After eight years of R&R, we finally have a new main-series game in the beloved Animal Crossing franchise, and it’s the first one to be released on the Switch. Nintendo’s answer to EA’s The Sims has a laundry-list of old and new moves up its sleeve. Is it ultimately worth the purchase regardless of how long you’ve been following the franchise? Let’s pitch our tents and find out.
The island of craftable toys
This installment takes a place on a deserted island, the vacation package of which you have purchased from the one and only Tom Nook. After pitching the tents, singing campfire songs that SpongeBob SquarePants would approve of, and giving the island a name of your choosing, the usual Animal Crossing tasks commence. You must venture around the island in search of materials for DIY recipes, which are tools such as fishing rods, bug-catching nets, shovels, axes, and vaulting-poles. Every task completed earns you “miles,” and you must keep racking them up until you’re finally able to pay your debt to Mr. Nook.
Life’s a beach
As you can tell by the previous paragraph, New Horizons is mostly more of the same Animal Crossing that’s been on the market since 2001. But considering how relaxing the gameplay is, that’s not a bad thing in any way. Whether you’re fishing, digging, or sitting by a campfire, the island is yours to explore at your desired pace. And if you want visitors, you can have up to seven fly to your island via online or local multiplayer. Tom Nook can’t help you when there’s company, but it’s still nice to have some break-time.
Nooks and crannies
Animal Crossing hasn’t had a lot of changes since its Nintendo 64 beginning; But its formula clearly isn’t broken, so it remains mostly the same in New Horizons. If life-sim games are your jam, this is a must-have for your Nintendo Switch library. I named my island “SilverSoul,” because shameless promotion!
Silver Soul Gaming 