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At my school we do this thing called one pagers, basically you write an essay that cant go over one page. here are a few Animal Crossing: New Horizons Video games have been around since the early 1970s, and have grown in popularity in recent years. From Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers to Legend of Zelda, the world of virtual gaming is endlessly vast. Most games require attention and precision to win levels and advance. But what if you’ve had a long day, and don’t want to exhaust the effort of fighting dragons or save the world? What if you crave alternative entertainment, a virtual getaway? Introducing Animal Crossing. An open-world, slow-paced, sandbox game. First released in 2001 for the Nintendo 64 gaming console, it has been capturing the hearts of players for more than 22 years. Later editions only grew in popularity until Animal Crossing: New Horizons released for the Nintendo Switch in 2020, just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when most of the population was isolated. It offered a sense of control at a time when there was none. As a result, it is the best-selling game in the Animal Crossing franchise, the second best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch, and the 14th best-selling video game in history. So what makes this video game so appealing to everyone? New Horizons begins with two charming raccoon characters, Timmy and Tommy, congratulating you on booking a flight to a near-deserted island. You create your character, choose your name and timezone, and you’re off. You arrive on the island with two randomly generated animal characters, or villagers. Along with two villagers arrives Tom Nook, the boss of Timmy and Tommy, who has sold you the ‘Getaway Package,’ as he calls it. You unfortunately have no money to pay him, so you must pay off your debt by selling things you find on the island. The game is filled with thousands of creatures to discover and tons of opportunities to be explored. Animal Crossing is objectively one of the most engaging and creative games out there, so give it a look! /// The Landlady: Continued An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of Billy’s stomach. Those names, Mulholland and Temple, must have been in the paper. Where else would he have learnt them? He sipped his tea, which now had an unpleasant sour taste in his mouth. “What do you mean they’re ‘still here?’” Billy asked tentatively. The foreboding aura of the landlady grew stronger by the minute. The sickly-sweet stench of her perfume- was that perfume?- stung his nostrils. His host chuckled gently, sipping her own tea. “Well, my dear, I simply couldn’t bear to allow those handsome young men to leave me so soon. Thankfully, they changed their minds! How wonderfully considerate of them, don’t you agree?” She smiled charmingly. “Would you care to meet them?” Billy pursed his lips, placing his teacup back on the silver tray. “I, uh, I’m quite alright. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I didn’t happen to catch your name. What did you say it was?” The woman’s sneer grew bigger, much too overjoyed for Billy’s liking. “Datura Oleander. It is quite long, I don’t expect many guests to remember it. Of course, my name is of no importance to you, dear. More tea?” Billy declined. This woman seemed a bit menacing, in his opinion. “Actually, I really must get going. Thank you for your, er, hospitality, Mrs. Oleander.” As he turned to get up, a sharp stab of pain shot down his forearm. He whipped around, seeing the landlady’s sharp painted red nails digging into his flesh, pulling him back down on the sofa. Her claw-like fingers felt remarkably cold, raising goosebumps on the man’s fair skin. Alarms of panic consumed his thoughts as Mrs. Oleander’s well-worn grin grew impossibly wide, her jaws unhinging like a snake about to devour a defenseless mouse. The cloying scent of perfume and something like cleaning bleach grew unbearable as his head spun. “Oh, dear. Why don’t you stay, just a little longer?” ///