I realise that it’s a little late to be posting this, given the fact the game released a month ago now and there’s a free update coming in just a day. However, I have been obsessed with this game since it launched, in fact I have barely played anything else. As everyone who knows what video games are is already fully aware, Animal Crossing New Horizons released on the 20th March 2020.
I have been a fan of the Animal Crossing series since I was gifted a copy of Animal Crossing Wild World for my Nintendo DS Lite by my dad in 2007. At age 9, I was immediately captivated with the series. I loved everything about that game, today as an adult I’m fully aware it was far from a perfect game but it was a very special to me. My closest friend (still to this day) had the game too and we had a great time playing together which only continued when we both got copies of Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City (or City Folk if you’re in the US).
I thoroughly enjoyed New Leaf for the 3DS as well although I wasn’t so captivated by this addition to the series. An issue which I wouldn’t even put down to the game, I simply wasn’t so charmed by this latest instalment. Although, I’ll admit the Amiibo update did bring me back to the game after a long – long – hiatus. Whilst it’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, I found collecting the Amiibo cards fun. Actually, I have a reasonable collection since they were released in the UK, I’m glad they have a use again in this new game. With that, it is finally time to talk about New Horizons.
New Horizons peaked my interest, like many long time Nintendo fans, from it’s initial announcement in a Nintendo Direct uploaded in September 2018, even though we knew nothing about this game except, the obvious, that it was an Animal Crossing game coming to Switch. When the game finally arrived March 20th, I was so ready to play Animal Crossing again. I had followed any and all news leading up to the games release from the Nintendo Direct the month before to the trailers less than two minutes long just to see this beautiful game one more time. In fact, I expect my family was suitably fed up with me since for the entirety of March I just wanted it to be release day so I could finally play this game.
And I mean it when I say, I don’t think I could have been happier with the game I bought. New Horizons is a phenomenal addition to the Animal Crossing series. If you’re not a fan of the series or just don’t own the game yet, then you’re probably getting tired of hearing about it. But I firmly believe, this entry into the series is one of the best Switch games on the market and one of the best Nintendo games I have ever had the joy of playing.
Now, I never played the original Animal Crossing because I didn’t own a Game Cube so I give that game it’s due credit for starting the series. However, New Horizons is the best game in the series by far. It’s adorable, it’s charming and it’s blissfully serene. I’ve seen articles and YouTube videos alike covering why this is the perfect game to be released when the vast majority of the world is in lock down and it’s true. From the music to the villagers, the game is a delight to play.
I accept it is simply not to everyone’s liking, with a real time clock, the pacing is incredibly slow although that is part of the charm of Animal Crossing. We spend so much of our lives trying to be as practical and efficient as possible and it’s easy to forget to slow down and appreciate the here and now. Even when the here and now is a terrifying global pandemic, okay, that is hard to appreciate, to that end I hope everyone is doing as well as can be in this difficult time. Nevertheless, New Horizons encourages you to take time, even just 30 minutes out of your hectic daily life to take a moment and breathe. I personally rely video games as a means of escaping from the daily stresses and this entry into the Animal Crossing series could not be better suited to this role. I mean, you’re an individual living on a idyllic island paradise which you have to power to shape as you see fit. You want to turn the island into a bustling town and meet all kinds of quirky characters, go ahead. Just want to camp out under the stars with a few friends, that’s fine too. The game has a story, technically, but you could spend time in this game quite happily barely going through any of it. The game’s narrative nudges you in the right direction occasionally but there’s no need to rush anything.
Having said all that, I am personally one of those people intent on making their island into an actual civilisation and given I’ve spent about 170 hours, as I’m writing this, I have completed the narrative of the game, got a 5 star rating and now, I am focused on decorating my perfect island with all kinds of trees and flowers along the pathways I constructed. As well as some other little decorative features, my personal favourites right now are my bamboo garden and park, which you can see below.
There’s plenty of content in this title too, which more to come as Nintendo have confirmed there will be regular free updates, one of which is coming this week, on the 23rd April 2020. I’m not going to go into any details about the free update right now since I plan to write a follow up post once I’ve experienced it. But know, it does features plenty of new content with room for more. I for one, really hope Brewster’s cafe turns up soon.
I can’t say I really have any complaints about the game. There’s a few characters, like Brewster, who I miss, being a longtime fan. But, there’s nothing to say they won’t show up later in the game’s lifespan. And even if they don’t make it into the game, I wouldn’t say is exactly lacking in content. Admittedly it is repetitive, but that is part of the series’ formula which does work for it, Animal Crossing’s natural charm counters the seemingly mundane activities available to you. I don’t typically like fishing in video games – it might be one of the only things I dislike about Red Dead Redemption 2 – but in the world of Animal Crossing, it’s one of my favourite things to do.
Every feature returning from the old games has been upgraded, still maintaining that classic Animal Crossing charm that long time fans fell in love with whilst still having been modernised to keep up with newer titles. The museum is better than ever, it looks incredible, long gone are the days with just a few basic tanks in the aquarium section and it only stands to get better with future updates. The Nooklings’ store and the Able Sisters shop have been revamped and now feature some much need UI updates, making shopping much easier. My only minor complaint would be that the UI doesn’t contain a multi-select feature to speed up in-game transactions but it’s a small issue that I can easily overlook. The animal villagers that live with you on your island feel more alive than ever, previous games have given them additional things to do whilst them roam around town, but the simple additions this game features just amount to so much more. You wouldn’t imagine something as trivial and minute giving a villager a book to hold as they enjoy a pleasant spring afternoon would make a very big difference but it absolutely does. Plus, they’ll sing along to music you leave playing which is quite frankly just adorable.
This game fixes every little problem fans have had with the series for so long. You can fully customise your island with the games’ landscaping tools and the ability to move buildings. The inventory has been expanded. Your flowers don’t immediately wilt if you forget to water them or completely disappear if you run over them. Plus improvements to multiplayer, it is an absolute godsend to be able to control which visitors to my island can use the shovel or axe (to many players’ dismay, including my own, some people took delight in ruining other people’s towns in earlier games without this ability to restrict strangers from using these tools). I expect these issues might appear trivial if you’ve never experienced any of the earlier games, but I cannot stress how much nicer playing this game is as someone who has particular ideas about how they want the island to look. You could place paths in earlier games, using custom patterns, but it was tedious and if you missed just one spot you’d probably end up with a villager moving in on top of your flower garden. Yeah… I don’t think I’ll ever be playing New Leaf again…or any of the other games either for that matter.
For anyone wondering if they should buy the game, for themselves or a loved one. I’d wholeheartedly recommend this one, to anyone really. In fact I encouraged a friend of mine to buy it a couple weeks ago, and now he’s playing everyday with me and without me because he genuinely cannot get enough. This game is perfect for everyone, whether you just want something you can pick up and play every once in a while or you want to escape into a new world, Animal Crossing New Horizons is definitely for you.
Thank you kindly for reading this rather self-indulgent review of Animal Crossing New Horizons. This is going up much later than I would have liked since I’ve been too busy playing the game to write about it. But there’s more content to come, including more on Animal Crossing. I’m hoping to post twice a week, maybe three times if I can. Hope you’ll stick around, thanks again, bye!
Overworld Gaming 