animal crossing new horizons

• Flower

Developer: thatgamecompany
Price: $4.99+
Platforms: PS4, iPhone, PC
Estimated Playthrough: 5+ hours

I originally played this when it was released on the PS3, and it still remains one of my favorite games for de-stressing. There are no puzzles to complete or enemies to fight, and you don’t need any kind of gaming skills to enjoy the experience. You are just a petal flowing in the wind spreading flowers. While that may sound incredibly boring to some, just give it a try. The beautiful landscapes that you travel through and heart-touching soundtrack will melt all of your worries away.

• Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Developer: Bandai Namco, Sora
Price: $54.99+
Platforms: Switch
Estimated Playthrough: Infinite

I have never been one to recommend the violence of some video games as a stress relief. I don’t really like to make that association because it paints a bad light on video games as a whole. However, there are certain ones that do it right and the Super Smash Bros series is one of them. The fact that it’s a fighting game pitting iconic and lovable characters against each other in a comic-style mischief way is why. You can punch, kick, throw and blast your opponents to your heart’s content. I don’t recommend playing pvp to relieve stress though. Just stick with cpu battles and set the difficulty below hard and you will be good to go.

Developer: Nintendo
Price: $59
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch
Reviewed for: Nintendo Switch
Estimated playtime: Infinite

Day six of quarantine due to coronavirus and the stress is getting to me… 0____0. Luckily, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is here to save the day!

Story

Starting over and escaping to a new town, city, or island sounds really good these days what with the current state of the world. When I was little, the appeal was still strong and I loved to get away to my Animal Crossing village after the school bus dropped me off from elementary (aka hell). Well good news for me because Animal Crossing: New Horizons could not have come at a better time for me and the rest of the world. This installment whisks you away to island life via plane where ol’ Tom Nook has started a new venture: all inclusive island getaway packages. You are one of the new residents looking to help populate the island and you are given the choice to choose its general layout beforehand. Once there, you meet the other residents and get a helping hand on the outdoor’s life from Tom, and little Tommy and Timmy. While Tom still makes sure you understand your mission of owing him bells and growing the island, he is not the greedy raccoon we all peg him for. His character, and many other notable ones like Blathers, is fleshed out SO much more in New Horizons. I was so happy to see many more dialogue options for everyone and chat with them. Needless to say, this installment goes really far to develop the familiar Animal Crossing storyline.

Gameplay

My ONE continuous gripe with Animal Crossing throughout the years has been the lack of activities to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love the simple slice of life genre. I mean, that is the soul of Animal Crossing. I’m talking about the lack of activities to do after you get done with your daily rituals and have collected everything. Well, New Horizons you continue to amaze me! I don’t see an end in sight to the amount of things to do here. This is thanks to the numerous new features like the handy Nook Phone and the new crafting system. I won’t go too into detail, but you now have the challenge of DIY projects if you want, say a new lawn chair or shovel. It’s a system that is really balanced where I don’t feel like anything is too out of reach to create. The Nook Phone is where missions and rewards come into play. The Nook Miles App on the device offers numerous island life challenges and dishes out Nook Miles when they are completed. Nook Miles can be used in place of bells to purchase items or make loan payments. Don’t worry though, bells are still essential. I want to stress that I’m only scratching the surface of New Horizon’s amazing gameplay features, there is so much to do and I can’t wait to get back to it!

Graphics

This game is breaking the limits of the age old saying of less is more. The simple art style of Animal Crossing shines on the Switch to be sure. The lush rustling leaves, the orange sunsets, the shining fruits, and the adorable character models make me want to stare at the screen forever. More than anything though, I now want to squish Timmy’s (or Tommy’s) cute little fluffy tail! I implore you to check out the gallery below of my favorite screenshots from my island so far. This game is an absolute joy to look at.

Soundtrack

Whose Spotify throwback list showed the Animal Crossing playlist as their #1 playlist for 2019? Mine. Does it show up as the #1 playlist on my Spotify throwback list every year. Oh yes. Will it continue to show as my #1 playlist on Spotify for the foreseeable future? Yes, and I will make sure New Horizon’s soundtrack is included. Folks, we got a winner here. Not only does the New Horizon’s soundtrack add new catchy tunes that I could read to all day, it fits right into the overall island feel. I don’t mean that they sound all tropical with coconuts, bananas and maracas. I mean there has been the addition of cute new instruments like soft horn toots. It’s the little things, you know? I am already loving the spring tracks and I look forward to hearing new ones as the seasons change.