Do you like Animal Crossing? Well, more than likely you are going to enjoy what Animal Crossing: New Horizons is offering. This is the big game for the Nintendo Switch in 2020 from Nintendo and it is a game many people have wanted since the Switch launched. It is crazy to think this is the first proper Animal Crossing game in nearly a decade!
How to Download Animal Crossing: New Horizons
You can download the game from the Nintendo Store. Click on the Download button located below this review. Sadly, this is a Nintendo-only title and there is no Animal Crossing: New Horizons Windows version. The same goes for Xbox One and PS4.
The Game Review
One of the things that I noticed about this game over New Leaf was the pace. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a very relaxing and easy-going kind of game when you first start playing it. I get the impression Nintendo feels that there could be many first-time Animal Crossing players here as the game explains everything and I mean everything to you.
To be fair, there are a few new things to deal with even for Animal Crossing veterans. The Nook Miles which are kind of like a new form of currency in addition to the Bells. There is also a crafting system that you need to get the hang of too. I do not feel that there is as much “new” stuff here as there was in New Leaf, but that is not meant as a dig on the game.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons takes place on an island, an island that you are in charge of in pretty much every way. In the early part of the game, you are collecting sticks, building things for islanders, and so on. I liked how structured the first part of the game was, giving you tasks to do to ease you into the game really worked well.
You will be working hard to pay off your debt, build a dream home, make friends, and have fun. One of the things that I have always liked about Animal Crossing is how you can play it any way you want. I have a great example of this in the way that I and my son go about making our homes.
He likes to go for a massive house, where the rooms are kind of empty and fill them out as he plays. I am more of a one room at a time kind of guy and focus on one room before moving onto the next. From finding bugs, fishing, digging bones, and taking on jobs for your villager friends, there is always something to do.
As I write this the game has been out for a couple of months and Nintendo has done a couple of updates. This is good as there are some things that I feel are lacking in terms of villagers and especially shops. I have no doubt these things will be added to the game with frequent future updates.
My biggest complaint with Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the same as everyone else. You can only have one island on one Nintendo Switch! This is such a “Nintendo” thing to do and I see no reasonable reason why they have done this. That means that in my house, we have three profiles on our Switch, but we all have to share that same island. Why can we not just each have our own island?
So far, I have had a great time with this game. It is one of those games you can fire up with the intention of doing some gardening for five minutes, but still, be playing an hour or so later. I am not sure there is enough here to win over people who have not enjoyed Animal Crossing in the past. However, for fans of the series, I am certain you will enjoy what Nintendo has done here.
