Animal Crossing A New Kind Of Therapy
Animal Crossing New Horizons launched at exactly the right moment in time!
Children of all ages (including most adults) have been finding new ways to adapt to the very different 2020 that everyone expected. At Life Insurance Cover we look a little bit deeper in the immersive game that is New Horizons.
What's It All About?
So for the few people who don’t already know, the potential winner of game of the year. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the latest instalment of a game in which you can create a virtual environment. You can build, move, and interact with almost everything. Nintendo have created the perfect game for almost everyone. When you begin you start off with a very basic island, the rest of it is up to you.
Animal Crossing is largely non-confrontational. It’s not about trying to take people out before they take you out (although tarantulas and scorpions may cause an unpleasant surprise). Instead of being a high adrenalin game, it’s about working together. You’re building a community and a home. Making friends, decorating your surroundings, being creative, and encouraging cultural enrichment.
How Immersive Is New Horizons?
Animal Crossing is an island of calm stability in a world of uncertain future and new challenges. It provides the satisfaction of spending time with friends (who already have a switch) when doing so in the real world isn’t advised. New Horizons has so many fun items to buy or build for your island including the moon!
Throughout New Horizons the graphics and interactions with the game allow the player to spend minutes, hours or days creating the perfect Zen garden or beach area. Rather than becoming frustrated with the limitations placed on what you can/cannot do in the real world. New Horizons allows the international travel of players without isolation.
The Therapy Of New Horizons
As with all living creatures, the need for mental health wellbeing is a primary factor for people to thrive. Throughout the last 3 months of 2020 most people in every country have had to fight feelings of anxiety, worry, stress and other issues which cause damage to mental health. This is one of the many reasons why Animal Crossings is a new kind of therapy.
By escaping to calming games like New Horizons which engages the creative and thought provoking parts of your brain. It helps to create an environment within your mind which is safe without the stress and worry of the outside world. The construct of the game is extremely clever in the way it interacts with you through different points of the day. Instead of providing a set path within the game which could cause frustration, it provides simple solutions. The mental health benefit of this is a sense of achievement on how well you play the game.
The Down Side Of New Horizons
Yes, I am afraid to report that there are a handful of downsides. The biggest downside of the game is the limitation of one island per console. Which is ok if you don’t share your switch. But if you have a family member who wants to play, it will get very expensive. The only other downsides are game based with limitations on design slots etc. Nintendo is working hard on new content and bug fixes, which over time will fix the down sides.
A Perfect Game In An Imperfect World
Players around the world have embraced New Horizons. Including support groups on Facebook, Twitter and websites to help community trading. You only have to search social media. You Tube has mountains of fun content provided by players including TRIKO and one our favourites at Life Insurance Cover TagBackTV.
Within New Horizons people can visit new islands or other player’s islands and enjoy a little togetherness from a distance. Let us know if you play the game and if it has helped you keep yourself occupied.
The Biggest Question In New Horizons
What’s the price of your turnips today?