Mila Le, Times Staff

City College Times staff member Mila Le tries her hand at the newest “Animal Crossing” version of the video game by Nintendo.

Nintendo’s “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” video game for the Switch gives people a chance to escape quarantine life and spend time on a scenic, relaxing virtual island.

It was released on March 20.

Animal Crossing first came out in 2005 on Nintendo’s GameCube system.

Since then Ninentendo has released four other Animal Crossing games, two for the DS, one for Wii and one for the 3DS, according to Fandom, a multi-platform media site.

Being a fan of Animal Crossing since I was 9 years old, I have played almost every single one.

The “Animal Crossing” world is a special one. It is one without worries, full of nature and many things to do to pass time. The graphics, scenery and music in the game has always had a very calming nature to it. In every game you start off with the introduction to your character.

Every game has a different theme, but the basis of the game usually does not change much.

In “Animal Crossing,” the player is given a house and is given a few tasks before being able to explore the rest of the island.

These tasks include reporting to Tom Nook, who is a business savvy raccoon who helps you navigate your new home, talking to neighbors and collecting fish, bugs, fossils and shells in exchange for bells, which is the currency in the game.

What makes the “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” game so special is that it brings players back to their childhood.

“Animal Crossing’s” popularity has grown after the release of the new game.

According to Venturebeat, a tech news website, it has already become the third best selling Nintendo game in the span of a month.

In this time of self-isolation, it can be very stressful not to be able to leave home or interact with people as much as we used to; but Animal Crossing has provided a new world for us to explore while being able to play online with friends that we are not able to visit right now.

With the calming and relaxing nature of the game, it is very stress relieving to play in this time where everyone feels anxious and stuck at home.

Past games easily became repetitive; but with “New Horizons,” Nintendo is able to continuously update the game. This means new features will be added in the months to come so the game will always be exciting.

Apart from “Animal Crossing’s” timely release along with the shelter-in-place order, it is an entrancing and calming video game that is not like any other.

I cannot find another game to compare it to.