Written by contributor Courtney Blanton
During the nationwide quarantine brought on by the pandemic COVID-19, Nintendo saw a huge spike in sales for their Switch and Switch Lite consoles. Being unable to interact socially with others had millions of people stuck at home and feeling boredom fairly quickly; however, the biggest accelerating factor for the company’s increased revenue was the release of the now very popular game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Along with this in-demand game, I will be breaking down a few other simulation games that I have grown to love playing on this console!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Released on March 20th 2020, this simulation game contributed to mass chaos as gamers everywhere went out seeking the Nintendo consoles and a copy of this title…myself included! Prior to purchasing this one, I really did not know much about the gameplay at all. However, rest assured because it is not that difficult to catch on; it honestly gives me fond memories of my elementary school days playing the online game Poptropica.
In the beginning of the game, you will be introduced to Tom Nook and his associates: Timmy and Tommy. They will help create your passport and during this process, the gamer will be able to customise their character and choose from four island maps; once you have completed this step, the gamer will land on the selected island and be given the opportunity to converse with neighbours, create an island name, and find out their native fruit (this is a feature that you cannot select yourself).
After the initial gameplay, the gamer will be free to roam the island collecting seashells, clumps of weeds, fruit, and other items to sell for some bells; bells are the form of currency in the game and there are endless ways of accumulating profits. The gamer will also learn how to craft a multitude of projects as their character progresses, even being able to collect new recipes from visitors during online play, message bottles found on the beaches, and from purchasing via Timmy and Tommy.
I have been playing this one for almost two months now and I’m finding it to be quite enjoyable, especially if you purchase an online membership with Nintendo.
Harvest Moon: Light of Hope (Special Edition)
To be honest, this was an unintentional purchase as I was browsing the game shelves at my local Walmart. After purchasing and bringing it home, I discovered that this is one of several games under this franchise. I have had this one about as long as ACNH and have found it to be my most played game so far!
In the beginning of the game, the gamer will find their character has been involved in a shipwreck and wound up on a town in disarray; the character has been saved by a resident of the town and has decided to take up living in the area after recovery. During the gameplay, there are several things to busy yourself with: growing crops, tending to livestock, chopping down trees, crushing rocks, picking flowers, etc!
The scenery of the game changes to correspond with the four seasons, so players will never find themselves bored of the imagery. The game also has music, although it’s not the most enjoyable, but can be disabled if the player does not want that element of distraction or hates the sound.
I have met so many characters during my amount of hours invested into this game and completed quite a few tasks, but there are still so many things to unlock in this game as common when playing simulation games like this one. If you were a fan of Facebook’s Farmville or Frontiersville, then you will probably become a fan of this one!
Stardew Valley
This game does not require too much information as it is practically the same gameplay as the Harvest Moon franchise, but with more flexibility. The player will create a farming character, select a location for the farm, and set about doing the same types of activities as the above game. The only key difference for this one is that it is pixelated in a format similar to that of Minecraft. If pixelations and farming simulations are your thing, you will enjoy this game; if you purchase and find yourself unhappy with it, this is one of the cheapest simulation games out right now so at least you can feel better about not wasting your hard earned cash.
My Time At Portia
This is the latest simulation game that I have accumulated for my console; I was previously reluctant to purchase this title, but after watching some YouTube videos involving reviews and gameplay, I decided to take the leap and buy.
Described as Stardew Valley on steroids, I can agree with that statement. The gamer will be given a house and a plot of land and set about building various equipment and tending to animals and crops similar of that to other games I’ve mentioned before this one. The key difference, however, is the game’s graphics; this one looks very realistic and more functioning than that of others in this article. I think that this would be a hit for those simulation gamers that find a lot of games for the Switch to be lacking in the graphics department.
