Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review
This review was originally written for TheNintendoVillage.com, a website I founded and ran from 2018 to 2021.
Key Info
System: Switch
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: 20 March 2020
Price: $59.99 / £49.99
Animal Crossing, being a series that progresses in real time, is somewhat of a challenge to review. As a result, we kept a daily diary of our time with the game, giving a final verdict - along with a score - after seeing a larger chunk of what the game has to offer.
Day one of my Nook Island Getaway package, outside my tent.
Day One - Island Getaway
Well, it’s been a long time coming but the follow up to 2012’s Animal Crossing: New Leaf is finally here. This time around, Tom Nook is shipping us off to a desert island (no sign of Rover the cat sadly) and it’s down to us to make it habitable.
Timmy and Tommy check us into our flight, and the tanooki twins are as adorable as ever. Seeing Timmy tapping away at his keyboard as he enters our name and date of birth is an early indication of just how much charm and personality is packed into this game.
In a series’ first, I’m then given the option of actually choosing how I look - rather than answering a bunch of random questions - and there’s a handful of masculine and feminine hairstyles to choose from. Despite choosing my gender upfront, that hasn’t locked off any of the customisation options, so if there’s any guys out there like me who have long, girly hair, you can sport that look from the get-go if you wish.
Passport photo taken, randomly generated Island chosen and flight undertaken, we arrive on the island to be greeted by Mr Nook himself. After tasking me with hunting down tree branches and some apples for a campfire welcome party, it’s time to name the island. We all take a vote (I’ve populated the island alongside a shockingly orange monkey named Flip and a big pink bear who says her name is Ursala. Given how she towers over me, I’m not inclined to argue) and unsurprisingly, everyone agrees my choice of ‘Jordan’ is the one. Off I head to bed.
After being rudely awoken by Tom Nook, I emerge from the tent to be given my Nook Phone. This will play host to my crafting recipes (more on those in a moment), the Nook Miles reward program, designs, map, passport and my critterpedia.
The first thing that strikes me as I begin my first day in earnest (the time is now locked to the real world clock) is just how gorgeous my new surroundings are. Trees bristle in the wind, the sunlight glances off ripples in the river, and my animal friends have a fuzzy appearance that’s been absent on older, underpowered hardware. It’s a delight to just wander around taking in the scenery at first, but I soon hanker for that familiar Animal Crossing gameplay loop.
Fortunately, Tom Nook is happy to provide me with my fist batch of DIY recipes, allowing me to craft some flimsy tools. With a fishing rod and bug net in hand, I set about hauling in some aquatic creatures and snaring the butterflies that dance around the starting area.
I love crafting. It was the one area of the game going in that I wasn’t sure I was going to love, but it’s so much fun. Happily, branches are in infinite supply as long as you give the trees a shake, so you never need go without a fishing rod for too long. Shaking one tree did result in me being stung by a wasp, but Flip kindly gave me a recipe for some medicine. I think me and him are going to get along.
I’ve whipped up tools and furniture, medicine, an umbrella and even my very own crafting desk in the first few hours on Jordan. The latter is rather handy as I no longer have to run to resident services to use Tom Nook’s bench. That said I’m there often enough, selling fruit, weeds and fishes to Timmy for those sweet, sweet Bells.
I’ve also handed a handful of critters over to Tom Nook, and he says that his museum friend Blathers is intrigued by the wildlife we’ve found here and wants to check it out for himself. Museum tent set up (and a whole bunch of other wildlife I’ve stacked up outside ready for him), I take a look at the Nook Miles app in my phone.
This new reward system gives me points for completing all the mundane tasks I’ve been running around engrossed in for the past day. From picking up weeds, to chatting to my fellow islanders, all the way to building tools and eating fruit, there’s Nook Miles to be earned. These can then be exchanged for new crafting recipes, hairstyles, inventory slots and Nookphone apps (I nabbed the tool wheel and Pro Design editor pronto), as well as paying off your initial loan.
With that done, I head to bed. I should have a house in the morning now, and I’m looking forward to showering Blathers with fish and bugs when he arrives tomorrow.
Day two saw a lot of fish gathered for the new museum tent that’s popped up on the island.
Day Two - Affordable Housing
I have a house! I woke up to find my tent had been replaced by four walls and a ceiling, and decorating my new abode is a delight. The Happy Home Designer style editor allows you to easily manoeuvre furniture, as well as place items on the wall at various heights, including above existing furnishings. I can’t wait to utilise this further down the line when I’m properly decorating, but the tool works like a charm so far.
