For now, we still have our islands we can return to for some nostalgic joy. Due to everything that has happened since the pandemic started and “ended,” Animal Crossing: New Horizons does feel older than it actually is. Even if it was 100 years old, though, there is always a simple charm to these games that keeps them engaging.

Nintendo hasn’t said a thing about the future of the franchise, aside from the closure of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and the release of its Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete version. New Horizons hasn’t gotten a major update since 2021 and the Happy Home Paradise DLC and its subsequent free update.

Yep, on 20th March 2020, Nintendo finally unleashed the latest entry in the Animal Crossing series on the world. The series had, historically, put up pretty decent sales numbers — both New Leaf and Wild World are in the top 10 best-selling titles for the 3DS and DS respectively — but New Horizons eclipsed all of that.

Though wildly successful, New Horizons files down the edges of Animal Crossing’s design, thereby removing many of its pleasures.

As the world started to spin apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other terrible things happening simultaneously in the U.S., solace took an unexpected form for many gamers: Animal Crossing: New Horizons,

New Horizons player shares the impressive island design they've dreamed up, turning their island into a Medieval town.