| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | |||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a cozy life-sim where you decorate and design a deserted island in need of some TLC. Read on to learn how it plays, what it’s about, and everything else we know so far.
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons Gameplay
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a life-simulation game where the player takes on the role of steward for a deserted island, gradually transforming it into a vibrant, thriving community.
The game’s loop centers around gathering resources, crafting furniture and tools, collecting various creatures and items, and carefully designing both personal and public spaces. The ultimate goal is to improve the island’s overall quality as a destination while enjoying the creative freedom to shape it as you wish.
Gathering
Animal Crossing: New Horizons continues the series’ trademark of letting you collect various things, flora, fauna, critters, and more with the aid of tools.
Tools can be obtained by buying them from Timmy and Tommy’s shop or by crafting them at a workbench. Tools that can be obtained in New Horizons include the following:
⚫︎ Fishing Rods (Catching Fish)
⚫︎ Shovels (Fossils, Insect, Bells, Ore)
⚫︎ Net (Bugs, Crustaceans)
⚫︎ Axes (Wood)
⚫︎ Wet Suit (Underwater Sea Creatures)
The Watering Can can also be used to save flowers and help players obtain new flowers through hybridization. This process involves placing two flowers of the same species together to produce a new flower color by the next day.
Shovels, on the other hand, can also be used to dig holes and plant seeds and saplings, letting them grow into trees or flowers.
Materials can also be harvested from trees, rocks, and plants to craft tools and decorations. Crafting is accessible via interacting with a workbench.
Collecting
As players explore, they’ll find fossils, fish, and critters to collect. Bugs and fish can be caught to automatically fill in your in-game Critterpedia, which is an encyclopedia containing all sorts of information on them. Players can donate bugs, fish, and even fossils to the museum or display them in their homes as furniture.
Speaking of home, there is also a variety of furniture, clothing, music, and even artworks that could be collected and used as decoration, both indoors and outdoors. These can be purchased from various shops or by crafting them using recipes with the workbench.
Socializing with Residents
As the Animal Crossing standard, New Horizons brings the iconic animal villagers from across the series. Players can talk to residents to find out what they’re thinking or receive a favor that can be done until the next day. Favors reward players with items like clothing or furniture, and a higher friendship level with the villager.
The residents will explore the island and do all sorts of activities, like fishing, gardening, catching bugs, reading, singing, and more. They can also invite the player to their homes or visit the player’s home, either by request or surprise.
Two villagers will be on the deserted island at the start of the game, with a maximum of ten that can be brought over. They can be invited by going to Mystery Tours with the Nook Miles Ticket or to another player’s island.
While the roster disappointingly still has some missing stars from previous entries, it currently holds the highest number, with 417 potential residents as of the 3.0 Free Update.
Nook Miles
While the Animal Crossing series had always been known for its sense of freedom and lack of any real in-game objectives, New Horizons picked up where New Leaf left off by letting players optionally tackle activities with the Nook Mileage Program. Participating in the challenges, like catching 10 fish or chatting with other island residents, will net players a currency called ‘miles’.
Miles can be used to pay the debt the player incurred at the start of the game when they purchased the Deserted Island Getaway Package. Otherwise, they can also exchange it for a variety of other rewards, like various apparel.
Island Customization
New Horizons offers players a great deal of control over how their island evolves. Whether focusing on decoration, organization, or preserving its natural beauty, islanders can take their time to craft a space that reflects their personal style.
The layout and design of the island are customizable, like choosing where to place houses, shops, and other structures like bridges or inclines. After hosting the K.K. Slider concert, players can use an app called the Island Designer to terraform the environment.
In the beginning, players will only have access to placing dirt paths. But as they purchase corresponding permits using Nook Miles, various features like waterscaping, constructing cliffs, and different kinds of paths will open up.
Upgrading Establishments and Homes
Stores like Nook’s Cranny and Able Sisters start small but can be upgraded with player contributions, expanding their inventories and enhancing their appearances. Similarly, the museum grows with every donation, becoming a showcase of the island’s rich natural and cultural history.
