Living on an island sounds like a dream come true! Pure financial and mental freedom, a place where you can meet, make friends, build a home and create a new utopia of bliss and pure happiness. A place to just be…Escape can be wonderful, so let’s dive into the game I found relaxing and filled with hidden messages.
A Monitored Utopia: In Animal Crossings New Horizon you can create your own island, bring new islanders to your blissful getaway, work with tom nook, and have real-life friends over to your island through an internet connection. When you first arrive on your island you are greeted by tom nook, our friendly neighborhood raccoon. You are told to build your “plot”, then through the game, you can upgrade the home you have by taking out a loan, which you have to pay back in full before you upgrade your home further. The game moves in real-time as well, so if you don’t do something in a week that it is supposed to be done, or leave the game for two months the characters will notice. The only ones that don’t notice are Tom nook and his lovely assistant, Isabel. You can create a world of complete bliss in which you play a god esque role, manipulating the world and its surroundings. In terms of manipulation, this game has hidden messages that you might want to take note of. Whether it is a conspiracy theory or something that is just the musings of this writer's mind, I'm unsure. Within the world of Animal Crossings New Horizon, tom nook, the island's overseer will supply you with all your needs: a phone, a tent, a place to call home to an extent, and the personal freedom you so desire. Having personal freedom given to you for the price of hundreds of thousands of bells, persuading others to join, or rather convincing them why your island is the best makes this game one big pyramid scheme.
By tom nook giving you all of your essential needs and saying “you won’t need your old phone; you might like using ours much better,” is a bit odd, to say the least. It's like an adorable cult of animals where the player is the only human, and tom nook is the mafia boss never knew I needed in my life. You can only use what they give you, and you go by what they say.
A psychological reprieve:
Now to go onto another spectrum of this game, it is a psychological blessing, (even with the creepy/cultish overlay). This game provides a safe space, and especially during a pandemic, COVID-19 we have a game that is relaxing, and something that can be used as a way to bond with friends, family, check in on your loved ones even talk to that creepy dude who looks at your cleavage at work who just really wants to see your island. Then you tell him about animal crossings and he has no idea what you’re talking about. In this game, you can create your own adorable aesthetic creation and vibe. One that you will be proud to show to your significant other's parents.
This game came at a time when it was most needed. This game also wants you to pay attention to the finer details, the little things. By paying attention to those things, from how you’re organizing your island, to your home, to how you are terraforming your island it’s something that is a healthy form of repetition that is keeping people sane to say the last.
With All Things Concerned:
I’ve never seen a game receive such an overwhelming burst of welcome, of love, and of praise and acceptance. Not just from those who have loved the game for years, but people like me who have never even played it. We are in an era where we are wanting unity more than ever we are in an age in gaming where people who were against certain types of gaming are now more open to it, more receptive. While this game at points is much like a horror game with how many hidden meanings it has and how dictatorial it can come off in certain places, and especially in the beginning, it progresses to be one of the most adorable, calming games I’ve experienced in a very long time.
Comments