Gaming

Ranking My Animal Crossing Islanders

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Two Animal Crossing posts in a row? On my blog? It’s more likely than you think.

I have finally managed to get my full dream team together on Luna, my lil Animal Crossing island. I feel like it has taken me way longer than other people to get my AC island sorted, in part because I started later and in part because I am well lazy. I am still paving the damn place and I owe Tom Nook a lot of money still (a situation which is not wildly dissimilar from my actual life, in which I need to sort out my yard and pay off my mortgage). Despite this, I have managed to get ten amazing islanders, and I love them all.

Some people are Team Dom, Team Marshall or Team Raymond, but I do not care for these popular cuties. Instead, please find my ranked list of my islanders, and know that I love them all- just not equally, otherwise it wouldn’t be ranked.

10. Olaf

I can’t explain what I like about Olaf. He dresses a bit like a bullfighter, and he is fairly strange to look at. He is haughty and really stands out as different from the general vibe of the island. His hairstyle is great, though. He looks hilarious in glasses, too.

9. Norma

She frequently gives me gifts and has a real ‘drunk aunt at the party’ vibe I’m all about. A bit weird, but always nice.

8. Gonzo

This old man is constantly complaining about being old and looks amazing in a variety of hats. I like to imagine he brings some much-needed maturity to the island. I think Mint has a bit of a crush on him, too, so he’s clearly the George Clooney of Luna.

7. Al

Al is, without a doubt, the islander I have who is most hated by other players. I have seen him on several lists of the worst characters, and I think that, although he is strange looking and has strange banter, he is indeed sort of charming.

6. Pietro

This lad. What is his whole thing? Why does he dress like this? I love him.

5. Ketchup

This absolute babe looks inexplicably like an adorable tomato. Absolute cutie. That fringe would look dreadful on anyone else and you know it.

4. Molly

Absolute queen- she is adorable and loves to read. We stan a literate cutie. Her whole vibe is very cottagecore and I am here for it.

3. Mint

Not going to lie, I think Mint is a bit of a Karen. She has started calling me ‘hun’ which only cements my theory. That said, she is always very pleasant to me (although I imagine she often goes to complain to Tom Nook) and frequently wears the clothes I give her.

2. Muffy

This goth sheep is absolute goals. Her whole look is iconic and she is a friendly queen. I don’t know if I want to be her friend or if I just want to be her.

  1. Peanut

The ultimate. The pinnacle. The angel. Peanut is always delighted, always delightful and exceedingly cute. I love her so much. I want her zest for life injected into my veins.

Rejected: My Animal Crossing Islanders Who Didn’t Make The Cut

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Not all islanders in Animal Crossing: New Horizons are made equal. Some are adorable, delightful little critters who fill your heart with joy and love. Some are… well… some are more like this little thing:

Hazel, girl, those eyebrows are not on fleek

Three of my islanders have sadly moved onto better (or at least different) pastures after more cute ones offered to take their places. Sorry, guys.

Jitters

Of my three casualties, Jitters is the one I feel most guilty about. A fairly sweet and kind fellow, but his eyes… I mean, this kid has clearly seen some stuff. 3/10, cannot stand to look into the void every time I make eye contact with the guy living in the house next to me.

Rocket

Fairly sweet and pleasant, but also just terrifying. What is this look? Why is she wearing goggles? What is she planning? 2/10 for being sinister.

Rocco

This guy would kill me, 100%. He lived in a sort of factory, was constantly miserable and definitely had murder in his eyes. -10/10, literally the worst.

Games I Am Most Excited About From The PS5 Reveal Event

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I love E3. I really am missing it this year; obviously, it makes total sense that it isn’t running what with, well, everything, but I love staying up until weird times making lists of all the games I am going to be excited about in the next year or two. Luckily, most of the big names are still showing some stuff, and the PS5 event the other day was very exciting. Here are the games I am most excited about.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

The first Spider-Man game is one of the best games ever. (Don’t @ me.) It is so satisfying to swing around as Spider-Man, the writing is great and the voice acting is wonderful. I think the Peter Parker in the game is one of my favourite incarnations of the character ever, so I am beyond excited to see more of Miles in this game. I can’t wait to get my hands on this.

Hitman 3

The purpose of Hitman is to stealthily and cleverly murder your targets, not to run around blindly shooting at everyone and causing carnage, although the latter is the strategy I favour. I love watching people play the game properly and it’s such a clever game. I am excited for more of this. (Apparently this is the conclusion of a 3-game story arc, but if people are playing it for the story, they’re playing it very differently to how I do.)

