There are no troubles in this island paradise

ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS Publisher: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo Switch ★★★★ 1⁄2

If you have a severe case of wanderlust after being confined to your house for almost four weeks, escape into Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

The latest in the long-running Nintendo franchise is packed with all the charm and addictive gameplay you’d expect from the home of Mario, Donkey Kong and Wii Sports. But where those titles are competitive, Animal Crossing is a different beast entirely.

It puts you on an idyllic deserted island and tasks you with, well, not much. Instead you’re encouraged to live your best life among the anthropomorphic inhabitants. If you keep the weeds cleared, the animal citizens happy and create a desirable tropical paradise, more animals will visit and plant roots. If you don’t, you’ll wake up one day to find everyone has moved on.

On paper, it sounds incredibly boring. The game sees you weeding, gardening, harvesting, fishing, catching bugs and digging for fossils. None of which is particularly demanding. You can talk to your fellow islanders, who may or may not task you with something to do. And you craft items to decorate your house or sell for cold hard bells, the game’s currency.

You need bells to pay off your house. However, unlike in real life, the game’s mortgage broker, Tom Nook, offers interest-free terms. The only reason to pay him off is to access bigger and better homes. You don’t need to do this. But you will want to do this.

And that’s, basically, the game. There’s a little more to it, but essentially you run around a small island doing menial tasks in order to raise funds to fill your house. It may be a little close to home for some . . .

But Animal Crossing is an almost meditative experience, perfect for these trying times. You can dip your toes in for 20 minutes or tootle around for a couple of hours and either way still feel as though you accomplished something.

Its wafting music is super-chill, its pastel graphics ooze charm and it constantly pings your brain’s pleasure centre; You caught a fish! You found a fossil! You got a new hat! It’s relaxing and rewarding, which makes for a potent combo.

It shouldn’t work, it shouldn’t be this much fun, but every single time I play I’m completely absorbed into its gentle and cartoonish world.

Animal Crossing gives you an island paradise you’ll be escaping to long after lockdown has ended.