Fabulous game with a dizzying depth of content
Rabidly anticipated and warmly received by what is possibly the most enthusiastic fanbase in gaming, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the more complete game releases in recent memory, though it still has one or two issues serious enough to maybe stay your purchase. New Horizons starts at a glacial pace, even by comparison with the usual lack of urgency demonstrated by Animal Crossing titles.
At the beginning of the game it is just you, nature in all its twee glory and a family of raccoons for the scant company they provide. It takes literally real-world days for the slow accumulation of buildings and animal villagers to reach any sort of level that could be described as ‘ bustling’. New Horizons is truly the definition of the casual experience – do not expect to be speedrunning this game any time soon as it takes a number of real-world days for even the shopping and museum to become accessible. There is, of course, a workaround for this that involves messing with the Switch’s clock, but it feels like you are being baited into cheating and seriously inhibits immersion.
Nevertheless, whatever avenue you end up taking, you will eventually arrive on an island that is fully fledged, bringing the brunt of New Horizons creation tools to the fore. The terraforming tools are especially powerful, lending you the ability to raze your island to the ground and erect pyramids adorned in the skulls of your enemies in its place. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, you could always just build beautiful little miniature islands and bridges for your island’s residents to admire and explore.
With the new ability to place absolutely anything on the ground and create customizable locations, New Horizons is absolutely the most addictive game in the series in terms of personalisation and customisation. It cannot be emphasized enough the dizzying depth of content and tools on display here.
Honestly, the gameplay loop of Animal Crossing is the perfect intersection between regimented structure and free-form busywork. New Horizons takes this one step further and injects a story into the samey-but-fun mantra that Animal Crossing has enjoyed for all these years. While the story is not particularly inventive, it is fun, cute and overall a nice diversion from the status quo. New Horizons can also be enjoyed with friends, though the process is oddly convoluted for a game that prides itself on simplicity.
New Horizons is a fabulous game, though it will take some perseverance to get over the initial hump – if you want to play without cheating, that is.