My house also comes with a bunch of extra storage, which should come in handy once I start hoarding certain things. For 98,000 bells it’s the least I expect though to be fair. Nook may have taken Miles as payment for the first lot, but it’s cold hard cash from here on in.
Heading out into Jordan and Blathers has set up his tent. He’s so delighted with the specimens I donated to Tom Nook he’s rewarded me with a vaulting pole and a shovel (by way of crafting recipes) to allow me to explore more of the island and dig up some fossils. It doesn’t take long before he stops taking donations though, as those I stockpiled yesterday were enough for him to apply for a proper museum licence.
The way the wise old bird gets genuinely excited by the fossils he appraises for me - and the way bugs terrify him to his very soul - is as delightful as it’s always been. Something about seeing his familiar beaky face really brought a smile to my own (non-beaky) facade, and he seems to have more personality than ever. The characters in this game really are unbelievably charming.
Speaking of which, I also came across a sailor-suited buzzard by the name of Gulliver washed up on the shore. He’d smashed his phone to bits bless him, but I was able to dig up the missing parts using my new shovel so he could call in a lift home. Much like Blathers, Gulliver seems to have much more personality this time around, and looks to be a more fully-fleshed-out character.
This extends to Flip and Ursala too. The two of them seem to be getting along, Flip was telling me about how he’d been round to Ursala’s tent for a glass of coconut soda. He even looked over in the direction of her tent when he spoke too, and helped me out watering the flowers I’d planted. This island may be deserted, but it’s already starting to feel much more alive than any of the previous Animal Crossing towns I’ve lived in.
The other new activity available to me today is the ability to hop on a plane to a random island. I found some more exotic fruit there (peaches), and was able to harvest more materials for crafting. Plus, there were a couple of new animals on the islands I visited - Carrie the Kangaroo and Rodeo the Bull - who I’ve invited to come stay on Jordan. We could use a little more company!
Day Three - Shop ‘Til You Drop
Having donated all those materials I gathered on my island trips yesterday to Timmy Nook, they’ve built a proper store now. Following a brief ceremony I can buy more items, as well as order furniture I’ve already owned using their catalogue service. I’m very glad to see that make a return!
That’s not the only new building in town though, as Blathers’ museum tent has disappeared and there’s now an area earmarked for a fully-fledged museum. This means I’m still stockpiling the new bugs, fish and fossils I find, but I’m excited to check out the finished article tomorrow!
Jordan now has a proper convenience store, and I’ve designed myself some much sharper threads.
Not only that, but Tom Nook tells me there’s three new villagers who are looking to move to Jordan and it’s down to me to decide where their houses should go. After spending hours soft-resetting new arrivals in New Leaf to avoid the destruction of a perfectly manicured flower bed, I can’t tell you how happy having this power makes me.
There is a catch though - I also have to craft various furniture items for the interior of each of these houses, as well as some trinkets to place in their respective gardens. I’m still thoroughly enjoying the crafting mechanic mind you, so it’s nice to have another excuse to hit the workbench.
Nook gave me a ladder so I can fully explore the verticality of the island. It’s really rather cool climbing the cliffs and seeing more alpine-looking trees further up, as well as hearing the rush of the waterfall in the northern part of the island. I’ve spoken about how beautiful this game is already, but the sound design is just as spectacular. From the aforementioned waterfall, to the wind rustling in the trees, right down to the crackly radio playing KK Rock in my humble abode, New Horizons is as much an aural delight as a visual one.
I also checked out some of the game’s multiplayer aspects today, inviting a few different friends over to see the sights and taking a couple of trips myself. It’s relatively easy to visit a friend (provided they have their gates open), and the in-flight animation/arrivals board is a great touch. Unfortunately there’s not really a lot to do besides investigate the layout of others’ towns, and the Island Tour minigames from New Leaf are certainly missed right now.
On the plus side, it seems the Nintendo Switch Online app finally has a use; it’s a lot easier to send messages using the keyboard on your real phone than it is to type stuff out on your NookPhone.
The museum is absolutely spectacular.
Day Four - The Museum
The museum has been the focus of a lot of pre-release hype and now that it’s arrived in Jordan in all its glory, it’s easy to see why.
