Imagine escaping to an island paradise where bags of money fall out of trees and a talking raccoon can approve you for a mortgage.

With the world in the grip of a pandemic, that’s exactly the sort of escape that has captivated so many — not in their fantasies, but in the world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It’s the latest in a series that’s been around since 2001, but New Horizons is the first built-from-the-ground-up console release in 19 years. It’s also a conveniently timed piece of whimsy for gamers — and has become a phenomenon.

In Animal Crossing, players take on the role of a lone human on an island filled with pudgy anthropomorphic animals. Players are tasked with building a thriving society, filling it with shops, bridges and other accommodations for its residents. There are no high scores, vampire Nazis or final bosses. The game is played at a relaxed pace, in which the player can do as much or as little as they want on any given day. Upbeat acoustic jams or sultry bossa nova synths play in the background.

Already, early sales figures from Japan and Britain suggest that this is the strongest launch for an Animal Crossing game in history. (U.S. figures are to be released later this month.) And the game has extended its reach beyond its main platform, with users sharing screenshots on social media of their Japanese-inspired homes, custom T-shirt designs and perfectly arranged flower gardens. It became the No. 1 trending game on the platform, with Japan, the U.S., Korea, France and Spain at the top.