Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Rating: 5/5

I have been playing this game for just over two weeks now and it's safe to say that I am obsessed with it.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the latest release in the series and is available only on Nintendo Switch. As a huge fan of Nintendo and Animal Crossing, having played Animal Crossing: Wild World on the Nintendo DS for years, I finally caved and purchased the game and the Switch and it's probably one of the best things I have done this year.


The premise of this new game is that you move to a deserted island and you hope to make it in to a wonderful and bustling island getaway. You start with just a tent and two other islanders, and the infamous Tom Nook to which you will owe a lot to him, and you can explore the island from shaking trees, catching bugs, digging fossils, fishing, planting flowers and so much more. As you progress throughout the game you unlock so much more including features such as a campsite to entice new islanders, Nook's Cranny shop, the Able Sister's shop and of course the Museum.

The museum is possibly my favourite part about this game. The attention to detail that went into it is just insane. You start off with the fossil exhibition, the insect exhibit and the aquarium. Each section is completely different in design and offers a unique and fascinating way to explore the museum. I personally love the aquarium and the ability to walk through the domed walkway in one of the tanks and many other interactive walks in there. I also love the bug enclosure as the butterflies and insects are free to fly around the space, making it feel a little like a zen garden with the trees and bridges and water flowing through it.

I really love how much detail has gone in to this game and it is understandable why this game has been No. 1 in the charts since it's release. The attention to detail is just incredible and so immersive for the player. I love all the different sounds that you'll hear in the game, from the wind in the trees, to the different sounds your footsteps will make (whether on the path, grass or sand), the footprints on the sand is amazing to watch slowly fade away, and the shadows of the clouds passing over, I could go on and on.

One more thing I love about the design of this game is that although we do not yet have an astronomy tower that Celeste works in (like in Wild World), she does however visit your island and informs you of when meteor showers will take place. This means that at night-time a shooting star will pass over and you can make a wish, the following day a star fragment will wash up on the shoreline and you can use this to craft space themed materials. Just looking at the night sky and the amount of detail they put into the moon is outstanding.

New Horizons recently got it's first update, informing us of 'Nature Day' events and many more that is to come between now and June. It also brings back some well loved characters from other games including Leif and Redd. With Redd coming back we are able to buy real and fake artwork from him to then unlock the art gallery in the museum. My Museum was under construction for the art gallery yesterday and I can't wait to see what it looks like today. Redd has a shipping trawler that you'll find parked up on the islands hidden beach which you'll be able to access after his first visit to buy more art and furniture.
Leif will come randomly to sell shrubs and flowers that aren't native to your island, as a part of the Nature Day event you might be asked to plant shrub bushes and Leif is the only person that sells them so far.

Once you have unlocked and upgraded many of the buildings in the game and received at least a 3 star rating, K.K. Slider will visit your Island and perform; he then comes every Saturday after that. Likewise you'll also be given a new app in the phone called Island Development with which you can terraform: the ability to lay paths, construct or remove cliffs and to waterscape. This is a fun little design where you can transform your whole island if you wanted. I've added some waterfalls behind villagers houses and put some near mine. You can add or remove cliffs depending on what layers you want on your island, it completely gives you free roam of how you want your Island to look. This can be a little overwhelming if you're not sure how you want your Island to look but take small steps and it can lead to something great. For ideas on Island designs I like to search on Instagram and Facebook for what other people have created and usually I get inspired. It is slightly annoying that you have to wait a whole day for a bridge, incline or house to be built and there is the ability to time-travel in the game but I don't want to do that yet.

I've also found in this game that your tools break...a lot! I never experienced this in Wild World and not sure if it was featured in other games before but it can be infuriating at times. I harvest lots of materials to make sure I always have enough to make tools and other DIY's but the tools will only last for so long. There is the option of making, or buying, flimsy tools that will run out quicker than if you were to craft a normal tool. One trick I have seen going around is that if you feel your tool is soon to break, go and customise it and it will make it last a little longer, that's if you want to waste a customisation kit on a tool.

Lastly I think one of the best things about this game is how it brings so many people together. There is the option to play via Local Play and Online Play. These features open your Island up to visitors either through your Best Friends List in your phone or through a Dodo Code. This Dodo code is a one time code that allows people you don't know to visit your Island to trade or catalogue items. This does require a wifi connection. Likewise you can visit others Islands and also search for Dodo codes too. Joining a Facebook group is helpful in searching for things you might not have or just to visit Islands for inspiration. I also watch a lot of Youtube videos on New Horizons for ideas, a great channel at the moment is Ninten Talk.

This game is absolutely amazing and is perfect for spending hours and hours on it in doors when you might have nothing else to do. One last little peeve is that currently I have a tarantula on my Island and I haven't yet quite mastered the knack of catching it. Tarantula's will go up on their back legs when you get near and if you don't act quick enough they will attack you and your character will pass out and wind up back at your house. Slightly terrifying to some but also slightly annoying that you haven't yet caught the terror haha.


Anyone else playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons? What do you think of the game so far? Leave a comment down below so we can all talk further about it.

Enjoy x