My comfort game: ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’

Photo by Annie Liu

Hopkins and me sitting in the snow outside of his house 

In a cute cozy house made of dark logs, an inflatable blue bunny sits on the ground drinking a can of orange soda. This is Hopkins, my favorite Animal Crossing villager. I look at his little log bench, and he says, “That chair fits my butt perfectly.” That’s Hopkins’ life in a nutshell. 

Photo by Annie Liu

Hopkins with an orange soda can in his hand.

The hype for Nintendo’s Animal Crossing (AC) game peaked about four years ago when it first came out on March 20, 2020, when people needed a sense of community and belonging during the pandemic. The game is available on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite and costs $59.99. The game gives the player an island with adorable neighbors of their own that can be decorated and interacted with. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH),” gave people the fulfillment they needed during uncertain and lonely times. Yet, even now that the hype is over, I think its reputation as a therapeutic and fulfilling game still stands true. 

Though I may be four years late to the hype, I’ve listened to the in-game background music from ACNH and AC’s previous games from the series for a while now. It is now my comfort game. 

The premise of ACNH involves living on a fully customizable island with cute animal friends. The animals’ villagers have likes, dislikes and different personalities. You get to give them gifts, visit their houses and talk to them. Villagers become extra happy if you give them something of their favorite color, or something that suits their personality. The main activities in the game are fishing, mining, farming, tending the island and interacting with these villagers.

The game is slow-paced and more in sync with real-world time than most games. For example, if you construct a bridge or a house for a new villager, you’d have to wait until tomorrow for it to be complete. The game may test your patience a little, but I feel like the excitement gives me a reason to wake up in the morning. 

If you like collecting items, you’re in for a treat if you play ACNH. Players can collect sets of furniture, rare bugs, fish, artwork and dinosaur fossils, with different items for purchase each day. There are also fossils around the island to dig up and donate to the island museum, place in your house, give it to a fellow villager or sell. 

If you don’t feel like doing any of these things, you can go around the island and enjoy the relaxing ambiance and details of the graphics. As an artist who loves details and intricate designs, I find the furniture and tools really satisfying to look at. A tiny button on a patchwork coat, the little bit of light reflecting off of a little kettle or the sound of walking on tiles can all make me happy.

 I especially love to visit villagers’ houses (even if I’m not welcomed there); each one has different styles and themes. Some may have a cafe theme, some may have a cozy, floral cottage-core home and some may have a New York apartment sort of vibe for their interior. The wonderful color combinations and themes make each villager stand out and inspire me to decorate my own house in my own ways. 

If you’re looking for a getaway vacation to a cute island away from the cold and cruel world or if you like interior or outdoor designing and collecting items, ACNH is the perfect game for you.