Resident Evil: Village

I’m too much of a chicken to play Resi myself. (Yeah, I should be ashamed, but I’m not.) However, I do love watching other people play them. The story in Resident Evil is absolutely crackers and I like the creepy vibe of the new game, so I look forward to watching people stream it on Twitch.

Goodbye Volcano High

No idea what this one is- there’s like a hipster furry teen vibe in the trailer. I love the art style, though, and it looks very interesting. The music in the trailer was gorgeous, too. I have no idea what to expect, but I’m intrigued.

First Impressions: Later Daters

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Later Daters has been on my radar for a while. In fact, I’ve had it on my Switch wishlist for a bit. The game isn’t finished yet, which was partly the reason why I hadn’t gone for it, but also I’ve got a million games half-finished.

I had £3.50 worth of points on Nintendo after buying Animal Crossing (also, can we talk about how this system slaps? Nintendo games tend to be expensive but I love having money off other games) which was about half the price of Later Daters. So, I finally bought it.

The first thing that struck me about Later Daters is the ridiculously catchy theme song. It has been stuck in my head for two days, and it is a banger.

The game is a dating sim in which you play as an older person moving to sheltered accommodation. There are three looks you can choose from, and you can name your old person. You can also choose their backstory.

What is amazing about Later Daters is how inclusive it is; the characters have a range of races, gender identities and sexualities; there is representation of an HIV positive character and polyamory. So far, all of the characters I have encountered have been positive about this (although bigoted views of other people have been referenced). There is something very pleasant and nice about bumbling about with these open-minded old people.

The writing is zesty and fun, and the characters are rich and entertaining. So far, I’ve managed to get several people to go on a date with Cynthia, my character, and I’m absolutely looking forward to whatever happens next. I’d definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes dating sims.

First Impressions: Animal Crossing: New Horizons

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My sister has been obsessed with Animal Crossing for years. She played New Leaf to death on the 3DS. I never really saw the appeal. I can’t explain why; I think maybe the slightly creepy animal pals weren’t doing it for me. It was something I was aware of- people are obsessed with Animal Crossing, but it had largely stayed out of my radar.

I’ve had a Switch since launch, pretty much. I have my other consoles and my PC for the more shooty games, and my Switch is largely used for Mario Kart and Stardew Valley. The latter was something I also really struggled to get into, but I am now sinking serious time into my little pixel farm.

When my sister got her Switch a couple of weeks ago, it was with the express intention of playing the new Animal Crossing. Needless to say, she nagged me into buying it, which I reluctantly did (can we talk about how new video games are £50?! I need to build up mentally to that sort of purchase).

Anyway, I am now obsessed.

I still don’t quite know what I’m doing- I’m bumbling around my little island, Luna, hitting trees until logs fall out and occasionally getting stung in the eye by wasps. Tom Nook seems to be running some sort of dodgy tax haven and I’m joined in my tropical paradise by a gorilla wearing a pink tracksuit and a bird that is obsessed with exercise (at least I think it’s a bird).

What is the point of Animal Crossing? I don’t really know. It might be to make beautiful houses; I keep seeing people’s gorgeous abodes on Twitter, but mine is currently a shed filled with pairs of shoes and cardboard boxes. It might be to fish, but honestly, that mini game is fun in exactly zero percent of video games. I think it might have something to do with a dog who is a musician.

What matters, I suppose, is that the game is soothing and fun. I like having a tiny quest (collect 30 bits of wood! Craft a fishing rod! Pick a place to build this shop!) and feeling able to accomplish it. The game is satisfying in a small, solid way.

Right now, my island is chaos, but I’m having an excellent time.

Video Game Review: Until Dawn

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If you play a lot of games and own a PS4, PS Now is a great investment. There are loads of interesting games on there that I probably wouldn’t otherwise pay for, but get to try as part of my subscription to the service.

Until Dawn was one such game. I love horror films- I collect B movies and consider myself a huge fan of the genre- but I cannot cope with horror games. They freak me out too much. I managed to painstakingly limp my way through the Resident Evil REMake and Resident Evil Zero a few years back, but beyond that, anything even vaguely scary is beyond my ability to deal with.

I had been aware of Until Dawn for some time; I love a choice-based, heavy narrative game. Until Dawn is a wonderful homage to a genre I adore. However, my intense fear of horror games put me off paying for it.

