Other than their look and the tone of their voice, you really can't tell the difference between them, except for maybe the grumpy NPCs. Also, though the villagers supposedly have "different" personality types, they all seem pretty similar. In New Horizon, however, they usually feature a ton of recycled dialogue. These fleeting interactions were once a staple part of the Animal Crossing games. You can also talk to your residents, but instead of doing odd jobs for them, like in the past, it's very rare that you get anything more than a conversation or an easy fetch quest. Sure, you can fish, catch bugs, and rearrange your island, but that's it. After you've hit a point, there's nothing much to do but find busy work in New Horizons. The second point here sort of ties into the first. It's like there's a separation between the buildings and the people. You can't build a little beach scene and have Kapp'n show up on his boat. You can't build a coffee shop and invite Brewster to run it. Sure, you can make it look different, but it feels empty when comparing it to something like New Leaf. Plus, cleaning up this little town led to new shows and residents in the shopping district.Īs you develop your island in New Horizons, there's no real way to develop the island into something more, like a swanky resort or a little developed town. You're responsible for setting the shop times, which is great if you are a night owl or an early bird. Sure, you're the star resident on your island, but that's nothing like being mayor! You actually play a part in running the town, which is more interesting than just being the one to pour money directly into Nook's pocket. What New Leaf did right was it took the whole control thing a step further than New Horizons. Plus, it all just feels like an anti-climatic endgame goal. As someone who likes their island the way it is aside from the occasional rearrange, I wish there was just more to do.
It can get pretty boring if you've hit five stars and have a full museum. Updates add new items, so there are always new ways to set up your island - but that's it. Really, what you're working towards is the ability to form your island any way you want, but what do you do after you customize it just the way you want? You could start over and do something new, and there are plenty of players who love rearranging and redecorating. You start with a tent, work your way up to a huge house, and unlock terraforming. Regardless of the holiday, players had to gather a MacGuffin, whether it was eggs, feathers, or other ingredients, hand it off to an NPC, and that's pretty much it.Įven the way the game works is an illusion of having more to do. Sometimes we got a new emote, and other times we got holidays with. While we did experience one or two larger updates that brought us a new museum wing and dream islands, most of the other updates were small or seasonal. One of the original draws to Animal Crossings: New Horizons was the promise of plenty of updates. So, what exactly are the issues here, and where can New Horizons go? In our opinion, it should look to other sim titles for inspiration. Even now, we're considering digging up my 3DS and starting another journey as mayor.Īll of this game jumping has me wondering what New Horizons could do to bring players back and remain one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch. One game we returned to frequently for years, way longer than I've ever played New Horizons, was its predecessor, Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Granted, sim games can run their course after some time, but the whole purpose of these games is to keep you engaged, or at the very least, have you hop in for a few minutes a day. Instead, many of us have picked up other games, like Stardew Valley. Sure, new games have largely taken its place, but Animal Crossing has always been a go-to game for some wind-down time. However, over a year later, it's sitting in many of our Switches way down the queue.
The game was exactly what the world needed at the time. As a long-time fan of the series, I was one of the masses frothing at the mouth as midnight hit on Mar. Animal Crossing: New Horizons released in March 2020 and has since sold over 32 million copies, becoming the second best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch.