The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Animal Crossing: New Horizons

  • Animal Crossing New Horizons, The Quarantine Game

    Animal Crossing New Horizons, The Quarantine Game

    Animal Crossing New Horizons came out towards the beginning of quarantine in the \on March 20, 2020. It became instantly popular with students, but have they continued to play?

    Ash McElroy, a creative writing major, enjoys the game and the aspect of creativity and freedom the game creates.

    “I got Animal Crossing New Horizons literally the day it came out, I spent a solid month playing it,” McElroy said.

    McElroy enjoys games such as Animal Crossing New Horizons where you get creative freedom. The game includes terraforming, design, and the the ability to shape the overall look of an island itself while offering a bit of structure.

    “I like there is structure even after you’ve finished the game, you still have more options to continue playing,” McElroy said.

    The hype around the game centers on the relaxing and calming gameplay that students can use. Even now it’s still popular.

    “I definitely think it is still very popular, there are whole communities for designs and how to decorate your island,” McElroy said. “But I do think the hype has gone down.”

    Although not everyone who bought the game at first enjoyed it as much in the long run. Monica Vidaurre, an anthropology major at Humboldt State University, bought the game when it came out and it didn’t stick as much.

    “I decided to download it because it was the hype at the time,” Vidaurre said. “I’m always looking for something new to play and so I downloaded it and when I started playing it I thought it was really boring.”

    Vidaurre tried all the activities in the game but it just wasn’t as fun as other games she had played, although she liked the design and overall “cuteness” of the game. Once she reached the ending of the game it wasn’t the hype she thought it would be.

    “It really wasn’t for me, after playing it I regret having it,” Vidaurre said.

    Chris Lee, a wildlife major, played previous titles in the franchise and bought New Horizons the day it came out. Lee has continued to play the game and enjoys its relaxing nature and creative freedom.

    “I like how relaxing it is, it’s different from games, but it is more of something that I can escape into and work on my island and customize things the way I want,” Lee said.

    New Horizons has frequent updates which add more and bring people back to the game as well as adding aspects from the previous Animal Crossing games.

    Part of the appeal of Animal Crossing New Horizons is the connection factor, it is a friendly game where one can visit other friends’ islands and communicate. Especially in a pandemic, being able to visit friends’ worlds without risk is another fun aspect.

    “It still is popular but not to the extent when it first happened,“ Lee said. “I think a lot of people saw it as something came out for us because of quarantine and we are all able to still connect and have some sort of social aspect.”

  • New Details for Animal Crossing: New Horizons

    New Details for Animal Crossing: New Horizons

    The hype is real for the new Animal Crossing game after their recent presentation

    The first console Animal Crossing game since 2015 is less than a month away from its March 20 release date. Nintendo just announced a list of new features for the upcoming Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch.

    Animal Crossing is a series that puts you in control of a small town filled with anthropomorphic animal villagers. In this edition, you have bought the Deserted Island package, which gives you an island to build your town on. Despite being put into debt immediately by Tom Nook, the owner of the company that you bought the package from, there is no need to pay back the loan. There is no time limit or interest—pay it back whenever.

    That’s one of the main draws of the series. There is no push to play it one way or the other. Whether you want to spend your days fishing or collecting fossils, or just decorating your home, the game will never push you. You’re free to play at your own pace and relax with the other villagers that populate your town.

    On Feb. 20, Nintendo aired Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct. The press conference, given by Tom Nook, the series’ resident loan shark, was broken up into three parts. It gave a refresher of what had been shared before along with new developments that will appear in future updates to the game. It ended with a FAQ section.

    The main addition this iteration of the peaceful life simulator brings is customization.

    When you’re first put into the game, you’re told to choose from four different island layouts for your town and to choose your hemisphere. This will help accurately portray which seasons are happening in your town at their specific times. You’ll also be able to terraform your island so you aren’t limited to the exact layout you choose at the start for the whole game. You can add hills and create new rivers and waterfalls. The island will be truly yours.

    Another big addition is the ability to determine where villagers move in. In past games, villagers just moved in where they saw fit, even if it was on your flower bed or on top of your favorite apple tree. This time you get to map out exactly where villagers move in and shape your town around that.

    The game now allows eight people to live on your island at the same time—not just non-playable villagers, but your friends and family. The game even adds four-player co-op, where you and three friends can explore your island together on the same console.

    Later updates to the game will be for holidays. The first announced update, for Bunny Day in April, will be released the same time as the game, March 20.