once upon a time he wouldnt have played this game. once upon a time, he never had played this game, or its predecessors.
but now, after stressing, after being shot down again and again; maybe a game like this wasnt too bad an option. maybe this - the calm repetitive motions of swinging a net or digging with a shovel and selling things to make fake currency to decorate his island - maybe thats just what he needs.
because the game is easy to get lost in. its easy to find yourself in a easy going loop of routine, one that maybe he needs a bit more during this time. its so easy, in fact, to catch to sell those catches, to water some flowers, and build homes and bridges for easy access of the rest of the island.
something about picking up all the weeds, branches, and shells on his islands floor makes him feel good. like hes acomplished something. there was a goal and he got to it and beat it over the head with the leaf umbrellas he spent twenty minutes crafting so he could sell them for more money.
he catches and sells too many sea bass and gets kocked out by a fucking spider of all things at 9pm when he runs behind a house and apparently runs right into it.
but its fine. he sold what he hopes and imagines was its family to the nook brothers for a whopping ammount of bells. take that you furry fuck.
the miles he spends hours grinding for takes two seconds to shove down the drain when he buys tickets for other islands. theres something really nice about completely destroying the island he goes to, taking it apart completely and then spending time winding down by fishing to fill up the rest of his inventory.
going home and putting it all in his houses storage is a new kind of feeling. to see the accumilation of the things hes gotten and then taking things that had more than three piles back out to sell. seeing the money he takes from the nook kids and shoving it into the bank is its own reward. a reward quickly used up when he upgrades his house again. which, in itself, actually feels pretty fucking good to do.
to see his house go from a fucking ugly ass tent to what it is? he fucking gets off on that. its the best fucking feeling, and it gives him something that he cant get after hes gotten pissed at a game during a stream. when hes too angry to sit still at his desk and focus on editing something he isnt proud of in the first place.
he goes in, makes money, hits some villagers with some presents, and fucking grinds in a world that you cant loose in. that lets you play your own pace and gives you everything you need to win. and you 'win' multiple times in the game. every mile you get, every bell you make. the big goal of paying off a loan, or holding a ceremony for a new bridge or something.
unless, of course, you have to be messenger for a villager. you open the package on accident and they fucking guilt you to hell. kryoz has never felt more bad about opening something on accident than he did in that moment. but its whatever. they got over it, and he totally doesnt remember it at all. ever. never. No.
but the game sets you up to win, albeit with some minor difficulty via time consuming tasks that can sometimes be frustrating, and kryoz needed that. needs that.
animal crossing new horizons is kryozs first animal crossing game, and it isnt too bad.
