You'll then work hard to get the bells (AC's currency) to pay it off mainly by selling fish, bugs, unwanted furniture, and fossils.

Yes there are skeletons of dinosaurs in this game as well. Your village, town, island, whatever it is your playing, will have a museum that you can donate fossils, fish, bugs, and art to. What do you get for filling it up with everything possible? Truthfully I don't know, I've never been able to do it on any AC game that I have played. It can be quite hard to get every fish and bug in the game as some can only be found in certain months at certain times of the day and if you so happened to not get them then you have to wait until next year to see them again. In addition to paying off your house and contributing to the museum, there are also holiday events. These usually coincide with their real world counterparts but under different name such as Christmas being changed to Toy Day. You an usually get special furniture during those events but on top of that, it is just as fun to celebrating a holiday in a virtual setting as it is in real life, something I wouldn't have known if it hadn't been for Animal Crossing.

For me though, the best part of Animal Crossing has been the fellow villagers. There is a lot of villagers that could move in and they range in species from Cats, dogs, bears, hippos, kangaroos, and many more all with varying personalities and catchphrases. My personal favorite was a Rhinoceros named Tank and I was crushed when he moved away. Which brings me to the saddest part of the game by far, when your friends move away. You'll spend your time getting to know your fellow villagers and then, bam, they move and you won't see them again, or at least util they come to visit on occasion. This isn't a huge problem anymore, because in the newest game the villagers will tell you i they are considering moving and you can convince them to stay, or you could wish them well and let them go out on their own.

I know it seems like the point of this has gotten away from me but this what Animal Crossing is. You'll say hi to your villager, dig up fossils, hit rocks for money, and fish for as long as you can occasionally selling whatever native fruit you have, rinse and repeat. But I can happily say that New Horizons does a lot of things differently and all in a good way. Unlike other games, you have control over EVERYTHING. You control where houses go, where shops go up, what infrastructure (that you yourself will be the only one paying for) is put in, what Items are on display for visiting friends to see. You can also add roads and terraform the environment adding or taking away chunks of land or rivers. Crafting was also a big selling point as you can make your tools as well as decorative items out of materials such as rocks, twigs, iron, and even event materials. The addition of sharing online patterns for roads and clothing also adds an element of near infinite value. There still is no addition of a dialogue option to request random jobs from villagers that has been missing since the first game, but in this game especially it doesn't need it.

Label (red) is quiet at first, but talk to her everyday and she will warm up to you.

After laying all of this out there, do I know why someone will enjoy Animal Crossing? No. I only know why I myself enjoy Animal Crossing. For me it offers a nice two hour escape from reality where I can go to a far away island where everyone is happy and gets along, and the only thing we have to worry about is where the next person's house is going to go. I can't explain why Animal Crossing New Horizons is great. The only way to truly know if it is something you would enjoy is t play it for yourself and find out.