Players’ homes themselves start from modest tents and evolve into spacious multi-room houses with repeated investments
Pattern Designs
Players can design their own patterns to place on furniture, apparel, or even on the ground as paths or flooring. These are made using an editor with a 32x32 grid, with a full spectrum of colors to choose from.
With the Nintendo Switch Online, players can share designs and use them on their own island.
Seasonal Events
There are four seasons in Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. The island will aesthetically change to reflect the arrival of a new one, like orange-coated trees in the fall or the snow canvas wrapped around the roofs of every home.
Seasonal updates are also available throughout each year, introducing limited-time activities, decorations, and items. The residents will celebrate Holidays and sometimes even dress for the occasion.
Nintendo Switch 2 Features
Along with the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch 2 came new features exclusive to the console. Besides the sharper image quality and higher resolution, it comes with a few nifty control options and better online communication, to name a few.
Mouse Controls
With the use of the Joy-Con 2 mouse controls, players can move around their furniture to easily make adjustments. They can also use the game’s in-game pattern editor and scribble on the island’s bulletin board with the mouse controls.
Megaphone with the Built-in Microphone
A new item in Nook’s Cranny, called the Megaphone, can call out to specific island residents. Using the Nintendo Switch 2’s built-in microphone, saying their name will lead them to call back to you to their location.
12 Players on One Island
Players with the Nintendo Switch 2 edition can host and join 12-player multiplayer sessions with their friends. Previously, the Nintendo Switch version could only host up to eight players.
GameChat and CameraPlay
Both the Nintendo Switch 2’s GameChat and CameraPlay are now available in the game. These online features will let players communicate via voice calls and display each other’s cameras. CameraPlay will hover the player’s camera on top of their character in-game.
Free Update Ver 3.0
Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ free major content update 3.0 is bringing a ton of new features to fill the island with more activities and make the experience smoother.
Hotel Room Design, Tickets, and Outfits
A new resort hotel run by Kapp’n and his family has just opened by the pier, and they’re looking for someone to help out with designing and decorating their guests’ rooms.
A theme is provided along with a catalog of furniture that matches its aesthetic. Other furniture obtained by the player can also be used to craft their own room designs.
After designing a hotel room, players will be awarded with the currency ‘hotel tickets’. These can be used to redeem items from Gram’s Souvenir Shop, which include hotel-themed items and other exclusive rarities.
Players can set hotel outfits for their guests by interacting with the mannequins at the hotel’s lobby. Besides the residents, the player and anyone they invite over to their island can borrow the hotel outfits and dress up together.
Amiibo Guests
Certain ‘amiibo’ can be scanned to invite guests over to the hotel, like the fashion designer Label. Guests invited via amiibo will stay for a day.
Crafting Goods for Tickets
Tom Nook suggests making DIY item goods to increase the island’s brand recognition. Players can craft from a selection of items, which can be viewed in the box at the pier. They can submit them in exchange for Hotel Tickets, and Kapp’n will handle the delivery.
More Storage Upgrades
The 3.0 Free Update breaks through the previous 5,000 storage limit by letting players upgrade it twice. The maximum storage size can now be raised to 7,000 and then 9,000. Trees, shrubs, and flowers can now be stored as well.
Resetti’s Reset Service
Resetti’s new Reset Service will clean up any decorations in an area. Players can pick a specific area, the beach, or even the entire island. Resetti can also be specified to either put flowers in the storage, dispose of them, or leave them be.
Fully Customizable New Island
Slumber Island, a fully customizable island, is now available by going to Luna’s Dream World. Every item players previously obtained is available in endless supply to decorate the island.
Up to three unique Slumber Islands can be made, with selectable size and layout options for the player to choose from. Players can terraform the island, like widening rivers and breaking down cliffs. Trees can be placed down, with the option to choose their size or maturity. Structures like bridges and inclines can be installed by talking to Lloid in the starting area.
The time and weather in Slumber Island can be customized with an in-game menu. Time can be chosen from a slider, which features a full spectrum that displays both the color of the sky and the part of the day it is in.
There are two checkboxes for sunny and rainy weather to choose from. The weather will instantly change the moment one is ticked over the other.
