Animal crossing

Growing up, I never played console video games and didn’t know much about them. I was mainly introduced to the world of gaming by Nick: his friends gifted us a PS4 as a wedding present, so I have become a casual gaming spectator.

Usually, the games that Nick played required a fast reaction time. Everything moved at warp speed. There were a lot of buttons and functions. The first person viewing perspective also gave me a headache. With these observations, and with indifference, I decided that video games just weren’t my cup of tea.

However, Nick was convinced that there was something out there for me. Once upon a time, I was the one who introduced him to Candy Crush (where he is now on level 1703), and we played Overcooked together (but had to take a hiatus, because it can be a seriously relationship destroying game).  

“I think that you’ll like Animal Crossing,” he said one day. “It has cute characters, like Overcooked, and you get to collect other cute stuff.”

“No thanks,” I responded. I was pretty resistant to this idea, but before I could protest further, Nick had already downloaded the game and it was on the TV!

Well, it turns out that Animal Crossing is pretty cute.

There aren’t any countdowns or time constraints on what you have to do. There aren’t any consequences if you can’t aim. The character that you play is viewed in third person and nothing is fast moving.

Right now, Nick and I are “sharing an account” (we just started the game about a week ago), and it’s been a blast! The premise of the game is that you are settling an uninhabited island while on vacation, and Nick has been helping to do the game’s actual plot quests, such as filling a museum with specimen samples, helping lost sailors, expanding the settlement, and upgrading our house.

What I love about the game is the flexibility of the gameplay and its other features. For example, I can just spend my time collecting stuff, or dressing my character. Right now, my character is dressed with a Cleopatra headpiece, aviator shades, brown kaftan, yellow polka dot skirt, shower sandals, and holding a red rose in its mouth (I told Nick that my character looked like a badass pervert). I can also go around digging up turnips on my friend’s island (turnips are the stock market in Animal Crossing!), cross breed my flowers, and build a maze to nowhere.

In conclusion, I give Animal Crossing five bells out of five for its entertainment value. The game has been a hilarious way to virtually bond with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend, requiring little to no gaming aptitude or experience to enjoy. Pst. If you play Animal Crossing and would like visitors to your island, please comment below!