The game itself has multiple protagonists: various teenage stereotypes who have that occasionally clunky feel of having been written by adults who don’t really get teenagers. They are also all terrible and I despised them all at the beginning. I couldn’t wait for them to start dying. After a couple of hours of trying to steer the dafties away from danger, however, I was rooting for their survival.

Keeping them alive is easier said than done- they can all die, and seemingly arbitrary choices can mean the difference between life and death for these pixelated cliches. (I kept all of them alive, miraculously, and there was a real satisfaction in that.)

The story itself is sort of predictable, but pleasantly twisty and interesting. It moves along at a steady pace and changes things up often enough to stave off boredom. It’s a relatively short game, too.

Is it terrifying? Yes, it is. There are millions of jump scares in it. (Slight hyperbole.) If you have been avoiding it because it seems frightening, then probably keep avoiding it. For me, it was charming and funny enough to get me through the absolute horror of some (frankly very cheap) jump scares.

The game feels very “Telltale”- it’s that narrative based adventure style where you “do” relatively little. There are a whole bunch of quick time events here. I don’t hate them, but I know a lot of people do. The choices feel meaningful and there are a bunch of interesting clues to collect about the lore and history of the spooky mountain setting.

I’d recommend this one, especially if you play it with company.

Games to play when everything is dreadful

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As we all know, everything is dreadful at the moment. Here is a list of my favourite games to play for escapism- most of them are chill and restful, but there are some absurd, escapist titles too.

Stardew Valley

This is probably the most recommended game for times when people need to forget their troubles and escape into a soothing, low-stress game- for good reason. There is nothing more satisfying then seeing your little pixelated farm grow. I have named my chickens after Shakespearean heroines and I feel immense joy every time my farmer self goes to hang out with them.

The Sims

I personally have The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, but any of the Sims games provide a fantastic escape from reality. I like to create my own little world and lose myself in the narrative I’ve made, but there are many ways to play The Sims, including burning them all to death or building a pool then deleting the ladder. Whatever gets you through- this is a judgment-free zone!

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Obviously, everyone is abuzz about the new Animal Crossing game, but I wanted to include something that is free. Pocket Camp can be played on your phone and is adorable and highly soothing.

The Witcher 3

Hear me out on this one, okay? Yes, The Witcher 3 is about slaughtering scary and gruesome monsters who frequently want to bite your face off. However, there is something very freeing about becoming Geralt, an all-powerful grump who is capable of slashing his way through any foe. The world is immersive and beautiful, and the narrative is complex and engaging.

Planet Coaster

As the world enters lockdown, and going to enjoy things like theme parks becomes impossible, why not create your own digital version? I think simulation games are perfect in times like these; you can be in charge of your own slice of pixelated existence and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing your vision come to life before your very eyes.

Keep safe, everyone!

Board Game Review: Unlock 3! Secret Adventures

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I keep meaning to play more board games. Although I love them, I feel like there are many big, popular games I have not played. This is not one of those games; in fact, this is a game I have never heard of before.

The game basically takes the popular ‘escape room’ format and applies it to a card game- with surprisingly successful results.

There are three games in the box, plus a tutorial level. It’s worth saying first, I think, that there is absolutely no replay value here at all. Absolutely zero. Once you have solved these puzzles, I can’t possibly imagine why you’d go back and do it again while knowing all the answers. With that in mind, I’d recommend borrowing this game (from a library, perhaps) rather than buying it. It seems to be going for just over £20, and I think I’d resent paying that much for it. That said, it is fairly excellent fun, so perhaps worth the splurge.

The stories are Noside Story, Tombstone Express and Adventurers of Oz. All three are quite different in terms of tone and narrative; Noside Story is a fairly wacky mad scientist story, Tombstone Express is a western locomotive mystery and Adventurers of Oz is a puzzling retelling of the Wizard of Oz story.

All three follow the same core mechanics; you use the cards and have to find clues and solve puzzles. The cards themselves are beautiful and very well-designed. Tombstone Express also had a bizarre shooting mini game where you threw bullets at cards, which did not quite work. Adventurers of Oz was by far the most puzzle-heavy, and also the most satisfying.

This was a fun, collaborative game. I played with one other person, but I imagine it would be delightful with a bigger group. You can also play alone, and I think that would be fine, although I feel talking it through and sharing in the satisfaction of solving the puzzles is probably better.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and will be keeping an eye out for the other games in the series.

Rating: 4/5