The game Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released by Nintendo in March 2020, eight years after Animal Crossing’s last main-series game, New Leaf and a 19-year gap between the first game in the series, Animal Crossing in 2001. New Horizons is a widely successful game that was called the best game in the Animal Crossing series by critics. It’s a best seller in many categories, but part of the reason why it was so successful was credited to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the strict self-isolation that was going on at the time. It became such an important game for people struggling with the sudden loss of social interaction so much that it was heavily popularised by players celebrating real-life events, and even used in political advertising. This analysis will focus on the game’s aesthetics and player interactivity.
The game itself is quite simple. Players move to a deserted island and are tasked with making it habitable for themselves and other villagers. Most of the game tasks and activities are similar to the older games in the series. This includes fishing, catching bugs, buying clothes and furniture, farming, seasonal events, opening up shops, and the beautification of their island. The wide variety of character customization is definitely a plus that allows players to be themselves without being left out due to the lack of skin tones or clothing types. The concepts used in this game were the “trigger of play” and the “imagination gap” which can be seen in the simplistic tasks and animations that is easy for newcomers to the Animal Crossing series to pick up. The game’s aesthetics all have a similar theme of peace and an escape through crafting a personalised utopia. While there are a few “darker” references like cockroaches appearing if you haven’t played in a while, and the seemingly neverending debt to the game’s tanuki travel agent, Tom Nook, the game still maintains that positive atmosphere, just with a few real-life accuracies that aren’t as pleasant. The most graphic thing that could happen is getting stung by a wasp or a scorpion.
Ultimately, Animal Crossing remains a safe haven to escape reality. The lively colour palette mixed with their iconic and soothing soundtracks and delicate animations are extremely relaxing to players and I myself can’t play without falling asleep towards the end. While there is a reoccurring island getaway theme going on, the actual contents and aesthetics of the island are up to the player themself with the only limitations being the in-game items. Some players are so dedicated to their islands that they buy a whole other Nintendo switch just to have a separate theme on a new island. While there are already countless items available to decorate the islands, some players who are extremely eager and creative use modded switches to achieve even more personalization.
Along with the game’s calming graphics and tasks, a huge element of Animal Crossing’s defining features is the interactions between players and the villagers in the game. The villagers in the game are cute anthropomorphic critters ranging from bears, cats, dogs, squirrels, birds, frogs, octopuses, and many more. Each villager also has their own personality from one of these eight: lazy, jock, cranky, and smug (male-specific) and normal, peppy, snooty, and big sister (female-specific). With a maximum of ten that canlive on your island, players don’t need to worry about missing out as there are other methods of interacting with any of the other 400-plus villagers available in the game.
The villagers that reside on the same island as the player have many interactions that are somewhat reminiscent of real life. Friendships take time and villagers gradually warm up to players by having conversations, playing minigames, and giving each other gifts. Ultimately when a character becomes good friends with the player, they gift their photo as a symbol of their close friendship. On the player’s birthday, their closest villager pal is the one that hosts a birthday party for them even. Along with giving presents to each other on Christmas, checking in on the player when they haven’t logged in for a long time, and celebrating new years together with their friends under the fireworks, it’s easy for players to develop a personal connection with the villagers as if they were a real living friend despite them being just pixels and code. Countless longtime players have fond memories of their childhood game and characters that have stuck with them all throughout. Sometimes even finding little miracles where the villager implies they remember them from the older games. Overall the villagers have definitely created true meaning through interactivity and are sure to put a smile on the player’s faces.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the perfect getaway from the struggles of daily life. With peaceful aesthetics and meaningful interactions, the game has won the hearts of many new players and continued to please older fans with nostalgia-filled characters while still keeping things fresh. Whether you enjoy terraforming and creating beautiful landscapes, partake in the radish stock market, or just want a pal to chat with, Animal Crossing is able to satisfy many different types of players.
( sources.✷ )
Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Nintendo, 2020
“Animal Crossing: New Horizons.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Mar. 2023,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Crossing:_New_Horizons. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
Zhu L. “The psychology behind video games during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Animal Crossing: New Horizons” Hum Behav & Emerg Tech. 2021;3: 157–159. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.221. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
Animal Crossing Wiki, August 2005, https://animalcrossing.fandom.com/wiki/Animal_Crossing_Wiki. Accessed March 23, 2023.
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