If you're a fan of nerve-shredding tension, there are plenty of video games that'll get your pulse racing. Love a steep challenge? Why not test your reflexes against a rock hard shmup or grind through an intimidatingly expansive RPG? Want to give your grey matter a workout? There's no shortage of mind-bending puzzlers, and there's always Ring Fit Adventure if you want to build brawn as well as brains. Can't stand being mollycoddled? The Souls games are just the ticket, dropping you in the deep end and letting you get on with progressing inch-by-inch through the world using trial and awful lot of error.
There was one game in 2020, though, that had my heart racing faster than any other: possibly the most friendly, approachable game of the year, in fact: Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
This is not a joke or an exaggerated take I'm using to squeeze more article juice from 2020's juiciest fruit; I can say with the utmost sincerity and confidence that my most nail-biting gaming moments this year came while busily making a life for myself on Tom Nook's deserted island. And the majority of those moments occurred while engaged in that most extreme of pastimes, fishing.
Much to J.R. Hartley's dismay, I've never left a sign upon the door and gone fishing in real life. In fact, just a few years ago I couldn't have imagined anything more boring than sitting in one place for hours on end, dangling a line in a lake and hoping for a bite. Anyone who can't see the appeal of watching football (or any other sport, really) probably know the feeling. All that time and effort and you can still end up with a nil-nil draw? What's the point?!
As I've grown older, though, the idea has really grown on me. I now understand a critical truth: 99% of the time, catching a fish is not the point. You get to sit out in beautiful surroundings, get some fresh air in your lungs, enjoy your chosen vista of land and/or sea, and potentially kick back and relax with a pal and perhaps a fine beverage, too. You might even catch something. What's not to like?
if you don't see the shadow of a fish, there's no reason to cast your line at all. The moment you do, though, it's squeaky bum time.
For many of us in 2020, Animal Crossing has offered just that kind of wholesome escape from the calamity and drama of everyday life. However, there's little reason to cast a line in Animal Crossing if you're not looking to land a lunker. Whipping out your rod in New Horizons immediately ups the game's tension quota, and the abstract way the series presents fishing eliminates the unknown factor of the real deal almost entirely. If you don't see the shadow of a fish, there's no reason to cast your line at all. The moment you do, though, it's squeaky bum time.
This isn't something new with New Horizons; fishing in Animal Crossing has always been one of gaming's most intense activities for me. The mounting tension as a fish notices your lure, approaches and — eventually — drags it beneath the surface has never failed to give me sweaty palms. Will it take the bait this time? It's backing up ready for the gulp... surely it's got to be this one!... getting ready with a pre-emptive button press the momen— oh crap. Too early. It's gone.
The pressure as a fish investigates your lure — bloop... bloop... bloop...... bloop... PLOP! — can be every bit as nail-biting as the most 'hardcore' video games, especially when you've got a good idea what the fish it. The fins sticking out of the water throughout shark season signal substantial rewards (those bloody suckerfish notwithstanding), but also present a smaller window of opportunity once they pull on your line and are trickier to catch as a result. I'm one of those people who's taken to closing their eyes once a fish takes interest. Too many times have I gotten ahead of myself and mashed the button before the actual bite. It's easier to just listen for the plop.
If trying to fill my fishy Critterpedia wasn't stressful enough, there's the 'Cast Master' Nook Miles achievement for catching ten, fifty and a hundred fish in-a-row without letting one scarper. I made the huge mistake of consciously 'chasing' that particular achievement. I couldn't hack the tension and would invariably hit the button a fraction too early after spending forty-five minutes trawling my waterways, rod-in-hand.
Then there's the arduous hunt for more elusive catches. I had great luck finding the rare Golden Trout relatively quickly — the same could not be said for the Stringfish, which tool multiple hours of digging up manila clams, crafting hundreds of fish baits (hello again, RSI!) and shadow-hunting in the right spots. Night. Mare.
It wasn't just the fishing that moistened my brow; beetle-catching over the summer was similarly tense. Hunting shiny scarab beetles and prowling around palm trees only to scare the bug away with a blundered swing... ARGGGGHHHHHH!!! A visit to Lordran felt like welcome respite after umpteen trips to Nook Miles Islands hunting rare, reclusive beasties. And that's to say nothing of marauding tarantulas and scorpions. Through training, I would eventually become self-proclaimed 'Scorpion King', but it needed one hell of an investment of blood, sweat, tears and anti-venom to get there.
A visit to Lordran felt like welcome respite after umpteen trips to Nook Miles Islands hunting rare, reclusive beasties.
The appearance of the blowfish in November (and more recently the snowball-pushing dung beetle) enabled me to finally complete by Critterpedia logs. For me, it's the bookend to a remarkable nine-month journey. There's loads more to do, of course, but Animal Crossing has always been a series where you make your own ending and finding all the fish and bugs is the milestone I've always used to mark 'the end'.
It's a little saddening, but also a relief. New Horizons — for all its happy-go-lucky, chillout charm — served up my most nail-biting gaming moments of 2020, and we've hardly been lacking in anxiety and tension this year.
Hey, it is a life sim, after all.
What was your most intense gaming moment of the year? Let us know below if putting a little fishy on your little dishy caused you as much stress.
Comments 31
That week before the end of the month when you still have found that rare catch. Nightmare.
I'm at 82 or so in the Cast Master pursuit. I only go after sea bass, because I know I have a little margin for error in hooking them. And before I cast, I remind myself I will NOT press A until I hear the splash. And now I've probably jinxed myself.
"Whipping out your rod in New Horizons immediately ups the game's tension quota"
...Might wanna rephrase that.
