Animal Crossing: New Horizons

91%
Game Brain Score Based on 154 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • music
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Game Cover
A beautiful, welcoming game that is everything and anything you want it to be. This is one you'll play all year and beyond, and it's exactly what the world needs right now.
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"Animal Crossing: New Horizons" is a Kids Simulation game that offers both single-player and multiplayer experiences for up to 2 players in local co-op mode. Players escape to a deserted island paradise, offered by Tom Nook, where they can collect resources, craft items, and create their own dream life. The game encourages peaceful creativity and exploration, with no restrictions on indoor/outdoor arrangements.

  • Nintendo Switch
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

91%
Audience ScoreBased on 154 reviews
gameplay9 positive mentions
grinding11 negative mentions
  • The game offers virtually limitless customization options, allowing players to create their dream island and character designs.
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons features beautiful graphics and a relaxing atmosphere, making it a perfect escape from reality.
  • The introduction of crafting and Nook Miles adds depth to gameplay, providing players with goals and rewards for their daily activities.
  • The multiplayer experience is limited, as only one island can be shared among multiple players on the same console, leading to frustration for families.
  • Some gameplay mechanics, such as tool durability and the crafting system, can feel tedious and detract from the overall enjoyment.
  • The game lacks certain features from previous installments, such as in-depth villager interactions and the ability to easily replace villagers.
  • gameplay28 mentions

    The gameplay in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is characterized by its relaxing and open-ended nature, allowing players to engage in a charming daily loop of gathering materials, crafting, and personalizing their islands. While the introduction of new mechanics like crafting and Nook Miles enhances the experience, some players find the gameplay can become repetitive and the reliance on certain features, such as durability, frustrating. Overall, the game offers a visually captivating and enjoyable experience, though it may not appeal to those seeking more challenge.

    • “For those who haven't played Animal Crossing; it's a very relaxing game where you play the way you want and are able to express yourself through gameplay as everyone's interactions are not the same.”
    • “It has a lot of charm, is very relaxing to play, and has a really enjoyable gameplay loop that is fun but low stress.”
    • “The classic Animal Crossing gameplay loop is as charming and addictive as ever; relaxed progression that lets you take things at whatever pace you want; crafting is a major new mechanic that adds to the game immensely; a bevy of customization and personalization options; turning your deserted island into a beautiful paradise is incredibly satisfying.”
    • “Fainting: this is the most ridiculous mechanic that could ever be implemented into an Animal Crossing game.”
    • “You fall down, black out, and are then transported back to your doorstep, where you stand up and return to your gameplay... thankfully you don't lose any of your resources or items if this happens, but what the heck is the point of that!?”
    • “Gameplay can get repetitive; the lack of challenge won't appeal to all.”
  • graphics19 mentions

    The graphics in the game have received significant praise for their vibrant and beautiful design, enhancing the overall experience with a seamless blend of user-created content. Players appreciate the improved visuals, particularly in clothing and environmental details, which contribute to a relaxing and immersive gameplay atmosphere. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, elevating the game's charm and appeal.

    • “As for some of the positives, the graphics are lovely and pleasing.”
    • “From the detailed, vibrant graphics to the DIY crafting, tiered island landscape, harvesting sticks/wood, customizable town layout, and gorgeous new museum, it truly is an enjoyable experience that allows players to escape into a relaxing utopia.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, the gameplay I've seen by content creators and other game enthusiasts looks amazing!”
    • “Better graphics... that's... basically it.”
    • “Picking up items is time-consuming (again) as it does a celebration graphic for every single item.”
    • “From the detailed, vibrant graphics to the DIY crafting, tiered island landscape, harvesting sticks/wood, customizable town layout, and gorgeous new museum, it truly is an enjoyable experience that allows players to escape into a relaxing utopia (except for the pesky tarantulas and wasps!).”
  • music16 mentions

    The music in the game is described as cheerful and relaxing, enhancing the overall experience with its colorful designs and engaging gameplay. However, some players find the background music repetitive and lacking in variety, leading to frustration due to the inability to control volume levels or mute it without losing ambient sounds. Overall, while many appreciate the music's charm, others feel it can become grating during extended play sessions.

