Animal Crossing: New Horizons villagers are becoming self-aware and questioning their own reality

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Are we all just in the Matrix?

(Image credit: Nintendo via Reddit u/EpicShadow228)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons villagers appear to be becoming pretty self-aware of their situation of inhabiting a video game world.

Players have been posting footage of New Horizons residents who have started questioning if the island is actually real on Twitter and Reddit. Reddit u/ EpicShadow228 posted a video showing Erik the reindeer talking about a rumour that "the island is just a game. And everything we say or do? It's just to amuse someone else." How meta. 

Is this really just the Matrix? Is nothing about this island really real? Erik continues questioning their own reality by pointing out that the way the trees grow and provide resources is just plain strange.

"And… I dunno. I kinda maybe believe it?" Erik says. "SO many things would make more sense, ya know. Have ya ever thought fruit grows way too fast? And ain't it weird that trees have three kinds of wood?" Erik even goes on to question overlord and business mogul Tom Nook: "And does Tom Nook make ANY kind of sense to you!?" Woah, Erik. Woah. If this is a Truman Show type deal, you better be careful. 

Hey, Erik? Are you okay? from r/AnimalCrossing

Beau on Twitter, who's also in the deer family of villagers, also starts to question their own reality. "There's a weird rumour goin' around… Some folks? They're saying none of this is real. None of it." 

Just who started spreading these rumours? And how come only the deers appear to be on to it? So many questions and no answers. Beau asks the same questions about Tom Nook, saying, "Yeah, I'll buy your seashells so you can give me back my own money to pay off a house I'm selling to you." I mean… WHAT?" Oof, going after Nook's business practises surely won't go down well. Better keep these rumours on the down-low around the island, Beau. 

"It's all so obvious! Our lives are fake! We all shoulda saw it a loooong time ago!" Beau cries. Well, talk about an existential crisis. Who knows what will happen now that the villagers are starting to clock on to the all too peaceful island set up. Will the villagers escape the Matrix? Or will they choose to ignore the truth? Well, Beau goes on to say that it's all a joke… but is it, really? Or did they just realise Nook's in earshot? It's a hilarious piece of dialogue and I have to appreciate just how meta it all is. 

Jumping into Animal Crossing yourself? Here are all of the Animal Crossing: New Horizons tips you need to get started. 

Heather Wald
Heather Wald
Evergreen Editor, Games

Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.