Island residents can also be brought to Slumber Island from a menu. Players can tick the resident’s icon to have them spawn at their location.
Multiplayer in Slumber Island
Multiplayer is available in Slumber Island, where players can decorate together or work together to efficiently terraform it.
The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, Nintendo, and LEGO Collaboration Content
Various collaboration content items, such as furniture and apparel, are available in the 3.0 Free Update. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has partnered up with the following:
⚫︎ The Legend of Zelda (amiibo)
⚫︎ Splatoon (amiibo)
⚫︎ Nintendo (Souvenir Shop)
⚫︎ LEGO (Nook Shopping App)
Players with access to the Nintendo Switch Online can play a specific classic game tied to the Nintendo console system. The LEGO collaboration items are also available in four color schemes: colorful, modern, cute, and chic.
The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon collabs, on the other hand, added two potential residents each to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These include:
⚫︎ Mineru (Tears of the Kingdom)
⚫︎ Tulin (Tears of the Kingdom)
⚫︎ Cece (Splatoon 3)
⚫︎ Viché (Splatoon 3)
Both Cece and Viché are returning characters and sport new looks based on Shiver and Frye from Splatoon 3. All four characters require an amiibo from their respective series to visit and live on the island.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Story
As Animal Crossing: New Horizons is an open-ended experience, its story is meant to deliver a simple premise for the players to understand how they arrived at the deserted island and to give them a motive for its development.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Setting
In contrast to previous Animal Crossing titles being set in towns, New Horizons sees players arrive on a deserted island. As the island’s development progresses, it will start to see more structures, shops, homes, a museum, and more, eventually resembling a more traditional community like in previous entries in the series.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Plot
Animal Crossing: New Horizons opens with the player boarding a plane by Nook Inc. as part of the company’s Deserted Island Getaway Package, which they availed.
After settling on the deserted island with their tent and tools, they quickly find themselves in debt to Tom Nook, the president of Nook Inc., and must work to repay him for their "move-in" fees.
The entrepreneurial tanuki will provide the task of either paying in the 49,800 of the ‘Bells’ currency, or 5,000 ‘miles’, which the player can gather by simply living their life on the island.
After developing the island further, Tom Nook will inform the player to continue working on it until it reaches a three-star rating.
Doing so will improve the island’s popularity and attract the attention of K.K. Slider, who will perform on the island, concluding the game’s main storyline. As Animal Crossing: New Horizons is open-ended, players can continue to customize and expand their island.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Characters
Villager
The Villager is the player’s customizable human avatar, who purchased a getaway package from Tom Nook and moved to a deserted island. Being a blank slate, they do not have any concrete characteristics or a definite appearance.
While previous mainline Animal Crossing entries asked a series of questions to determine how they would look, players can now change their appearance through a menu at the start of the game and by using a mirror or vanity.
Isabelle
Isabelle returns in New Horizons, this time as Tom Nook’s assistant in Nook Inc. Being the mayor’s secretary in New Leaf, it doesn’t come as a surprise that she works at the island’s Resident Services to help out the player with matters related to its development, such as ordinances, island evaluation, and more.
Tom Nook
Tom Nook returns as the president of Nook Inc. in New Horizons. The entrepreneurial tanuki, like in the previous entries, will give the player their starting home. He provides the player with the Deserted Island Getaway Package and also delivers the news of their debt for their "move-in" fees.
Blathers
Blathers is the museum curator in New Horizons, offering to take the player’s bug, fish, and fossils as donations for display. Despite being the curator for so long, he is still disgusted by bugs but will reluctantly accept any donated to him for the museum.
Resetti
Also known as Mr. Resetti, he is a non-villager mole and a recurring character across the Animal Crossing games. Once the harsh and short-tempered scolder of players who reset or forgot to save their game data, he is now the operator of the Rescue Service in New Horizons after being laid off from his old job. As of the 3.0 Free Update, he also manages a cleanup service called the Reset Service.
Despite being calmer, Resetti is obviously doing his best to keep a tight lid on his foul temper. When talking to him at The Roost, he will mention he even found himself yelling at rocks once "just to remember how it felt".
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