One Animal Crossing: New Horizons player was met with a tender surprise when the ghostly Wisp suddenly appeared to pay his respects to their dearly departed pet’s custom-built memorial. Whether it’s in-game weddings or player-generated homages to beloved cartoon shows of days past, fans of Nintendo's long-running island-life simulator have had no shortage of interesting things to do or discover within Animal Crossing’s virtual sandbox.
This also applies to the NPCs that roam the fully customizable island at the heart of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Aside from special event-exclusive characters like the spooky Jack the Czar of Halloween making their scheduled appearances, NPCs have been noted to do some oddly random things in Animal Crossing, like the owl Celeste dancing with players who prompt her with a certain emote. Others can take a seat beside players and bask in the bright and colorful lands that they have fully customized thanks to New Horizons’ numerous creation tools.
Reddit user oh-lawd-hes-coming had a much more somber yet still rather heartwarming encounter with an Animal Crossing: New Horizons NPC, which they posted to the AnimalCrossing subreddit yesterday. While tending to an in-game memorial to their recently-deceased pets, the player comes across the ghostly NPC Wisp, who floats over to the virtual grave markers as if to pay his respects to oh-lawd-hes-coming's lost companions. This has prompted commentators to give their condolences and tell their own stories of losing a beloved furry friend.
Wisp literally payed his respects to my pet's tribute graves. (One of which who has died very, very recently)...When I tell you I BURST into tears<3...thank you Wisp.♥️ from AnimalCrossing
So far, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has enjoyed tremendous success since it first launched on the Nintendo Switch last year, even beating out Pokémon Sword & Shield and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in first week sales. While new developments for the game were oddly absent from Nintendo’s E3 Direct livestream earlier this month, fans have had plenty to talk about with the release of merchandise like May’s Tom Nook and Isabelle Build-A-Bear plushies.
While oh-lawd-hes-coming's encounter with Wisp was likely just a coincidental act of NPC programming, the idea that the ghost was visiting to pay his respects to the player's deceased pets like a guardian angel is touching, especially to those who have experienced similar losses in the past. It’s a sweet reminder that no one is alone in their heartaches, and that for all of Animal Crossing: New Horizon's great player-generated content and planned in-game events, some of the best moments can be completely unplanned, and still be truly special for the players who encounter them.
Source: oh-lawd-hes-coming/Reddit