There might not be much in the way of exhibits right now (I’m working on it), but even the empty halls are incredible. Walking through a fish tank - shark tunnel style - is unbelievably cool, the bug section feels like it’s brimming with life already despite there only being a handful of butterflies in there, and the fossil section… Man, the fossil section.
I’ve only submitted six or seven fossils so far, but the way the skeletons are all lit from beneath adds an awesome vibe to the area. There’s more than an air of Jurassic Park about the place.
Speaking of lighting, I’m increasingly impressed by just how well it’s done in this game. Not only do the various areas of the museum feel much more akin to their real-life counterparts thanks to the brilliant illumination, but little details throughout the game really make things pop.
Opening up your NookPhone at night sees your player’s face partially lit-up by the screen for example, and the way the light bounces off the ocean at sunset is simply beautiful.
The other new feature to come my way on day 4 is the ability to customise certain items. Using customisation kits, I can change the colour of certain furniture items and even add custom designs to a few of them too. Once I get my hands on some furniture I want to keep I’ll be playing around with this a lot more, but it seems to work rather well from the few experiments I’ve run so far.
What this means for Cyrus the Alpaca remains to be seen. Neither him nor his partner Reese have shown up in any of the pre-launch material, so Re-Tail could well be out of commission so far as New Horizons is concerned.
Day Five - Familiar Fishing
Bar Rodeo the bull moving in, today’s been a quiet day on the island of Jordan. As a result, I’ve settled into the familiar Animal Crossing loop of hunting bugs, fishing, and shaking trees.
I’m happy to report that these core tenants of the franchise are as relaxing as they’ve ever been. After a pretty hectic first few days with New Horizons, it’s been nice to just kick back and enjoy the game’s familiar pedestrian pace.
Even though the island is still being fleshed out in terms of residents, infrastructure, and shops, the soul of the franchise is present and correct. Tiptoeing up to a new creepy-crawly is as nerve-wracking as it’s ever been, while hauling in a big catch - wondering what’s going to leap out of the ocean on the end of your line is still incredibly exciting.
All this fishing and bug catching has meant I’ve paid off my debt to Tom Nook and can add a second room to my house for a cool 398,000 Bells.
Yep, the core of this franchise is alive and well.
Day Six - On The Fence
Cherri the bear cub has become the third villager to occupy one of the houses Nook had me set up and furnish. As a result, Nook reckons there’s enough people on the island to warrant a full-fledged Town Hall! He informs us all that Resident Services will be closed from tomorrow, so I should expect to see Isabelle’s beaming face two days from now. I can’t wait.
In the meantime I’ve gone a little bit nuts with the fencing. This new feature works much like a tool. Crafting fences at a work bench will give you ten panels to place, and you can lay them out in pretty much whatever fashion you like. Corners snap together automatically in a rather satisfying manner, and the possibilities this opens up are enormous. As it stands I’ve merely encircled my plaza with a stone wall and mapped out a route to it from the airport, but I can already envisage yards and gardens for my neighbours, perhaps a local football pitch? Bring it on.
Day Seven - Minor Niggles
Resident Services is closed today in anticipation of the Town Hall building being ready tomorrow, so there’s not a huge amount to do aside from the usual. So let me take a second to list some of the minor annoyances that have cropped up so far:
Crafting individual items
I’m thoroughly enjoying the game’s crafting mechanic, but boy oh boy do I wish you could craft multiple items at once. If I’m off on a fishing expedition I really don’t want to have to craft each individual piece of bait one at a time. I’ve got a dozen manila clams to turn into fish food, let me do the whole lot at once! On a similar note, having to craft a flimsy fishing rod first, and then going back into the menu to craft a sturdier one with said flimsy variety is a bit of a nuisance. I understand why it works that way, and crafting some items from already crafted items is a cool feature. Nevertheless, it would be nice to jump straight to the superior version.Items breaking
Ok this is is actually a really minor niggle, and I don’t hate it the way people hated weapon degradation in Breath of the Wild (which I also didn’t mind for the record) but it is annoying when you’re out gathering resources and your axe breaks so have to trek all the way back home to craft a new one. Less annoying as the game goes on and you can get around the island easier, but still a bit of a pain. It’s worth keeping a crafting bench in your pockets so you can pop one out and whip up some new tools when you’re out and about.Inventory sorting
Another minor thing, but I can’t believe they removed the ability to move things around in your pockets. I always used to keep my tools up at the top in New Leaf and being able to group certain items together on one side of your inventory (say, keeping a new fish away from the ones you want to sell) would make keeping track of your items a lot easier. As it stands, your pocket menu is destined to be a disorganised mess and it upsets my OCD.UPDATE: Turns out you can do this - just hold the A button and the item in question will pop out for you to shift wherever you like. We’ll add this one to our top tips feature, thanks for the heads up @danchriswill!
