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Anyone who reaches into the digital or real game shelf today can look forward to a wide selection: Some adventures take us thousands of years into the past, others send us into the post-apocalypse of a distant future.
We manage empires, take care of virtual children, resolve conflicts or compete with other players in competitions.
However, some titles focus on the basic idea of gaming: just having fun.
Five of them do it particularly well.
And that is exactly what makes these games an enrichment for everyday life amid a pandemic.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Having Fun With Friends
"Animal Crossing: New Horizons" was released in 2020 at the beginning of the corona pandemic and quickly became the favorite game of millions of people worldwide.
The game idea hits the nerve of the players who have been mainly at home for days, weeks or months: As new islanders, they can beautify, manage and furnish their new idyllic home at their own discretion.
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Fields need to be laid out, living rooms need to be furnished and fruit trees need to be shaken.
Those who want can also visit their friends on their islands, leave them small gifts or help with the harvest.
So the next sense of achievement is never long in coming.
No orc attacks or natural disasters: In "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" fields need to be laid out, living rooms furnished and fruit trees shaken
Source: dpa-tmn
Worth playing because:
"Animal Crossing" is bursting with idyllic island fun, which soothes wanderlust - and is therefore the ideal, carefree activity at home, especially in these times.
"Rayman Legends": Adventure with rhythm
The jump 'n' run “Rayman Legends” is also colorful and lighthearted.
Here, players are always in a good mood and jump through imaginative landscapes to free their friends from the hands of an evil magician.
The journey leads through castles, underground caverns and into the deepest jungle.
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The design of the levels in particular puts a smile on your face.
Each area is designed with great attention to detail and is accompanied by a thematically appropriate soundtrack that hardly lets a hip stand still.
If you want, you can also hand a controller to up to four friends or family members and jump together with them in front of the television.
Every level in "Rayman Legends" is unique and surprising
Source: dpa-tmn
Worth playing because:
"Rayman Legends" is bursting with childlike joy and humor.
It is fun to jump nimbly through the increasingly demanding levels without having to worry too much about a winding story.
"The Sims 4": The great classic
The "The Sims" series has been simulating everyday interaction (including pets) for 21 years.
The latest part "The Sims 4" does the same thing: Players can build houses, furnish rooms or start life with their Sims directly.
They can choose careers, advance in their jobs, have children, have relationships, organize birthday parties - there are few limits.
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And that's exactly where the fun comes from: "The Sims 4" allows you to live a life alongside real life and try out things that are actually not possible.
The digital burger grill party with a whole virtual neighborhood turns out to be a nice way to compensate for a rather uneventful everyday life in the middle of the pandemic.
Fancy a yoga class?
Can you make your characters in "The Sims" easy.
But you could also help father and daughter to extinguish the kitchen
Source: dpa-tmn
Worth playing because:
"The Sims 4" continues the formula for success that excited people more than 20 years ago.
An everyday simulation that hides annoying duties such as tax returns and offers space for many experiments and nice moments.
“Untitled Goose Game”: A goose on the wrong track
“Untitled Goose Game” is perhaps the best prank simulator out there.
As a cheeky goose, players sneak through lovingly designed farms, fields, meadows and village squares.
The goal: to really annoy the people there.
Sometimes the farmer's glasses land in the pond, sometimes the father's newspaper disappears in the mouth of the running goose.
But of course it's about more than just the pranks: Everyone carries an item with them that players need to unlock the next level.
But to get to that is the big challenge, which in this lighthearted game does not frustrate in a minute.
What will the goose be up to next?
"Untitled Goose Game" lets players play jokes and also tells the story of the goose
Source: dpa-tmn
Worth playing because:
“Untitled Goose Game” lets us play harmless pranks that don't really hurt anyone, but are a lot of fun for us.
That alone is enough for many hours of fun - if you want, you can also follow the tasks of the game and experience the story of the eponymous goose.
"Yoshi's Crafted World": Crafts as a game world
"Yoshi's Crafted World" sends the famous friendly lizard into a really special world that looks like it has been handcrafted: Cardboard boxes, paper figures and plush obstacles line up and create a magical world that seems made for children, but actually for adults is intended.
Because behind the unique appearance hides a very demanding jumping game that demands a lot of skill from “Super Mario's” buddy Yoshi and the players.
But persistence is worth it, because if you stay on the ball, you will always discover new hand-made levels.
Hardly any other game has it in this form.
A challenge in terms of coordination and also great fun.
"Yoshi's Crafted World" is a colorful adventure
Source: dpa-tmn
Worth playing because: "Yoshi's Crafted World" offers a downright unique game world that calls for art lessons and handicrafts in the family. It could hardly be more beautiful.
Xbox Series X or Playstation 5 is also a matter of belief
In times of the corona pandemic, many leisure activities are restricted.
What is possible, however, are video games.
And the gaming industry benefits from this.
In addition, the manufacturers bring their new consoles onto the market.
Source: WORLD / Philipp Reichelt