“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” was released on March 20 and has taken over the lives of many Nintendo fans with its inviting communities, lovable characters and creative outlet.

The game starts with the player having to create their character, which then is sent to a deserted island along with two random villagers, Tom Nook, and the nooklings. To begin life on the island, the player must collect sticks to make fishing rods or butterfly nets, which you can sell for “bells,” the game’s currency. With the bells, players can pay off the loan for their house; once that is done, Tom Nook gives you access to nook miles, a secondary currency earned by doing tasks.

This game plays in real-time, so that you would pay for a new building, and construction would start that day and finish the next. One of the first major buildings you help create is the museum, where you can donate up to 80 individual fish and bugs of which all exist in real life. There are also fossils you can dig up each day that can be assessed by the museum owner, Blathers, which you can donate to the museum. 

The game is in the “city building” genre, but it’s not just that. There are “Nook Mile Tickets” that you buy for 2,000 nook miles, and you can trade it in at the airport to go visit a random island where you can collect new fruits, flowers and special fish if you’re lucky. With your new items, you can expand your customizing variety for your island and raise your island rating. Once you reach a three-fifth island rating, the character K.K. Slider will play a concert at your island, and after, the end credits roll.

Overall, this game has little story but makes up for it with the variety of things you can do, from decorating your island to helping a shipwreck seagull fix his phone so that he can contact his ship. There is still new content coming out, like upgrades for the museum, which keeps players entertained as they progress through the game. You don’t need to have played “Animal Crossing” before to enjoy this game and have fun. It is a game that could not have come out at a better time to fill peoples’ empty days.