4. No touch screen designer
Seriously. You can’t use the design tool with the touch screen, with the game relegating you to using sticks and buttons. This is made all the more infuriating by the fact you can use the touchscreen for typing. This seems like a massive oversight to me. The mind boggles.
Those collection of little niggles aside, I can’t find much else wrong with this game so far. I’m having a lovely time.
Having to craft every individual piece of fish bait one at a time is a bit of a pain in the proverbial.
Day Eight - Isabelle!
Just when I thought the game was settling into a familiar routine, the Resident Services building gets upgraded (it’s still not called a Town Hall, but that’s what I’ll be calling it regardless) and all hell breaks loose.
There are now a whole host of different DIY recipes and furniture items that I can redeem my Nook Miles for, some of them costing upwards of 4000 miles! Needless to say, I’m very grateful that you can earn them relatively easily just by running around doing things because the sheer volume of stuff on offer has me incredibly excited. With numerous ideas and plans for my town, having these new goals to work towards - and the numerous jobs and tasks to help me get there - is an excellent new addition for the series.
As does the arrival of Isabelle! She radiates adorable as much as she’s ever done, and just like the other characters in the game, seems to have been imbued with more personality than ever before this time around. She’ll also let me change the island tune and flag, bringing a little more customisation to Jordan that will hopefully entice more villagers.
On that note, Nook gives me a campsite recipe to craft and set up (which I obligingly do), and he’ll now also let me build more bridges and slopes, something I’ll be investigating on the ‘morrow…
Day Nine - Jordan Rovers FC
It’s funny. In previous Animal Crossing games, much of the focus in terms of personalisation has been on your house. Hoarding Bells to pay off Nook in order to expand your humble abode, adding rooms and furniture by the bucket-load. I had a pretty sweet home recording studio in my basement on New Leaf, complete with a control room and KK Slider albums adorning the walls. That’s something I plan on replicating in New Horizons, but I’ve barely touched my house outside of the initial upgrade because there’s just so much opportunity in the island itself.
For instance, I’ve decided the island of Jordan needs a football team. As a result I’ve painstakingly laid out the pitch using custom designs, spent an inordinate amount of Nook Miles on goalposts and seating (our ground currently has a capacity of four, but I’m grinding Miles for more seats all the time), and marked out the ground using some fences. It’s simple (for now), but oh man is it fun. And it speaks to the potential the game has, not least the way it invites you to explore your creativity in new and exciting ways. My brother’s determined to build a full-on medieval town for example, complete with ruins and a moat around his house/castle. I can imagine the community is going to be cooking up all sorts of wonders over the years.
In a similar vein, Nook’s campsite is now complete in the hills at the northern part of the island. I’ve decided to turn it into a proper little camping ground, complete with cookware and a simple well for any passing traveller to replenish their water bottle with. Again, all of this combines to make New Horizons feel more real than any previous game in the series.
The initial design of Jordan Rovers FC’s football ground.
Day Ten - Daily Grind
I immediately regret the football pitch idea. It looks cool, but it’s costing me a fortune in Nook Miles. Each set of goalposts cost 4000 Miles and the seating for our spectators are 2000 Miles a pop. As a result I’ve been running around popping balloons (which thankfully now give you random items, including Bells, rather than just the Balloon Furniture set), fishing, catching bugs, chopping down and planting trees, watering flowers, crafting and customising items, getting fossils assessed, selling fruit… you name it, chances are there’s Miles attached.
The upside of this is that I’m amassing a small fortune in Bells without really trying. Once I get round to showing my house some love, it’s game on.
In other news today, Nook informs me that we have our first guest staying in the campsite. I head northwards to find a grey frog by the name of Huck roughing it in the woods. He’s pretty keen to move here though (I can’t decline his suggestion) so it looks like we’ll be getting our seventh resident tomorrow. Nook lets me mark out where he’ll be building Huck’s house and it’s back to the fishing grind.
I’ve managed to add a few more specimens to the museum whilst I’m at it though, which is nice.
