A Different Type of Game

Many are surprised to hear about the game's premise for the first time because of its simplicity. The idea behind the game is straightforward. You travel to a new town where you are now the person in charge of its growth and wellbeing. The specifics have varied across each game. There are new things for you to do, and the overall experience keeps getting better over the years. In the latest version, you live on an island of your own that you get to manage and decorate. Of course, once you arrive there, you'll find that you have no money, but rest assured! You will be quickly given a loan to purchase the home of your dreams and get a good start on your new life.

Most people ask after this, "but what do you actually do?" There is no time limit on the loan you received. In fact, the only reason for paying it off in the first place is to get a new loan on an even better house! I didn't really understand what the game was until I watched a playthrough of the previous game, New Leaf. The game is a sandbox where you just do some daily tasks and upgrade your town and your own home while doing this in real-time. This slow-paced nature is what attracted me to the game.

Video games are generally simple in how they are made. They have goals for you to look forward to, and there are often flashy graphics to keep you motivated to keep going. Animal Crossing's charm comes from being the opposite. You do as much as you want, but you could literally just sit on the beach and watch the waves all day, and there would be no harm to you.

New Horizons

On the day that the game was released, I rushed to get my switch to play the game. It was indeed a fantastic experience to fly over to my own island. Given my mental health at the time, it was a very welcome change of scenery, even if it was just a video game. At first, I didn't quite understand why I played the game. I completed tasks and slowly built up my island as the game developers intended. I amassed quite a bit of wealth and bought a good amount of furniture items to spruce up my island and my home.

It wasn't until about a month into the game that I truly understood the actual journey that took place.

At first glance, many people may fail to see the game's hidden impact on people with depression and other related mental illnesses. It's very easy to pass the game off as nothing except a relaxing island simulator for people who don't like fast-paced games. But the game is a lot more than first meets the eye. In fact, the game's journey is all about you. One of the biggest things that take people by surprise is that there is no reason to do anything quickly or even at all. The fact that things run in real-time feels odd and may remind some of those scammy mobile games that make you pay with gems or other in-game currency to speed up the process. But there are no gems, and your world keeps going when you don't play.

This radically different way of playing a game is one of the biggest reasons it pulls people into the series. This is also why I believe so many people with depression and anxiety have found that it helps them get through.

Music that Transports You

The first thing that becomes very clear from the start is the beautiful hourly soundtracks. The music is relaxing and gives us a nice upbeat tempo that encourages you to be there in the moment and do your daily tasks. Of course, it really depends on the time. The mornings are more "morningy" in nature, while the afternoons have more pep to them. The nights are more relaxed and promote exploration and relaxation. My first taste of this music came from YouTube, where I found hourly tracks from previous games.

I was amazed to see comments talking about how Animal Crossing helped them get through rough patches in their lives. As someone going through tough times, it certainly piqued my interest, and I went down a rabbit hole of YouTube and Reddit to see if there was any truth to it. To my surprise, I found plenty of people talking about it and many more agreeing with them.

Many stories talked about the love they felt around their villagers or how fulfilling it was to show their village off to others. Countless other stories talked about families and friends getting closer together through this game. At the time, I had a minimal idea as to what the game even was.

When I managed to play the game myself, I wasn't disappointed. The music was indeed calming, and it gave me the escape from reality that I wanted. But music is only half the equation.

The AI villagers mill about your village and use the facilities you helped create. They often show emotions that almost give you a feeling that you really are in a town of your own. The freedom that comes from being able to do nothing is genuinely something I took for granted. The fact that I can set up some palm trees and just sit there on the beach is an experience that few other games can give.

The most important thing for me was the sense of duty I felt for my villagers and the village as a whole. I wanted to make it the island of my dreams. I took care of planning the buildings and talked to my villagers every day. In a way, it gave me purpose in my life in a time where I had none. The feeling of calling a place your own had a very distinct and good effect on my mental health. I needed the escape.

Animal Crossing was made with the values of family and friendship at the core. It shows in every part of its implementation. Sharing your island with AI, friends, and family is indeed a very fulfilling feeling.

When I first arrived at my island, it was hardly liveable. I was on it with two other villagers in tents. The island was a mess of weeds and trees with cliffs in inopportune areas and no way to cross rivers. It felt like a truly impossible task to get it all cleaned up. A year and a half later, my island has been completely changed and is beautiful in its own way.

However, my love for the game dipped once I realized that there really wasn't much to do in the game. After a while, I simply felt like nothing more than a furniture simulator. I started paying less and less attention to the game because of this. Unfortunately, I just didn't have much to look forward to in the game world, so I moved on to looking forward in my own life.

Conclusion

However, the recent 2.0 update has once again brought my attention back to this fantastic game. With all of the new additions, I can finally say that the game is perfect. There are things for you to do and look forward to again. The new DLC is looking to be a fantastic new addition for everyone to enjoy outside of customizing your own island.

It's a long wait to November 5, filled with plenty of ups and downs, but I plan to again set some time out in my days to visit my island paradise. I once again want to feel the happiness from the tranquility and simplicity in the game that no other can give.