I've got all the fossils, fish, and bugs, but I still see myself playing this game for the lifespan of the Switch. Always love just dropping in for a few minutes. I'd like to undertake some bigger projects with my town too at some point.
Too bad New Horizons doesn't contain every feature from New Leaf, therefore the game is garbage /s
I'm scared to go to sleep at night because the ghost of Mr. Resetti from games past haunts my dreams.
Me reading this article title and the article while limping my way through Doom Eternal’s Nightmare Mode:
🙄
Nope, it's definitely not the fishing that got me nervous, it's any given hour when the tarantulas/scorpions are roaming; the fear I'd accidently run into them, or mis-swing my bug net that the critters would suddenly strike, causing the villager (Shadeon) to pass out.
I'll quite happily take a more relaxing session of Darkest Dungeon (ironic, since it's a game centred on stress) over the aforementioned any day.
@westman98 I'm really starting to think that you're a troll, and not a funny one either.
J.R. Hartley .... classic tv 🙌🏻
@westman98
Love it
@HotGoomba___Rebrand
Love it
@Burning_Spear Go for the smallest fish. They are the easiest to catch.
@LinktotheFuture But with a small fish I'm risking the possibility of a quick bite. With the sea bass, I can program my brain to be patient and wait until the splash.
The hardest, most tense bit of ac is the controls, especially for building terrain. Its so hard to tell where you're going to place the cliff, and I always end up destroying rivers I wanted to expand. This would be so much better if there was a cursor to indicate the square you're aiming at, even if it was optional
@Burning_Spear Close your eyes and listen for the splash, if you're looking at the bobber you'll be anticipating the bite when the fish moves in to nibble and you can mess up, listening for the splash eliminates the visual element so you'll only respond when you hear the splash, that's what I've been doing since New Leaf to catch rare fish like sharks and such. Paying attention to the rumble on the control also works but I prefer to rely on the sound.
@Burning_Spear I use the closed eye method, so quick bites don't matter.
Hope you get your 100 fish in a row soon, whatever method you use.
I fully agree with this article. I just caught my first Stringfish the other day and let out a relieved yell!
Oddly, the Walking Stick was my most difficult bug catch. I botched one catch and it was WEEKS before I saw another. By the time I was approaching it my hands were shaking.
Fair enough, but I would think it would be the time thing Like "Oh CRAP! I only have 1 Week left to celebrate this season! I NEED TO BOOT UP AC OR ELSE I WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR" And than you are getting all stressed out about Animal Crossing of all games.
That has happened to me more times than I would like to say.
@Burning_Spear I finally got it by resting my thumb to the right of the A button. It prevented any errant twitches from cooking myself
I played ACNH for a few weeks then made a clean break with help from RE3 and then FF7. It seems to me that, intentionally or not, the most wholesome, family friendly game of the year is also built to create addiction by hooking game time and item availability to the real world clock. I can’t really articulate my point well, but I didn’t like that.
After playing online games for years and spending way too much time one one game I’ve managed to cut back on my completionist tendencies and just decide a game is done when it’s done. That’s not to say I don’t still dump tons of hours into any games, I just don’t let them drag on for more than a few weeks, and acnh is meant to be played every day, at all times of day, for at least a year.
Excuse all the commas.
@Tourtus I do that too, or I sometimes stare at something off screen. Watching the fish is bad strategy!
The Master Caster pursuit withstanding, I find this game far less chill than previous versions of the game. Far too much reliance on recipes — many not easily attained — tools breaking far too often, and some NPCs — such as Jolly Redd — not visiting often enough. It feels like so much work and obligation. There is an art to striking a balance between depth and simplicity, and I think they erred too far toward depth this time.
My big anxiety inducer is waiting for my tool to break and totally ruin my flow in the moment. I’ve stopped playing for a few months because of it.
@LatsaSpege That's how ACNH petered out for me, too. I was wholly, joyously invested in the game for months (it overtook my total hours played on BoTW and Pokemon Sword). Once you complete the major "storyline" accomplishments, all that's left is collection completion and, unlike a Pokedex, ACNH has limited-time collectibles attached to real time seasons and holidays. Miss a little bit of playtime and the pressure mounts so rapidly that playing ACNH becomes a chore, or a homework assignment, more than a game. When a game demands you make progress toward its goals on its schedule rather than your own, it becomes stressful to play.
How long have we been trying to catch that Mahi-mahi? Five weeks? Two days? Help me to recollect...
My most intense gaming moment of the year was beating the phantom theives spirit without spirits
@Chowdaire Still a no-show for me! The rare spawns are what's nail-biting actually. Still haven't caught that barreleye either, even though it's supposed to swim around everynight.
Fishing in New Horizons is easier than it was in New Leaf. The fish stay on the line just a little bit longer giving you a slightly bigger window of opportunity to reel them in, and the haptic feedback of the Joy-Cons make a distinctly different vibration when the fish takes the bait versus when he nibbles. Finally, you can use the trick that worked for me in New Leaf: close your eyes to remove the distracting and deceptive visual cues and simply listen for the unmistakable "bloop" when the bobber dips.
@Paej13 "ACNH has limited-time collectibles attached to real time seasons and holidays. Miss a little bit of playtime and the pressure mounts so rapidly that playing ACNH becomes a chore..."
Or you can just wait until next year. This whole idea that you need to obsessively grind to "beat" the game in its first year seems to take away the joy for a lot of people.
SMH... tension is fishing in stardew valley
Just finished the Cast Master! That one was a little nerve-wracking. Imagine losing it at 99 or 98. That one should be worth more than 1,000 miles. It takes time and skill.
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