I’ve played every Animal Crossing game aside from the original GameCube game. From getting my start in Wild World, to managing the town as Mayor in New Leaf, to living out my interior designer dreams in Happy Home Designer, to playing religiously in Pocket Camp. In short, I love Animal Crossing. Since the launch of the Nintendo Switch I’ve waited for an Animal Crossing game to be made for the system. Now it’s here and so worth the wait.
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild set a high bar in terms of art style and graphics for Switch games. Wild World and New Leaf excelled in story quality and game play. Animal Crossing: New Horizons hit all these marks and then some.
The graphics and sound quality are amazing. From the wet texture the trees take on when it rains, the hyper realistic fish and bugs (seriously, being chased by a tarantula at night is giving me nightmares), and to my favorite part, just how soft K.K. Slider looks now!
I love the sound of rain when standing next to the river. When you walk around your room the radio gets louder the closer you get to it. And the sound of high wind in the trees. It is so immersive for a mostly handheld game, which is how I play.
GAMEPLAY
The game play in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is also incredible. I love that you can change the camera angle up or down as you explore your island. The abundance of fish and bugs is realistic to how much a deserted island should have, which also keeps you busy. If you catch and sell enough you are never in too much need of Bells.
I like that the island is granted to you in tiers. First you get the initial area with the ability to jump over rivers and climb up cliffs given to you later in the game. This keeps a player from experiencing it all too quickly, and also allows you to learn as you go. A player won’t feel overwhelmed from the start with all of the possibilities for your island.
INCLUSION
I also like that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is so inclusive. Instead of choosing your gender, like in previous games, you choose your “Style” either masculine or feminine, which really doesn’t even matter much as you can wear any article of clothing and have any hairstyle.
You can change your Style at any point in the game after you get a vanity or mirror. You control hairstyle, hair color, skin color, eye shape, eye color, blush, and the ability to add face paint that you design. Players are using this ability to add eyebrows, freckles, and anime style blush.
NEEDS MORE QUESTS
My only issue with the game is minor. If you play ACNH as a rule-following, non-time-skipping player, it can get a little boring after a while. Playing this way, I was finishing all of my chores from Tom Nook in the very beginning of the day. The rest of the day I spend mystery island hopping to make a lot of Bells to pay off loans. This method is working well for me right now as I am easily making enough to pay off my first three loans, but it still leaves me longing for more quests each day. The Nook Miles+ goals help to fill that void a bit.
I hope this issue will be resolved as more villagers come to my island since I will be able to talk with them and do their little quests too.
JUST IN TIME FOR THE CORONAVIRUS
The release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons arrived just in time now that we’re in COVID-19 lockdown. There’s nothing like a pandemic to make us appreciate escaping to our own private island. Playing ACNH allows magical little moments where I forget all that is happening in the world right now.
I do love this game and I can’t wait to see how this first week goes as I develop my island each day.
