In this hyper-cute life simulator, you are the proud owner of a deserted island getaway package and are free to create, explore, and relax. 

During the time we’ve spent with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, we’ve shared fruit with our neighbours, been meticulously designing our wildest desires, and have happily lazed on a beach somewhere far removed from our daily lives. 

Animal Crossing is the perfect getaway package for the mind, allowing you to create and explore in a low-stress environment with user-friendly systems. Everything from the meditative sound design down to the soft, rounded aesthetic is entrancing. 

Animal Crossing teaches you to set yourself small daily goals and is at its most rewarding when played in short sessions. The game moves in real-time and you will have to wait until the following day to reap some of the rewards of your daily efforts. This means that you consistently have something to look forward to and you can plan your time how you want, while seeing positive progression. 

Feel like gathering materials in the morning? Great. Fancy visiting the island museum at lunch, which is full of critters and fossils you have collected on your travels? Fantastic. Want to wind down with a trip to the island of a friend? Perfect. Feel like doing nothing at all while watching the sway of the ocean? That’s OK!

Animal Crossing helps you realise that downtime for yourself is worthwhile, no matter what you choose to do with it. If you have checked one thing off your list today, then you have achieved something! 

Your enthusiasm in Animal Crossing: New Horizons will spill over into your real-world lives and your mind will thank you for it.