On Animal Crossing

I have loved Animal Crossing for a long time, and New Horizons is no exception—even though I stopped playing it on a daily basis a few months after it came out, I was always happy to pick it back up again whether I had a burst of inspiration to work on my island or just wanted to slow down and wander around and talk to my villagers. I’ve watched a lot of people start to lose interest in the game in the past year or so because they ran out of things to do, and I get that! I think it’s natural and okay to move on from games after the initial excitement has worn off—all that means is there are other things in your life that you’d rather spend your time doing, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But my favorite part of Animal Crossing, from the very first game, has always been the little daily routine of logging on, checking up on your town and the villagers in it, and then just…doing nothing. Taking it slow. Walking around and catching bugs. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it makes me happy, and it’s something I can’t really find in any other game. I have more thoughts on the new paid DLC (which I love) below, but the latest 2.0 update has been making me so, so happy for the past few days. If you haven’t played ACNH in a while, this might be a good time to pick it back up again!

– Jillian

I had my first good day in a long time yesterday and part of it was due to the fact that I actually finished all of my tasks and didn’t have projects hanging like a sad little storm cloud over my head as I went into the evening. Frankly, the motivation to play Animal Crossing without worry was a big motivator! There is nothing better than feeling inspired to fuck around with my island and excited about what the dailies will bring. The update has revitalized and brought back that rush of joy you get when you buy a fresh new game! I’m so happy.

– Summer

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If you somehow haven’t already heard, there is a new paid DLC for Animal Crossing New Horizons called Happy Home Paradise—if you played Happy Home Designer on your DS as a kid, this is the new and much-improved version of it! I’ve been playing it for a few days and I love it so far. Taking a break from my own island and spending time decorating little vacation homes for characters in the game is a really fun way to exercise my creativity and practice some decorating ideas without the pressure of having to look for items that I want and commit to changing up my own space. I think if you like decorating in Animal Crossing, want more objectives in the game, and are feeling overwhelmed by your own island, there’s no reason you shouldn’t give the DLC a try!

– Jillian