As the end of the year approaches and gamers everywhere reflect on 2020, one game stands above the rest as a beacon of positivity and cozy feelings. Animal Crossing: New Horizons released what feels like eons ago but has stayed a relevant part of the gaming conversation. As winter draws in, the quirky charm and quiet warmth of Animal Crossing is sure to keep players cozy.
Even if it didn’t win Game of the Year at The Game Awards, it won the love of millions of people. But behind the happiness and cheer, the latest entry in Nintendo’s beloved franchise hides some dark secrets.
10 Participate In The Stalk Market
A symbol of capitalism in its purist form, Sow Joan’s Stalk Market is a stark reminder of the dangers of wealth. For a game that wears its adorably yarn-knit heart on its sleeve, a micro-representation of one of the most oppressive structures in modern society carries some dark implications. Players can even game the system if they want. If stock trading exists in this world, do recessions? Can the villagers in Animal Crossing experience economic distress? When examined more closely, the more complicated ideas behind this adorable form of commerce can actually be quite unnerving.
9 Destroy The Environment
As a way to make the island more personal, Nintendo has implemented systems that allow players to dramatically change the environment. Trees can be cut down, ground can be raised or lowered, waterfalls can be formed, and furniture can be crafter. But in the pursuit of gathering resources to do these things, it’s very easy to ruin the natural island life. The tree stumps and gaping holes pile up very quickly, and before players know it whole portions of their island will go from pristine to paltry.
8 Attack The Villagers
The bug net in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a very fun tool that allows players to catch bugs. However, this net can also be used to bully your villagers and other players. Swing it towards a person and it’ll give them a real bonk on the head! This hit has really no effect at all, and is more just a funny visual than anything. Though this act may be more laughably mean than actually dark, but it is still surprising that this feature was included given Nintendo’s history of non-violence with this series.
7 Communicate With The Dead
Another dark implication hiding behind a very cute facade, Wisp is a frightened little ghost on the island. They can be found during the later hours of the night in more wooded areas. Collect all of Wisp’s missing spirit pieces and the player is given a gift. But Wisp’s mere existence is cause for concern. If there is a ghost on the island, that means someone had previously died there. Is there an afterlife in the Animal Crossing universe? This is a very morbid thought for a family-friendly game.
6 Communicate With Aliens
Animal Crossing is filled with hidden Easter eggs for the player to discover. One of these occurs if the player sits in front of the TV within their home during the wee hours of the morning on Saturdays. A garbled message from an alien lifeform will be broadcast on the screen, while incredibly eerie background music plays. This event has no effect otherwise on the player, but it is still very unsettling. What could this alien be saying? Is it some kind of warning? The world will never know.
5 Make Villagers Leave
From Apple’s morning workouts to Zucker’s bashfulness, there is so much to appreciate about the various villagers the can live on the island (and to laugh at). But if players ever tire of a particular resident, there are ways to get them to move away. The easiest way to do this is to simply act as if they don’t exist.
After a while, the silent treatment will pay off and that villager will ask about moving off the island. The whole point of Animal Crossing is to live a life full of happy and friendly relationships, and this act flies in the face of that.
4 Participate In The IRL Character Trade
As previously mentioned, it’s not too difficult to get a villager to leave the island. But outside of the game world, there is a very real character trade online. People will post what villagers they have, and trade other people for some of their preferred characters. Some people even pay money! Though these are fake characters in a video game, that particular act feels especially full of guilt. All of this essentially amounts to Nintendo’s cute and family-friendly version of human trafficking. Can anyone say “yikes”?
3 Keep Potential Villagers As Pets
Now, this idea is never specifically confirmed in-game. But it’s only logical to wonder: how sentient are the animals that players can keep as pets? Each of the island residents, aside from the player character, are very distinctly animals. This then begs the question on how there can be both anthropomorphic animals and less-aware ones that act as pets. Once gamers consider this, things start to look a lot more morally ambiguous. It is hard to deny, though, that all the pets sure are pretty adorable.
2 Participate In White Collar Crime
After a certain amount of in-game time, players will periodically be visited by the shady art dealer Redd. Purchases from Redd can really beautify the island, with Greek statues and famous paintings making up his inventory. But it is possible to purchase a forgery from Redd by mistake. Needless to say, in real life the act of creating and selling forgeries can result in legal repercussions. Some of these fakes in Redd’s ship are pretty hard to spot, and these suspicious back-of-the-island dealings potentially implicate the player in an art forgery scheme. Buyers beware!
1 Create Gruesome Scenes
The flexibility in Animal Crossing’s creation tools can be a lot of fun. There are a ton of fan-made patterns ready to download right now. However, some fans have taken this to a rather creepy level. There are patterns for things such as blood splatters, crime scenes, and satanic rituals. This is a stark contrast to the game’s cutesy tone, and can be both hilarious and terrifying at the same time. Lining up horror-inspired shots has become a popular pastime with some fans, and will certainly be remembered as one of the more spooky parts of the game.
