Netizens are escaping to 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' to beat the quarantine blues

Is the quarantine getting you down? We don’t blame you. Isolation is bad for us; we are, after all, social animals.

And as such, netizens are turning to “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” on Nintendo Switch for relief.

The latest in a series of bestselling social simulation games, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” was released this March 20 in time to save everyone from the sheer boredom of being cooped at home 24/7.

While the global pandemic has made it difficult for fans to acquire physical copies of the game, it can be purchased digitally via the Nintendo eShop. 

The premise of “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is simple. After creating your in-game character, you move to an island where you build a community of adorable anthropomorphic animals.

How you spend your day is up to you. You can go fishing, do gardening, hunt for fossils, catch bugs, construct furniture, decorate your house, and more.

Seasons, holidays, and special events affect available activities. Time passes in real time, so if you’re playing at 7pm, it’ll be 7pm in the game, as well!

Of course, one of the most rewarding things about “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is its social aspect.

The game lets you meet and spend quality time with your neighbors. You can have only 10 villagers at a time on your island, but you can evict residents and invite new ones from a pool of around 400 characters representing a range of species — dogs, cats, penguins, frogs, alligators, you name it.

There's local and online multiplayer too, allowing players to live on the same island, visit various islands together, and even send letters and gifts to one another. So if you miss your real-life buddies but can’t go out to meet them, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is a great way to hang out with everyone in a virtual paradise.

“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is already a huge hit with netizens all over the world, with many turning to social media to share the fun they’ve been having.

Here are what some of our fellow Filipinos have been tweeting about “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”

 — LA, GMA News