Animal Crossing New Horizons: A World Full of New Features

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a sell-out this quarantine and has provided a much-needed break from our daily routine. So much so, that it has become the fastest-selling game in the US this year. It is Nintendo’s first title since 2012 when it published New Leaf. The franchise has enjoyed tremendous success for over two decades now.

Most titles in the series, however, have a similar premise of you moving to an island and being greeted by Tom Nook. While the concept is similar the game has certainly seen a lot of refinement over the years. The transition is apparent if you play the original game and compare it to New Horizons. Let’s take a look at some of these changes.

Resetti’s out of a job in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has an autosave feature and that means you will never miss a moment. However, this wasn’t the case in previous installments of the series. In every other title, you were required to save your progress manually.

It was Mr. Resetti’s job to make sure that you did not turn the game off after committing a mistake. So, each time you switched the game on, he was there to welcome you with a warning sign. The autosave feature in the new title has rendered Mr. Risetti jobless. This is a much-needed hiatus for him considering he has been a dedicated member of Tom Nook’s team for years now.

Decorate your house the way you want

In the original version, you lived in Tom Nook’s debt since he provided you with a place to live. In order to repay that debt, you were required to work for him.

New Horizons provides you with the opportunity of living in your dream abode. With new pieces of decoration, including flashy lights, balloons, chairs, tables, there is so much more you can do now. That’s not all, you can also select unique patterns and designs for your furniture.

These custom designs provide a flair of innovation compared to the other titles. The possibility of having a bigger house on a bigger island is what makes it stand out. Even if you spend hundreds of hours just decorating your house, there will still be much more to do than you can possibly imagine.

On the flip side, though, you have access to only one island per Switch and that can be considered a minor drawback.

DIY Crafting System

If there were items in the previous games that you could not purchase or could not get your hands on there wasn’t much you could do about it. New Horizons, however, lets you craft items from scratch. It allows you to break down any item into its components. You can then use that raw material for crafting other items.

You can also spend your day fishing for raw material in order to be able to craft a finished product yourself. Another interesting feature that is new to the series is the possibility of selling your crafted item. While raw materials are also for sale and might get you a few extra bells, the items you craft will get you twice the amount.

The range of activities that have been added to the New Horizons is yet another factor that makes the game more interactive than ever before. In the previous versions, your tasks in the game included catching bugs, fishing, and looking for fossils.

These are all still available but a wide range of other interesting activities have also been added to New Horizons. One such interesting activity is planting a money tree that gives you returns on your initial investment.

Moreover, Nintendo recently added a dream feature to the game along with a fireworks update.

Interaction with other villagers

On the flip side, there is one element in which Animal Crossing: New Horizons lags behind its older counterparts. The interaction with other villagers in it is pretty bland if you compare it to that in other titles. The previous versions had a more vibrant interaction with villagers, which is no longer the case.

The villagers seem more work-oriented, which makes the game a bit dull. They exchange no more than a few messages now and even those are rather disappointing. Considering how far the game has come, a more fluid system of virtual interaction is what we expected. Let’s hope they are able to fix that soon.

Earning ‘Nook Miles’ in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

When you begin the game, Tom Nook provides you with a loan to be able to afford a place on the island. Now, this loan has to be repaid by completing chores and fulfilling tasks. A new system of earning rewards has been introduced in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These are called ‘Nook Miles’ and can be earned while completing activities on your island. These ‘Nook Miles’ can be used as bells, which are a form of currency in the game.

Animal Crossing has seen some mammoth changes since its inception. And even though New Horizons is probably the best title in the series, the franchise still has a long way to go.