Loved the cheeky Labo reference from Huck here.
Day Eleven - Evaluation
Now that Huck’s moved in, Nook tells me it’s all part of his master plan to get KK Slider to stop by Jordan on his next tour. In order for that to happen though, our little island needs to be worth visiting. So we need to prettify the place with flowers, fences and furniture, as well as increase the population somewhat (presumably so KK can sell enough tickets to cover the cost of his flight).
With that in mind, I scan one of the the amiibo cards I grabbed on eBay before prices skyrocketed and invite Phoebe the Ostrich to come visit. Unfortunately it turns out she needs to be invited three times (across three separate days) before she’ll agree to move to the island. This makes me rather miffed I spent ages running around trying to find enough shells to craft the lamp she requested, but at least I’m in her good books for the next visit.
Interestingly I can set up plots for houses ahead of time, whether there’s anyone due to move in or not. As a result, Phoebe’s place is already marked out and I may well finish off the little estate I’ve got planned in the corner of my island ahead of any more visitors to the campsite.
This all contributes to the island evaluation, which currently stands at an embarrassing one star. As I understand it, KK Slider doesn’t mess with any islands with a rating lower than three, so I best get planting some flowers.
Day Twelve - Bug Hunt
I’ve finally seen one of the event villagers! Flick came to town today, and he’ll pay through the nose for bugs (more fool him). This should allow me to make a bit of a dent in my house loan, or at least save some bells for bridges and other infrastructure which work the same way as Public Works Projects did in New Leaf. You decide which bridge or slope you want to implement, go and set up the place for it, and then have to donate funds to a gyroid to get it built. Other villagers will chip in a bit, but don’t expect them to meet the goal on their own (they’re donating pocket change to pieces that can cost upwards of 200,000 Bells).
Flick will also create a sculpture of your favourite bugs if you give him three of the same one to model from. Unfortunately, that’s all that’s on offer. Flick’s definitely cool, and I envy his leather jacket and pierced, err, ridges immensely. But I have to say, the lack of a proper bug catching tourney is a little disappointing. I’ll miss showing off my trophies in my house.
UPDATE: Isabelle posted a notice on Day 17 to announce a fishing tourney later in April, so those tournaments look like they are included, just in a different way which is nice!
Day Thirteen - Zipper T. Bunny
It’s 1 April, which means that - besides dodging questionable news stories on the internet - Zipper T Bunny has arrived on Jordan. He’s slightly deranged, hopping about and speaking in rhyme and frankly, I can’t wait to get as far away from him as possible. This is the start of Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ first seasonal event though, and that means that there’s Easter-themed goodies to be had. They come in the form of eggs, naturally, and they’re absolutely everywhere. They come in from the sky on balloons, they fall out of trees, they disguise themselves as fish… frankly, it’s difficult to get excited about hunting all the new bugs and fish that the new month brings because all I’m finding are these darned coloured eggs.
Zipper tells me if I craft a bunch of themed stuff with them there’ll be a prize for me, but I’m pretty sick of it all already. Nintendo could maybe have done with toning it down a bit here, not least because the event runs for two weeks, rather than just over a weekend like real-life Easter.
In happier news though, Phoebe has finally agreed to move to Jordan after a third amiibo-card invite to the campsite. It’ll be great to have one of my pals from New Leaf join me on this new island!
Day Fourteen - Eggs Eggs Eggs
Eggs. All I see is eggs. This is my life now. Wood eggs. Stone eggs. Wet eggs. Earth eggs. How do you like your eggs in the morning? With some eggs. Eggsellent.
Annoyingly, the house I’d marked out for Phoebe has been snatched up by Octavain, the cranky Octopus villager, so I’ve had to find another plot for Phoebe to take tomorrow. In happier news though, Label has shown up and asked me to pick out a spot for the Able Sisters’ shop. So far as I’m aware, that’s the last shop that will be available for the time being, and I’m excited to get it up and running. I’ll also be able to share my custom designs, so if you want to build a football pitch too, you can!
The way you can create custom areas like this using outdoor furniture and custom designs offers hours of fun.
Day Fifteen - Fishing For KK
CJ is in town, Flick’s fishy counterpart. He’ll also pay extra for fish which is welcome, and he also set me a challenge - catch five fish in a row without failing. Luckily for me, eggs don’t count as a break in the streak so I was able to meet the challenge fairly easily. Still a shame he doesn’t initiate a fishing tourney when he’s in town, but a way to earn a little extra Bells is definitely welcome.
