“Animal Crossing”, founded by Katsuya Eguchi, is well known among teens, as it has gained even more popularity with its newest addition, “Animal Crossing New Horizons”. It has gained such a reputation after being purchased by a record breaking 26 million consumers during the height of quarantine. “Animal Crossing New Horizons” consists of talking animals to befriend, a cute character to dress up and control, and an ambitious raccoon. You can craft items such as outdoor furniture and comfortable beds, fill the island museum, dive for sea creatures, and visit friends. The game could be categorized under sandbox role-playing games.

One of the biggest features of the game, and the main concept involved, is talking to your villagers (the animal friends), and searching for the ones that you want to see daily. However, as great as that feature sounds, you might end up getting stuck with someone you don’t particularly like, or a villager who ends up being rude to you. Which, of course, no one really loves.

In order for a villager to leave, it’s a 15 day waiting process, and the villager who offers to leave is chosen at random. So, don’t get your hopes up if you want that cranky villager to leave, he might just stay forever.

“I want to be able to remove villagers I don’t want because some of mine are weird,” sophomore Alexandra Hayden said.

On a lighter note, you can allow a villager to stay if they offer to leave. For example, if one of your favorite villagers asks to move away, you can easily convince them to stay instead. This is a great feature if you’re trying to keep a consistent color scheme or if you get attached to a villager.

Not only is the game filled with pleasing colors, it also seems to be the epitome of aesthetic graphics. The way wind moves tree leaves, and the sound of your footsteps as you run to complete your next task adds another layer of depth and detail.

“Animal Crossing has given me a peaceful and serene place for me to distract myself with and escape to,” sophomore Eliza Oberle said.

Alongside its aesthetic components, the “Animal Crossing” world provides plenty of opportunities to craft from your imagination. From choosing what type of flower you want to decorate with, to creating castles out of homes, imagination fuels it all.

One of the outstanding reasons that “Animal Crossing’s” fan base has grown, is purely due to the world you can escape to.

“I like being able to make your own island because it lets you use your imagination and make something you like,” Hayden said.

For lots of teens that imaginative and creative outlet isn’t always available, and by providing a sandbox-style game, many of them were able to find it through “Animal Crossing”.

If you’re a player that likes a bit of a challenge, the game includes a “Nook Miles Achievements system”. This entails collecting stamps for completing certain tasks, and earning points to purchase extra items.

“You can earn stamps for completing different aspects of the game which allows me to set goals,” Oberle said.

Not only can Nook Miles Achievements motivate you to pick up the game more often, but for the DIY communities, crafting can also be a great challenge. You can learn DIY recipes for your next project, collect the materials, and let’s not forget- actually make the item.

This feature seems to be a loved one across the board, and offers a great unique style if you decide to craft regularly on your island.

“I really like crafting because you can make all sorts of things like clothes and tools,” sophomore Rinoa Mackenzie said.

The options seem limitless between decoration items, crafted or not. This gives players a chance to represent their style and personality on their island for any friends that might visit.

Players can visit one another with the annual fee of $20 for the Nintendo Switch Online program. As great as that sounds, for many players it seems more pointless than the other features offered.

“I would like the multiplayer to allow everyone to play and do whatever they want at the same time,” Oberle said.

Not only do you have to pay to use the feature on top of the cost for the game, you aren’t able to decorate another player’s island. The Nintendo Switch Online program seems to be worth it only if you have other games alongside “Animal Crossing” that can use the online feature.

If the game is sounding pricey, with a $60 price along with the $200-$300 range for the Nintendo Switch, there’s another way to experience the game through the mobile edition. It’s called “Pocket Camp”, and can be downloaded for free on any mobile device. The catch, though, seems to be the graphics. So, don’t go into it expecting “New-Horizons’ “ level of detail

Of course, with any secondary release of a game, it will always grow a fan base. Many of the “Pocket Camp” players see it as an opportunity to experience more events and collect more items than what is available in “New-Horizons”.

“Pocket Camp has more cool items and tons of events,” Mackenzie said.

If you like some of the basic items from “Pocket Camp” and are a player of “New-Horizons”, you can download them onto your island, which is a collective bonus for all “New-Horizons” players. Unfortunately, the opposite method of that feature isn’t an option.

By purchasing the almost Game of the Year, you too can experience living on a remote island and make friends with your own villagers. With the many features offered by the game, “Animal Crossing New Horizons” will be hard to beat with any future additions to the franchise.