Animal Crossing: New Horizons Aims To Be An Escape In Dark Times, Says Producer

It can hard at times not to feel like the world is falling apart right now. Society is in the process of frightening changes on just about every fundamental level of which we haven’t seen since the World Wars. The latest is, of course, the coronavirus pandemic that has shook the entire world. Many people of all walks of life are out of work, or have to work at home. Video games are one of the best escapes when you are trapped, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one releasing today, and it’s one the Producer hopes can offer a calming experience in these troubled times.

In an interview with The Verge, Hisashi Nogami talked in pained lengths about what’s going on right now with the world and the current outbreak of coronavirus. He says he’s sad to see it and comes at unfortunate and ironic timing for the game, and can only hope that New Horizons can bring some degree of happiness to players in these dark times.

“We’ve been planning this release for quite some time, so it’s unfortunate that this timing overlapped with what’s currently happening in the world,” Nogami said. “I am very disheartened and saddened by the events happening across the world. Considering the timing, we hope that a lot of the Animal Crossing fans will use this as an escape, so they can enjoy themselves during this difficult time.”

Animal Crossing has always been something of a calming virtual zen garden, and New Horizons isn’t any different. It’s gotten rave reviews so far and hopefully it will help those going stir crazy as it releases today for Nintendo Switch.