Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis a great game.Our reviewer even gave it a perfect 5/5 scoreback when it launched, but personally, I think it still has room for improvement. Five years on, with the Nintendo Switch 2 firmly in our hands, we’re now anticipating the announcement of the next Animal Crossing game, and I hope it learns some lessons from New Horizons.
Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun with New Horizons - I didn’t spend all of 900 hours (yes, that’s really how long my Switch says I spent playing…) with a frown on my face. But New Horizons isn’t the pinnacle of what Animal Crossing can be, so here’s where the series can make some changes to be even better.
9If You’re Going All-In On Decorating, Give Us More Furniture
Do You Know How Many Islands Use The Exact Same Items?
More than any other Animal Crossing game,New Horizons is all about decorating. Your goal is to decorate your island to a high enough standard that your villagers love it and K.K. Slider comes to play a show. To do that, you need furniture. You know what New Horizons didn’t have at launch? A lot of furniture.
I know subsequent updates added more furniture, but by that time, my island was already fully decorated! I wasn’t about to take it down after all the time I spent on it. If you were playing at the game’s peak, right around when it launched, you know that everyone was using pretty much the same furniture items. Those white panels were the MVP. The next game needs to have all that furniture added in updates from the get-go, otherwise most players just aren’t going to use it.
8The Villagers Need To Talk About More Than Just Bugs
And How Much They Want To Be A Popstar
One of New Horizons’ biggest problems was the lack of variety in villager dialogue. Yes, I know Lazy villagers have bugs in their walls and want to eat snacks 24/7. I know Peppy villagers want to be popstars. I know Normal villagers want to read books and drink tea.
As soon as you’d spoken to your villagers a few times, you’d pretty much exhausted all the dialogue they’d ever have (until subsequent updates, but come on, that should have been there from the start). I don’t remember this being a problem in New Leaf, and I played that game almost every day for at least a year or two.
The villagers all have hobbies that aren’t just tied to their personality type (two Cranky villagerscan have different hobbies, for example), so why isn’t that used in the dialogue? I even remember villagers in past games talking about their family members, which doesn’t happen in New Horizons. The next game needs more dialogue from the villagers; otherwise, they just feel like walking decorations.
7Give Us A Creative Mode, Please
Making Changes Shouldn’t Be So Permanent
Terraforming was a new feature for New Horizons, and it gives you a lot of freedom to decorate and change your island however you like. I made a giant heart lake in the middle of my island that I’m pretty proud of. However, when you terraform, you really have to commit to that idea.
There’s no going back once you’ve terraformed something, and if youdowant to go back? You’ll have to do that manually. The game needed a creative mode where you’re able to undo or revert to a previous island state, just in case you change your mind. If terraforming comes back in the next installment, I’m praying the developers have considered this option.
6Creative Paths Should Be An In-Game Feature, Not Just Made By Players
So I Don’t Keep Wiping Them Off By Accident!
One way you can really make your island feel like it’s lived in and no longer a deserted island is by adding paths. New Horizons has some nice default paths, but they’re all a bit plain. Players stepped in and started designing their own - paths with flowers, mushrooms, and all sorts of other decorations were made and shared online for the community to use.
I don’t think it should fall to the players to have to make these themselves, though. The next game should include a few of these for you to use as default. We’ll no doubt see the community create their own again, but it would be nice to have more than just a few basic path options.
5We Need More Things To Do In Multiplayer
Where Were The Minigames?
More people were playing Animal Crossing than ever when New Horizons launched. We all could visit each other’s islands and… um. Walk around? People started making up theirownminigames because there was nothing else to do. That’s pretty shameful, really.
It doesn’t make any sense, either, as New Leaf had a lot of great minigames. I have lots of fond memories doing the different tours on Tortimer’s Island and earning medals to buy exclusive prizes. New Horizons could have easily done something like this on an even bigger scale. Hopefully the next game doesn’t miss this opportunity again.
4Fan-Favourite NPCs Shouldn’t Take Years To Arrive
Brewster Must Have Missed His Flight. Multiple Times
Animal Crossing has been a series for a long time, and as a result, fans have grown attached to the special NPCs who live in their town. At launch, everyone had the same thought: ‘Where the heck is Brewster?’
Brewsterdideventually make his way to the game, but far, far later than he should. It seemed like the developers didn’t think to add him in the first time, then saw how much fans were clamoring for him, and added him in as a consolation prize. He didn’t even get a cafe building of his own like in New Leaf - The Roost was back in the museum. What a step back for our king.
Like many others, I even made my own make-shift The Roost outside the museum because he wasn’t there. A little awkward when he did arrive… I’m just a big fan, Brewster.
3Give Us More Places To Explore A La City Folk
There Has To Be More Than Just Some Uninhabited Islands
Once I was done decorating my island, I admired my work, and then thought to myself… What do I do now? That’s one of the core issues with New Horizons. When you’ve terraformed to your heart’s content and put every piece of furniture in place, that’s pretty much it.
I would have liked to explore more islands or even somewhere that wasn’t… completely deserted. The island with Harv and other merchants added in a later update was great - the game just needed more of that to keep you going once you were finished with the designing.
2Bring Back Different Resident Services/Town Hall Designs
The Default Just Doesn’t Match My Aesthetic
Resident Services is the main hub of your island. It’s where you go to speak with Tom Nook and Isabelle about developing your island, villagers naturally congregate there throughout the day, and K.K. Slider performs his weekly show on the plaza. So why do we just have to stick with the default design of the building?
In New Leaf, you could use your bells to change the design of the exterior to help it match the vibe of your town more. With New Horizons’ heavy focus on decoration and design, this would have been a natural decision, but it’s just missing for some reason. The next game will likely have a similar building, so let’s not forget about the different designs next time, please.
1You Don’t Need Reams And Reams Of Dialogue Just To Visit Another Player
One Wrong Button Press, And You Have To Do It All Again
Anyone who’s tried visiting another player’s island knows about this one. To leave your island and visit your friend, you need to get through Dodo Airlines’ riddles first. Why does Orville ask so many questions? Why does he say them in such a long-winded manner? Why does one wrong button press mean I have to start the whole damn process again?
And why does Orville need to disconnect from or connect to the internet every single time? Seriously?
Please, let’s just keep this kind of dialogue simple. He can still have personality. But it doesn’t need to be an annoying one.
