Animal Crossing New Horizons game is a Social Simulation game released March 20, 2020, for Nintendo Switch and it is the 5th instalment in the Animal Crossing franchise.
The video game was developed and published by Nintendo, and it supports both single-player and multiplayer modes. In Animal Crossing New Horizon, the player controls the main character who moves to an empty island to create a paradise with different interesting characters.
The game player collects and builds objects to fill the empty Island, designing and developing the Island into a community of anthropomorphic animals.
Animal crossing new Horizons happen to be one of the few games that were released amidst the Covid-19 pandemic last year, and many believed it added to the success and acceptance of the game with the global sit-a-home and a lot of people sourcing for activities to keep them mentally active.
In this Animal Crossing New Horizons game review, I will be discussing more on its well-praised gameplay and what to expect when playing the game.
Pros
- The game supports both single-player and multiplayer mode
- Playing the game is fun and interesting
- Players create their island from scratch
- The game can be played on the same system with up to four players and play online with up to eight players
- A variety of items and features to play around with to construct and personalize the island.
Cons
- The use of internet connectivity is necessary to enjoy the key features of the game
- The game is not free to play
- The game is only available to players on Nintendo switch.
Game Story And Characters
Animal Crossing New Horizon is a life simulation video game just like the other games in the series. The New Horizon game is played in real-time, and it has a new and unique feature: as the weather in the game adapts to the player’s actual location. The game story is about customizing and developing an unoccupied island into a fun and exciting paradise.
The player controls a villager who acquired a getaway package from Tom Nook and relocates to an unoccupied island. The player is offered necessities such as a tent, needed to survive on the Island by Tom Nook after which the game progresses however the player decides to proceed.
The player has access to all-natural supplies like wood, fruits, available on the Island, which are gathered and crafted into different objects and items for use on the Island.
The Player can also plant flowers, food, grow trees, fish in the ocean, catch Bugs, extract natural resources and do so many other activities on the Island. Because the island is empty, it gives the player an opportunity to use creative thinking to decorate the Island with objects and organize it to taste.
Players are rewarded with Nook Miles for completing tasks, the Nook Miles are in turn used to get premium rewards at Resident services. Another currency used to acquire goods and services in the video game is the Bell, a currency in the game series.
The game has an Airport and Airline known as Dodo Airline, where players get tickets with the Nook Miles to travel to other empty Islands to collect resources and connect with more residents.
Also, the player can decide to extend an invitation to the residents in those Islands to come to the player’s Island. Some features like animals are only available for a limited period in the year because they are season dependent.
In the Animal Crossing New Horizon game, the player begins the game with two anthropomorphic residents who as well bought the getaway package from Tom Nook to the Island, both will stay with the player to interact and form a bond as the game progresses.
After moving to a certain stage in the game, the player is given the liberty to expand the village by Tom Nook with store owners visiting and deciding to settle on the Island.
There is the Museum owner Blathers, displaying the art taken by the player, bugs, seafood and creatures, bugs, and others, then the sisters; Mable and Sable, who sell accessories and wear made and supplied by the player. Also, we have Timmy & Tommy who manages the furniture store and sells other essential items, and with time grow to put up and sell more items.
In the long run, the small area will grow into a Town Hall being run by Tom Nook with assistance from Isabelle, structures and villagers will fill up the Island with old shelters and shops being converted to permanent buildings that are movable if the player so wishes.
At this stage the Island is rated one-star out of five and as it further develops the star ratings rises. When the Island attains a three-star rating, a popular performer, K.K. Slider visits the Island to perform a concert to mark the game end.
Nevertheless, the player still has more options for further growth and customization of the Island likeability to build and wipe out cliffs, paths, water bodies, and casually refer to terraforming.
Graphics
Animal Crossing New Horizons video game is beautifully designed to captivate players attention. The Island model looks like a cylinder with a curved design from a 45degree angle. The simplicity of the game design permits that various items like flowers to be arranged together complimenting each other.
The gameplay relies on the player’s creative imagination to build a paradise out of empty space from the items collected in the game.
And because the game visuals are so good, the game graphics themselves are outstanding and I believe being a Nintendo Switch Game adds to the perks of the game.
Sound
The sound in the Animal Crossing New Horizons game is an original composed by Yasuaki Iwata, Yumi Takahashi, Shinobu Nagat, Sayako Doi and Masato Ohashi. And these audio sounds depict and blend with the idea behind the gameplay.
Game players, like most video games, have the option of turning off the audio sound in the setting if you wish to, and there are no technical issues or glitches with the sound when I played the game a few days ago on my Nintendo Switch hardware.
Playability
Animal Crossing: New Horizons game allows for co-op gameplay both online and local supporting up to eight players online and four players locally at a time.
This Co-op gameplay selection for players is made available through Dodo Airlines. Also, the video game only provides for one Island per Switch system.
And just like the previous Animal Crossing games, it supports amiibo cards and figures which are used to temporarily invite visitors to the Island to persuade them to move to the Island.
In late July 2020, the game publishers introduced the Nintendo Switch Online Cloud saving to help players to recover gaming data whenever their hardware is lost or damaged. Also, with frequent updates from Nintendo, players have access to supplementary free content being added to the game every few months whenever the updates are downloaded. Although with the release of the 2.0 version on the 3rd of November 2021, all updates ceased.
Similar Games
There are a few games that share similarities with Animal Crossing New Horizons video game and some of which are A Short Hike, Stardew Valley, Stranded Sails: Explorers of the cursed Islands, Forager, Castaway Paradise, The Sims 4, My Time at Portia, Garden Paws, Moonlighter and Ooblets.
Is Animal Crossing New Horizons Game Worth Buying?
The Animal Crossing New Horizons game is an interesting and fun game to have in your game collection especially if you are a fan of Social Simulation or adventure games. The game is fun and interesting to play across all age groups.
Conclusion
With Animal Crossing New Horizon, escape into an abandoned and empty Island to create your own explorable paradise rich in fun and memorable characters.
The game provides players with different unique resources that can be used to create tools, and everything needed to beautiful the Island. Design your island into a paradise in the daytime and at sunset enjoy the beach, fishing from the sea and hunting down insects.
The seasons in the game are the same as real-life all year round, with each day filled with new surprises.
Escape and explore your island interacting with your crafted community and showing it off to family and family.
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