With Phoebe now moved in I’ve hit the eight villager quota needed for KK Slider to sit up and take notice. Unfortunately, according to Isabelle, my horticultural skills need improving. This close to a visit from the one and only KK Slider I’m not about to let a poxy few flowers stop Jordan from gaining a visit from the esteemed pup. A cheeky Nook Miles trip to fill my pockets full of tulips seems to do the trick. The extra bout of botany bumps my island rating up to three stars and we receive a letter from a K.S. - who Tom Nook assures us is Mr Slider himself - expressing an interest in a visit. I can’t wait.
KK Slider is undoubtedly the coolest pooch in all of gaming.
Day Sixteen - KK Slider & Terraforming
Huge day on the island of Jordan. First off the Able Sisters shop is finally open meaning I can augment my wardrobe with all sorts of cool threads. The new wardrobe functionality really does work wonders. Opening up the one in my home gives me access, not only to the clothes in my pockets and my various designs, but everything I have in storage to choose from too. This makes changing up my outfit miles easier than it was in previous games. The changing room in the Able Sisters on the other hand gives me a massive selection of hats, shoes, socks, tops, trousers and dresses to choose from - many of them in a variety of different colours. There’s honestly everything from Converse-style trainers and hiking boots to leather jackets and princely robes. It’s awesome. At the back of the shop is a kiosk where I can upload my own designs to the web, or search for other designs by user or design code too. This is a great evolution of the QR codes from New Leaf, and I’m already blown away by what the community has cooked up.
The Able Sisters aren’t the only ones visiting the island today though. The one and only KK Slider is in town to give us a bit of a concert, and show us the end credits whilst he’s at it. This effectively counts as ‘finishing’ the game, but as anyone who’s ever played one will tell you, you never really complete an Animal Crossing game.
That much is evident by the fact that Tom Nook updates my phone with the island designer app once the concert is over. This gives me access (along with a few permits I nab from the Nook Miles kiosk) to the much-lauded terraforming mechanic, and this is an absolute game-changer. Literally.
I first spent far too long making paths. This is something players managed to do in previous iterations by either running along certain patches of grass until they became dirt roads, or by laying custom designs down to act as pathways. The fact Nintendo have now incorporated it as a proper feature speaks to just how much of this game has evolved off the back of the way people played the likes of New Leaf. It works well enough too, a quick tap of the A button on a free square and my villager lays down some pavement. Chaining this altogether to build larger walkways takes some time - and can be a little finicky at times - but the end results are outstanding.
As are the terraforming tools. I demolished an entire mountain (pretty much) and crafted myself a full-on private estate (pending a house move tomorrow - courtesy of Mr Nook). I also tweaked some waterways to accommodate my vision of a hidden cave where Drago the Dragon can live. Much like the paths, it can be a little finicky at times, but the rewards far outweigh the effort required to craft them.
Verdict
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a huge leap forward for the series. It takes what came before it and dials it up to eleven. True, some fan-favourite characters and features have been lost in the process. It’s a shame not to see the likes of Brewster, Reece and Cyrus, or the inimitable Dr Shrunk in this latest entry (barring any updates in future), and the lack of cookies to get rare, Nintendo-themed items makes me sad too. That sacrifice has not been in vain though.
What we get in return is a game that gives you control over every aspect of your charming little island and encourages you to let your imagination run riot. Games like Animal Crossing run on imagination after all, and being able to adjust everything from your bedsheets to the mountains themselves make Animal Crossing: New Horizons an incredibly rewarding experience. After 65+ hours with the game I still have so much to see and do. I’ve got big plans for the museum (which is still missing so many bugs, fish and fossils), I’m looking forward to tournaments and seasonal events, and I’ve barely even touched my house so far.
It’s a game I foresee myself playing for months, if not years on-end. The possibilities are practically endless, and the excellent writing, gorgeous visuals and charming menagerie of characters ensures every time I boot up the game will be a delight.
Pros & Cons
+ Unprecedented levels of customisation
+ One of the prettiest games on Switch
+ The writing, as ever, is brilliant and characters ooze personality as a result
- More limited in terms of key characters and shops than previous entries
- No batch crafting makes for some occasionally tedious moments
- Inexplicable lack of touch-screen control for designing