“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is a life simulation video game where the goal is to turn a deserted island into a flourishing place for you and your residents to live in. In hopes of getting the famous singer “K.K. Slider” to perform at your island.

In the game, you can build and modify your community, catch and sell bugs, fruit, and fish and interact with other villagers and players. Since its release March 20, “New Horizons” has taken the world by storm and has sold over 1.8 million copies in Japan alone.

The “Animal Crossing” phenomenon has not only taken over the gaming world, but also the social media world, as anyone with social media has seen a related post by now. Players are eager to post their achievements, show off their islands and finally receive the highly anticipated K.K. Slider performance.

Among having the goal to get K.K. Slider to perform, the real goal players have is achieving a five star rating on their island.

Animal Crossing has many popular groups and communities where people post and ask for tips and tricks on how to get the five star island rating. Achieving the rating is a tedious process that involves many hours, days, even weeks of work. It also takes an attention to detail in order to create your island to its full potential.

Daja Ranger is a gamer who is one of the few to achieve a five star rating, and discussed her tips and tricks to her success. Ranger said that she first started playing “Animal Crossing” when she was seven years old on “GameCube.” Ranger said that back then, she did not understand the game and what it was about.

Now, at 20 years old, she understands “Animal Crossing” as a game where you “play at your own pace to build the perfect town or campsite or island depending on the game. Unlock new buildings, upgrade items and places, and entice new villagers to move in. For New Horizons the objective is to get a 3 star island in order to get KK Slider to do a concert on your island.”

Ranger said that KK Slider is a celebrity in Animal Crossing who “Has been one of the most popular villagers since the series began. He has multiple albums of all different genres.”

When asked for how she achieved her success, she says “I just put things where I wanted and made sure my island is clean and the villagers are happy.”

Ranger’s advice for having a successful island is “just to do what you want. Success means different things to different people. Don’t try to make your island exactly like someone else’s or compete over who has the better villagers. Just do what makes you happy and eventually you’ll get that five star island.”

Jesus Espinosa is another player who is also a five star island owner. Espinosa first started playing “Animal Crossing” in 2012 when the last main entry in the series, “Animal Crossing: New Leaf” was released.

Espinosa says that he remembers being “confused” over the popularity of the game back then, but after establishing his island, he quickly understood why. Now in 2020, Espinosa says one improvement from New leaf to New Horizons is the pole vault tool. The pole vault tool is an upgrade in New Horizons that allows players to pole vault over bodies of water.

Espinosa says that with the pole vault and terraforming tools, he incorporated them into his island design by placing every building on their own little island.

His five star success came from two main objectives; “Everything having a place and purpose, and terraforming.”

Every inch of his island has something, whether it be flowers or furniture. Espinosa says you can place flowers almost anywhere, and they are relatively easy to plant and can take up a lot of space.

In other instances, Espinosa says building paths also take a lot of space while also making your island look more “neat and polished.”

Since the game’s release in March, Espinosa has already devoted over 300 hours on his island and perfecting it to its five star rating. Espinosa says he admires the craftsmanship of not only his island but also the game itself. With the game’s endless possibilities, Jesus says “you can do anything imaginable.”

With the use of the game’s custom designs, players can integrate their own and make one-of-a-kind designs. Jesus’s main advice for achieving a 5 star rating is to “have a theme and go from there.” He also says that drawing out a map of your island and then designing from a Birdseye view is also very beneficial.

With these tips, tricks and dedication, a five star island in “Animal Crossing” that will leave your fellow gamers jealous can be obtained. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is available for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite from any retailer that sells video games and also on the online Nintendo E-Shop for $59.99.