There’s two sentences I bet you’d never see in your life.
Despite everyone staying indoors, romance still has a place in the world.
As hundreds of people flock to dating app Tinder to try and meet new “friends”, they are instantly met with a crushing problem. And I don’t just mean the fact that they actually have to try and come across as being interesting.
What on Earth do they do when it comes to that intrepid first date?
Thankfully, somebody has (an) answer: Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
As reported by Polygon, several Tinder users/Animal Crossing players have taken to some New Horizons (sorry) to try and meet “the one”.
Sam’s Story
One user, “Sam“, noted how her Tinder-Crossing date was marked with blatant cheating and a generous donation.
The island Sam found herself on for said date was apparently 12 hours and seven days ahead of her own island – a practice obviously called time-travelling. Sam’s date took her on a tour of his island and showed off some of his finer features (a lush garden, etc). Her date also “dropped a bag of 63,000 Bells and told [Sam] to pay of my debt with it”.
However, as is so often the case in this world, generosity was no guarantee of a second date.
Sam noted about the horrors and hardships of modern dating, saying:
“Super pure interaction. Totally ghosting him though. Sorry, man!”
Apparently, adding New Horizons to a users Tinder profile has seen a slight uptick in matches. Apparently, it’s a popular game. Who’d have thought?
Another user and streamer, Carlos, noted how Animal Crossing is actually a good way to fit into the dating world:
“I don’t think people want someone who is so uptight looking for love. Instead, it’s easier to open up with a conversation about native fruit, which is a great excuse to schedule an in-game visit. Not only does fruit originating from other islands sell for a premium you also get an achievement and Nook Miles for collecting all the comestibles”.
Love Spreads Around
As somebody who has been on a Tinder “date” (TL;DR, she stood me up. I’m not bitter about it at all. Nope. Not one bit. Honest.), I can attest to the overwhelming difficulty a virtual “relationship” can bring to the table when it comes to that dreaded first date.
As such, an Animal Crossing first date would take a lot of the aggro and potential hurt out of the equation. You get to meet somebody in this pure setting that you both enjoy, and, even if it leads nowhere, you don’t lose anything afterwards.
But, on the flip-side, if it does go well enough to secure that elusive first date, New Horizons can still prove fruitful. Each island has been customised by its owner.
Therefore, each new location is a reflection on the person who’s game file it belongs to. Which, in itself, can be just as telling as what your real-life room is like, if not more so
And, hey, it can’t be any worse than being stood up on the riverbanks of Chester on a busy Tuesday evening with a picnic basket and food you’d spend a good two hours preparing beforehand. Again, not bitter.
Have you had an Animal Crossing Tinder date during quarantine? Would you like to have a potential feature written about your experience? Let us know in the comments section below.
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ABG’s Senior Editor (News), YouTube content creator/streamer.