Animal Crossing: New Horizons fan covers this classic '80s tune using villagers and in-game instruments

YouTuber Mako Ray brings a little brightness to a burning world with their latest project: An Animal Crossing-based cover band that recreates 1980s soft-rock hit Africa by Toto.

And it's honestly an extraordinary effort (thanks, Kotaku).

So much so that Mako is getting asked whether it's even real. And it is, although attempting it isn't for the feint of heart.

In a tweet, Mako describes the complicated process of recreating a song in Animal Crossing using in-game instruments. Each instrument is played by a villager and recorded individually, before being composited into a single scene.

Using random notes, Mako cuts it all together into a single composition. The final product is pitch-shifted to closely match the notes in the original song.

"[T]o those asking "is this real?": i recorded myself in different outfits playing random notes on each instrument and then i pitch shifted clips to match the song's notes and composited every take together into one scene," writes Mako. "[T]his was actually a lot more work than i expected."

If you’re just getting started in the game, or need some pointers, be sure to check out Animal Crossing: New Horizons guide to perfecting your island paradise.