Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the most important games of all time. While the game itself is great, its importance in gaming history extends far beyond the joy of terraforming your island and capitalizing on the turnip market to become a bell-ionaire.
It launched on March 20, 2020: the month that the entire world was quickly slipping into the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the stress and grief that came with what seemed like, at the time, the end of the world, New Horizons was designed to be a stress-free island getaway hosted by adorable animals, accompanied by a soothing soundtrack.
Five years later, Animal Crossing fans are itching for a new entry in the series, but looking back at what the game represented to me when it came out, I’m not sure if I can ever go back to Animal Crossing.
Remembering Where We Were
I love Animal Crossing. I’ve been playing the games religiously since the GameCube, so my discomfort with the thought of playing a new entry doesn’t come from a dislike of the series. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Between March and May of 2020, I played over 300 hours of New Horizons and used it as an escape from the horrifying global events around me. I used it as a way to ‘visit’ my girlfriend at a time when being face-to-face was impossible. We spent countless hours just sitting around together, 40 miles apart in the real world, but our hearts in the same place, showing each other the new emotes we learned and the giant fish we caught.
The two of us are getting married now, so always remember that if you game together, you stay together.
There are plenty of memories I have from the early days of the pandemic, but every single day ended the same without fail. I would have dinner with my parents and then head to my room to boot up my Switch and see what kind of items were for sale at Timmy and Tommy’s shop. I’d spend the rest of the night hunting bugs and growing flowers while trying to silence the overarching fear that painted every moment of those days.
Animal Crossing Sensory Memories
As joyful as it was to have even the smallest escape from the world at the time, Animal Crossing has permanently changed for me. The series is now intrinsically tied to the fear, panic, and stress that came with the early days of the pandemic.
I’ve tried to get back into New Horizons since its initial release with every major update and with some of my friends who have continued to make it a mainstay of their gaming lives. Every time I do, however, I get teleported right back to where I was when it felt like the world was ending – I get reminded of the anxiety that I was trying so desperately to cover up with trading fruit and decorating the lawns of my neighbors.
It’s been five years since New Horizons launched, so it’s not out of the question to imagine that a new Animal Crossing game will be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 in the coming years. As excited as that makes me as a fan of the series, it also makes me nervous that I won’t be able to enjoy it because of the connection I’ve made between the series and the fear of the end of the world.
Fans want a new Animal Crossing game for the Switch 2, and I completely understand the desire. When a new game inevitably releases, I want to play it. I just might need to work through some emotions before I can. If that’s not possible, then I might just need to walk away from the series, appreciating it for what it was and how it helped me while recognizing that the wounds it helped me heal from might not ever fully go away.
- Released
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March 20, 2020
- ESRB
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E for Everyone: Comic Mischief