Written by Paige Maltby
When I pre-ordered Animal Crossing: New Horizons before I even possessed a Nintendo Switch of my own, I think it was obvious I was excited for the game to come out. My expectations were sky high. And now that it’s here… oh boy.
Buckle in because I’m about to review the game I have anticipated more than anything else since it was announced last year!
First of all, I have no idea how I managed day-to-day before this game, as it completely consumes my thoughts and time. Even with using my bullet journal and strictly scheduling myself to a few hours a day to fit in work for my degree, I always find myself counting down to the moment when I can pick up my Switch and load up New Horizons.
The graphics are insane. The building redesigns? Phenomenal. The character interactions are so much more realistic than Animal Crossing: New Leaf. And even better, the characters don’t just walk aimlessly. They sit, they sweep, they work out, they craft, they even sing.
The new elements in the game are so fun, one of my favourites being able to use the pole vault to access other sides of the island. (An aspect I wish I could have crafted from the start due to choosing an island layout which split the land into thirds, stranding me on one small space.)
The crafting side of the game gives the player much more to do, from collecting materials to customising the items that have been crafted. I especially love that recipes can be obtained from the other islanders and be purchased via the Nookling’s or with Nook Miles.
The online multiplayer feature is rather fun also; however, I find it frustrating that friends have to be added via the DoDo code and can’t be added via the Nintendo Switch friends list. Hopefully this gets fixed in future updates.
One of the things that I have found slightly disappointing with New Horizons is Harvey’s island. As Harvey usually runs the camping ground in New Leaf, I expected his island to potentially have camping villagers and sell special items that could be purchased with Nook Miles. Instead, I found an empty cabin which I could use as a photography studio…? Huh?
And even stranger than that, the catalogue of furniture you can use to make sets is limited to that which you have owned. I felt this feature was rather under-developed and expected a little more.
Despite this small problem, I am genuinely in love with New Horizons, and cannot wait to sink more hours into it, which will be extremely easy to do now that the whole world is on lockdown. If you haven’t grabbed a copy of New Horizons yet, what are you waiting for?! Your island awaits!
