Animal Crossing Coming In Clutch
It's been one month since Animal Crossing New Horizons came out and honestly it's probably going to quickly rise the ranks to being one of our favorite games of all time. In fact, this game has been a beacon of hope, joy and entertainment in the most uncertain times of our lives because of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
Having never played an Animal Crossing game before, we've gone through some mixed feelings these past few weeks as we've played. Some were due to the game and others were due to what's happening in the real world away from our tropical paradise that is Glob Isle (the name we gave our humble but growing island in Animal Crossing).
Not going to lie, as small business owners, gamers, streamers, content creators, artists, foodies, and ultimately as humans on this Earth - we've really struggled these past few weeks as we know a lot of others around the world have too. We also realize how privileged we are to have a roof above our heads, food in our home, technology to stay connected, the ability to work from home, video games for entertainment, and so much more that millions across the globe don't have right now or even had to begin with even before this pandemic.
It almost makes you wonder and wish if everyone could have their own little island and start off in society the same equal way from day one. Of course, that would be unrealistic, and if Animal Crossing has taught us anything it's that we rely on other islands, villagers, friends and leaders of all kinds to help our society flourish. The same applies to real life. Different societies have unique resources, types of people from all walks of life with different beliefs, and a wide range of leaders with different expertise. We can only hope they aren't as sinister as the sociopath that is Tom Nook. Although, since he's in a video game, it's easy to love to hate him, but not as easy with other leaders in real life. Behind that fluffy exterior lies a skeevy underhanded greedy salesmen - he's just really good at hiding it.
With all the chaos, we can't even begin to imagine how others are handling everything going on but it's important now more than ever to know that what you are going through and how you feel matters. It's not a contest of who has it better or worse. This virus doesn't judge who it's going to infect based on race, religion, income, nationality or any other demographic. As humans, we're all at risk in some form or fashion if we don't work together and do our part.
For most of us, it's as simple as self-isolating and slowing down the spread that way, but for others on the front lines or a part of essential services, it's a whole other story. We have family members and friends from all over that have shared some horrific insights from the front lines that honestly terrify us. We check Twitter all too often and see mostly sad news about deaths, updates, and more uncertainty that upsets and angers us. But we strongly believe that in times of tragedy, we can all find hope and peace through sharing our words, our favorite moments in gaming, our favorite food pics, and whatever else brings a smile to someone else's face and that's why we will keep sharing and creating.
We hope those of you who follow our live streams on YouTube have been enjoying the influx of Bonus Streams we've started to have on our channel largely due to Animal Crossing New Horizons. Playing with you all has been a joy all around and we are so thankful to be able to have this privilege.
In fact other than somber news, our Twitter feeds are also filled with highlights, screenshots, and other media content surrounding this beautiful game. It brings a smile to our face like no other and sometimes we wish we could just pause time and immerse ourselves into the game.
There's so much to do socially in a time where physical distancing from our friends and family is a must for our health and safety. Animal Crossing, for us, helps to fill that need to be around others. It's essentially the new "hang out" for us and our group of friends - those that do have it. If only we could do more together in-game. However, that last point is on Nintendo. Our fingers are crossed for a more robust and complete experience when playing with others. As it stands, there's a lot you actually can't do from like organizing your furniture or island beyond chopping, fishing, and catching. So we find ourselves at a crossroads when it comes to streaming Animal Crossing.
On one hand, it's great to be able to play with everyone in our community, even if both of us can't do that together at the same time. On the other, we can't help but try and resist the urge for making big strides in how we want to beautify our island. Doing that is actually something we can do together but NOT with other people visiting our island via online play. If this sounds confusing and backwards in this day and age of ultra-connectivity, it's because it is. When we mentioned it was on Nintendo, we meant it. So Nintendo, please let us play more of this wholesome game! Oh, and while you're at it, let us make items in bulk (seriously)!
Another thing that really grinds our gears is when someone is joining or leaving our island. In this case, you have to wait what feels like several minutes in between. As in, the game will pause for everyone currently on the island and we all get to watch a glorified loading screen of someone "on the way." It makes us want to pull our hair out. Oh, and when someone disconnects by accident, there's no telling who is going to make it through to the other side as it seems to be random how many people actually get forced out. As you can imagine, it's pretty freaking disruptive to an otherwise chill time playing a video game with friends and fans alike and even more so during a live stream. This is probably the biggest gripe we have with the game since it brings the experience to a screeching halt.
There are a lot of smaller quality of life changes we would want to see implemented into the game like skipping dialogue or bulk crafting we mentioned earlier but this one takes the cake in terms of 'top things we want to see changed!' unfortunately, Nintendo isn't super great at anything online related and we don't see this changing any time soon if ever. Despite them having already patched the game 4 TIMES since launch, when it comes to online, we're not holding our breath outside maybe less disconnecting.
In the mean time, some of you made an excellent suggestion during our last bonus stream. The suggestion was that we can play the first half of the stream together, just the two of us, and then the second half of stream we can open our island up to everyone. That is a stellar idea! Seriously, top tier idea right there. While it can be exciting to be a part of a live stream for all to see, this is something we found selfless among our community. We are so humbled by the sheer thought of wanting us to be able to play together even if that means they themselves cannot play with us during that time. Of course, in an ideal world, we'd all be able to play together on one island regardless if one or both of us are actively playing.
Don't get us wrong, Animal Crossing New Horizons is a great game and we've enjoyed it immensely. There are a few spots where it could improve on and a quirk or two where it could really use some help. As we all weather this pandemic storm, we hope you all find your own equivalent of Animal Crossing if you don't have the actual game. Something that has also been praised by our community is the free phone app "Animal Crossing Pocket Camp." While we ourselves haven't played it, we hear it’s a great way to get in on all the hype and scratch that Animal Crossing itch many of us deal with every day. Here's to hoping that Animal Crossing continues to deliver a fun and wholesome experience during these hard times!
An on-going playlist of all of our Animal Crossing New Horizons streams can be found on YouTube in the following playlist below.