    • “Hours and hours of fun and colorful designs as well as the cheerful soundtrack.”
    • “Cheerful elevator-type music.”
    • “Music is the greatest it’s been since the GameCube game.”
    • “Same boring BGM: what happened to the hourly different music that played in the other games???”
    • “The music is repetitive and grating on your ears, especially if you plan to play for more than a half hour.”
    • “Maybe I'm a little more sensitive to it because I'm autistic and I have issues with over-stimulation, but the only way I can play this game is on mute because there's no way to lower the sound of the music and still keep sound effects and ambient noises like the wind, balloons, or waves still on.”
  • grinding11 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and often detracting from the overall enjoyment, with repetitive tasks and slow progression leading to boredom. While some appreciate the resource-gathering mechanics and the opportunity to explore different islands, many express frustration over the lengthy animations and confirmations that hinder the flow of gameplay. Overall, the grind is seen as a significant quality-of-life issue that could benefit from improvements to enhance player engagement.

    • “Yeah, that's more realistic... but it makes the game very tedious and ruins the fun and the flow of the game.”
    • “However, it can be incredibly tedious trying to constantly gather resources for the many tasks you will have thrown at you.”
    • “For those that know what 'type' of game Animal Crossing is, it's a very good entry to the genre, but compared to most of its peers, it has some agonizing quality-of-life issues, making a lot of very routine and oft-repeated tasks tediously slow as you wait for needless conversations, confirmations, and animations to play out over and over again.”
  • story9 mentions

    The story aspect of the game is criticized for being heavily reliant on the first player's progress, leaving subsequent players feeling like mere bystanders in a narrative that doesn't evolve for them. While the first player can build relationships and unlock quests, others are limited to waiting for these developments, leading to a lack of meaningful engagement in the storyline. Reviewers express a desire for a unique storyline experience for each player that is independent of the first player's actions.

    • “Beautiful and heartwarming game and story, but not so much for player 2 onward.”
    • “I get to build relationships with villagers, I get quests to unlock buildings, I get to move the story forward--and they just kinda hang out and have to wait for me to do it.”
    • “Please give player 2 a unique storyline experience of their own that actually matters--something not tied to player 1's progress.”
    • “They're not really creating their own story - they're following in the shadows of the story the first player started.”
    • “They don't get to actually participate in the story for the most part, and feel like bystanders in their own save of the game.”
    • “Further, only the first person to play the game gets to progress the story (e.g. unlockable events from Tom Nook like building bridges and getting key recipes).”
  • humor7 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mix of charming and slightly vulgar elements, with players appreciating the improved graphics and funny interactions with anthropomorphic animals. While some feel that the humor has been toned down, making it more suitable for younger audiences, others miss the ability to provoke their villagers for comedic effect. Overall, the game maintains a lighthearted tone with plenty of amusing moments, though it may require adult supervision for younger players to navigate its more mature jokes.

    • “The Switch version is a big upgrade which surprised me; the animals are improved, but there is still stealing and insults. Loads of funny jokes such that for a younger child, you probably should play this with them and tell them the world can be like this and these are just immature, ill-mannered (but often hilarious) animals.”
    • “Kind of on the vulgar side at times, but they have toned it down and upped the clean humor so much I have found it fascinating.”
    • “I always found it very funny.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    The game is praised for its beautiful and heartwarming story, creating a wholesome atmosphere that resonates with players. However, the emotional impact seems to diminish for subsequent players, suggesting a stronger connection for the initial player experience.

    • “Beautiful and heartwarming game and story, but not so much for player 2 onward.”
    • “A wholesome island oasis.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is characterized by a gentle and relaxing vibe, free from strict objectives or time limits, making it an ideal choice for unwinding. Players appreciate the satisfying progression, sincere ambiance, deep customization options, and the overall adorableness of the world.

    • “There are no strict objectives or time limits, and the game's gentle, relaxing atmosphere makes it the perfect way to unwind after a long day.”
    • “[satisfying progression, sincere atmosphere, deep customization, adorable world]”
  • replayability1 mentions

    Players find the game highly replayable due to its blend of simplicity and complexity, enhanced by new crafting and cooking features that add significant gameplay value.

    • “It is so simple yet so complex at the same time, especially with the all-new crafting and cooking features in the game that provide even more gameplay value and replayability.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    Players express skepticism about the game's monetization approach, particularly in light of its advertising, which diverges significantly from previous titles in the series. This shift has led to concerns regarding the overall direction and integrity of the game.

    • “The monetization strategy feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
    • “I was excited to play, but the constant push for in-game purchases really ruined the experience for me.”
    • “It seems like the game is designed more to extract money from players than to provide a fun experience.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

89% average critic score

Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Play time

30hMedian play time
30hAverage play time
61hMain story
386hCompletionist
30-30hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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