So far in the year of 2020, which this year is full of chaos, games are used as a form of  escapism. Some of these games are “Among us” made by InnerSloth, and a personal favorite “Animal Crossing New horizons” by Nintendo. 

According to InnerSloth’s official website, “Among us” was made by Forest Willard, Marcus Bromander, and Amy Liu, and was released on June 15, 2018. InnerSloth, the creators or team of among us, made the games “Henry Stickmin collection,” and “ Dig 2 China”. “ Among us” is a murder mystery type game, with the crewmates vs. the imposters.

According to InnerSloth from their official website: “One crewmate has been replaced by a parasitic shapeshifter. Their goal is to eliminate the rest of the crew before the ship reaches home.”

The imposter is the enemy in the game, which in a game you can have up to 1-3 imposters. As an imposter, your goal is to kill the crewmates who are doing tasks. Also, being able to go into the vents that are in the game to get from room to room. Being an imposter, in my opinion, is really fun. “Among us” is a deception game with a voting system to boot off who everyone thinks is an imposter. As long as the crewmates don’t get evenly numbered with the amount of imposters, the crewmates win. Along with that, a crewmate can also be wrongly voted off.

On the other hand, our team is the crewmates, who can differ in amount due to the number of imposters and players in general. InnerSloth said, “While everyone is fixing up the ship, no one can talk to maintain anonymity. Once a body is reported, the surviving crew will openly debate who they think The Impostor is.”

“Among us” has a customization feature in the game. With that being said the game feels more personalized to a person. A variety of colors and skins make it feel like your own character.

                Now “Animal Crossing New Horizons” was made by the company Nintendo and released on Mar 20, 2020, and is directed by Hisashi Nogami. The game was released for the console the “Nintendo Switch,” and is rated E for everyone. 

According to Nintendo, you can “escape to a deserted island and create your own paradise as you explore, create, and customize in the ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ game. Your island getaway has a wealth of natural resources that can be used to craft everything from tools to creature comforts. You can hunt down insects at the crack of dawn, decorate your paradise throughout the day, or enjoy sunset on the beach while fishing in the ocean. The time of day and season match real life, so each day on your island is a chance to check in and find new surprises all year round.”

The game is somewhat slow paced and relaxing, and has 4.8/5 on “GameStop.” And has ratings from the residents or known as villagers of the game.

“This place is the perfect size. Too big to see across, but too small for a sea monster to attack!” said Alfonso, a character from the game.

The game deals with using the land of an abandoned island into a home for you and your villagers or residents. You can get improvements on your house that will put you in debt to a raccoon named Tom Nook, and work with his nephews Timmy and Tommy.

From my personal experience of playing the game, I really enjoy it as a whole. The amount of customization, artwork, communication, debt, and having a museum, makes the game not too boring, but calm and fun. I enjoy building my little island community along with fishing and catching bugs. The game isn’t very extreme or stressful so I find it easier to play because of the aesthetic and easy going nature.

In all honesty, both games are fun in their own aspects. Since 2020 has made us all stay inside and miss out on physical social interaction, people have connected over these games. Video games can help people escape from reality and bond with others, so I would definitely give the games a try if you can.