Animal Crossing – New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a 2020 social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch; it is the fifth main entry in the Animal Crossing series. In New Horizons, the player controls a character who moves to a deserted island after purchasing a getaway package from Tom Nook, accomplishes assigned tasks, and develops the island as they choose. They can gather and craft items, customize the island, and develop it into a community of anthropomorphic animals. As in previous Animal Crossing games, New Horizons is a life simulation game played in real time.

Weather also adjusts to the seasons of the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, depending on the player’s real-world location, a first for the Animal Crossing series. The game follows a villager customized by the player, who, after purchasing a getaway package from Tom Nook, moves into a deserted island. After Tom Nook gives the player essentials, such as a tent, the game proceeds in a non-linear fashion, allowing for the player to play the game as they choose with only a small amount of limitations which lessen as the player progresses. The player is given open access to natural resources such as fruit and wood, which can be collected and crafted into a variety of items and furniture through D.I.Y. crafting.

Alongside crafting, they can catch bugs and fish, plant and grow trees and flowers, extract natural resources such as rocks, nd swim in the ocean to catch deep-sea creatures. The island gives open space for placing items and decorating as the player chooses. Certain content available, such as organisms, are season-dependent and only appear for a limited time of the year. Doing simple tasks rewards the player with “Nook Miles”, which in return can be used to purchase premium rewards in Resident Services. The other currency “Bells”, a staple in the Animal Crossing franchise, can be used to purchase other goods and services.

Another feature offered early on is the “Dodo Airlines”, an airport; through Dodo Airlines, and tickets purchased through Nook Miles, the player can visit other vacant islands to harvest resources and meet other villagers. The player can invite other villagers they meet to their island if they choose. The player starts with two other random anthropomorphic villagers that also purchase the getaway package. These villagers will live alongside the player and can be interacted with, building relationships. When the player has made sufficient progress in the game, Tom Nook gives more freedom of expanding as a village.

Other shop owners will visit and settle on the island: museum-owner Blathers, who will display fish, bugs, sea creatures, fossils, and art captured by the player; sisters Mabel and Sable, who sell clothing and other player-created accessories; and Timmy and Tommy, who run a store that specializes in selling furniture and other quality-of-life items, eventually expanding to sell more items per day. That store is named Nook’s Cranny. Eventually, the main area will expand to a Town Hall, run by Tom Nook with the help of Isabelle; other buildings and villagers will populate the community, and old tents and shops will grow into a more permanent structure that can still be moved if the player chooses.

From there, the island will be given a star rating out of five, usually starting off at a one-star rating. As the island is further developed, the island’s star rating will increase. When a three-star rating is achieved, K.K. Slider, a popular musician, will visit and perform a concert at the island, marking the “end” of the game as the credits roll. However, more options for island customization are given to the player for further community growth, such as the ability to construct and destroy cliffs, bodies of water and paths, colloquially referred to as terraforming.