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Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review Thread

Bullet Club

Member
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Available on: Nintendo Switch March 20, 2020
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation




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IGN - 90
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is an expanded, polished, next-generation reboot of a classic Nintendo game that's full of surprises.

Destructoid - 85
Based on what I have been able to experience, it's what I've wanted Animal Crossing to be for many years.

VG24/7 - 100
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is everything I hoped it would be, and it’s yet another stellar release that showcases a confident Nintendo at its best. It is excellent, and is easily another must-own Switch title – at least, if you can understand and embrace Animal Crossing’s uniquely lazy pace.

Nintendo Life - 10/10
Animal Crossing: New Horizons takes Animal Crossing and not only drags it back onto home consoles, but improves upon every single facet imaginable. There's more to do, more to see, more to change, more to mould, and more to love; fans and first-time players are going to find themselves losing hours at a time gathering materials, creating new furniture, and making their island undeniably theirs. Every moment is unashamedly blissful, with excellently-written characters that truly feel alive and an island paradise that gives infinitely back more than you put in. Back when Animal Crossing: New Leaf hit the shelves all those years ago and created a whole new generation of fans, many people were wondering how Nintendo could possibly top it, but here we have our answer. This is a masterpiece that has been well worth waiting for.

Game Informer- 90
New Horizons has a lot to see and do, and much of the joy comes from discovering it on your own. I still get a kick out of the real-time elements, such as how a construction project that takes a day to complete takes a real day’s time to finish, or how the various merchants keep actual store hours. That little hook keeps me excited to check back in later when I end each session. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has something new to experience every day, and, best of all, it’s built on a foundation of joy and earnestness that’s all too rare. If the tradeoff is that I have to craft a few fishing poles, I guess it’s worth it in the end.

USgamer- 90
Animal Crossing: New Leaf remains the pinnacle of the series, but New Horizons brings with it a bunch welcome quality of life changes, such as terraforming the island to your every whim. The addition of crafting isn't a burden as I worried it would be. In fact, it becomes a fun objective to work toward, effectively diversifying the usual chores of selling bugs and fish to pay your never-waning debts to that rascally raccoon. With real-world headlines more harrowing than ever, there's never been a better time to go on vacation within Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Wccftech - 94
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the biggest reinvention of the series' mechanics and core gameplay loop, and that also makes it the best entry yet. This is a completely new kind of Animal Crossing experience, while retaining everything you loved about the previous games. You'll spend hours catching fish and bugs, making money to pay off your loan, and do it while having more power over how you customise your experience than ever before. I adore Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and this is quickly becoming one of my most-played games on Nintendo Switch. If you've ever had a love slow-paced social sims like Animal Crossing or The Sims, this game is essential.

GamesRadar+ - 90
There continues to be nothing quite like Animal Crossing, and New Horizons proves that there's life in the old Nook yet.

Daily Star - 100
Similar to how Breath of the Wild and Odyssey reimagined 3D Zelda and Mario, New Horizons represents an exciting new milestone for the Animal Crossing series. By truly handing the player the reins, Nintendo has delivered a deeply customisable and effortlessly joyous experience which is, quite simply, an essential purchase for all Switch owners.

CGMagazine - 10/10
I love every second I’m playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I love its looks, I love its feel, and I’m genuinely excited for each new day and how my island will grow with it. It’s perfect for newcomers and fans, young and old alike. It was well worth the wait and well-deserving of the hype. Do not miss this one.

VGC -5/5
New Horizons does more than enough to build on previous Animal Crossings and easily joins the list of software every Nintendo Switch owner should pick up. At a time when the world outside can often be quite scary, New Horizons is the comforting escape everyone needs.

God is a Geek - 10/10
I won’t apologise for sentimentality in a world that is ever increasingly moving towards anonymity and the cold. If you are looking forward to Animal Crossing: New Horizons as a long term fan, know that this is everything you could have hoped for, which is to say it’s more Animal Crossing with quality of life improvements on what might be the best console Nintendo’s ever put out. It’ll sell millions, earn new fans, and top play counts for years to come. Knowing my family will be playing this together for a long, long time, makes me feel like everything is going to be alright, and goodness, what more could you ask for?

Famitsu - 9/9/10/10

























 
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Mista

Banned
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IGN: 9/10
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is an expanded, polished, next-generation reboot of a classic Nintendo game that's full of surprises.


Eurogamer: Essential
An impressive suite of improvements combine with a more clearly defined structure for Animal Crossing's finest outing to date.


GamesRadar+: 4.5/5
There continues to be nothing quite like Animal Crossing, and New Horizons proves that there's life in the old Nook yet.


Game Informer: 9/10
A new challenge system reinvigorates the familiar core, providing a wonderful incentive to explore all of Animal Crossing's myriad activities. This cheerful life sim is the next best thing to an actual vacation


GameSpot: 8/10
Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives you more creative freedom and more to do on any given day while preserving what makes the series special.


USgamer: 4.5/5
With real-world headlines more harrowing than ever, there's never been a better time to go on vacation within Animal Crossing: New Horizons.


Destructoid: 8.5/10
Honestly, 18 days is far too little time to generate a comprehensive assessment of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There is still much I don't know about this game, including how in-game purchases will ultimately be incorporated. But based on what I have been able to experience, it's what I've wanted Animal Crossing to be for many years. While it fumbles its camping-inspired opening, New Horizons makes a nice recovery with a strong focus on player accomplishment, creating a potent sense of achievement in this idyllic piece of escapism.


TheSixthAxis: 9/10
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the perfect island escape, drawing you in to play day after day. All of the charms of the series' previous games are here, but with gorgeous new graphics, DIY crafting and the eventual ability to remodel your island, you can really create the island settlement of your dreams.


God is a Geek: 10/10
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.


COGconnected: 92/100
If you’ve ever had even a whiff of interest in this franchise, Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be an absolute slam dunk. Don’t sleep on this one for a second.


OpenCritic:

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MetaCritic:

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Possible GOTY right here, I fucking love this series and anyone with even a passing interest to see what these games are about should give it a shot.
 

hemo memo

Gold Member
IGN say “Slower start than usual” so I don’t know how new comers are going to react to slow to already slow start series.
 
I never understood what people literally adore about this game series, but it's one of the best selling ips out there so I think that this will be huge


Same, it just feels like doing chores to me. My wife is obsessed with it and many many others love it too so obvs they're doing something right!
 
IGN say “Slower start than usual” so I don’t know how new comers are going to react to slow to already slow start series.

I think this will be much better for new comers this way, they ease you into the systems, things open up after 2 weeks or so depending on your hours played. I think older players are the ones who will find a slow start annoying because they want to rush and get to the good stuff they enjoy.

If you watch the Kinda Funny review video they had 2 people playing one had 70 hours the other 40 hours the only with more hours had a lot more access to things.
 

Jooxed

Gold Member
I think this will be much better for new comers this way, they ease you into the systems, things open up after 2 weeks or so depending on your hours played. I think older players are the ones who will find a slow start annoying because they want to rush and get to the good stuff they enjoy.

If you watch the Kinda Funny review video they had 2 people playing one had 70 hours the other 40 hours the only with more hours had a lot more access to things.

After this comes out I expect to see you stressing a lot less in the other thread :)
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I am so ready for this.

Does anyone of these videos do a good job of explaining the multiplayer? I am curious if my wife and I can play on the same island, at the same time, while being able to run around independently of each other.
 

Jooxed

Gold Member
I am so ready for this.

Does anyone of these videos do a good job of explaining the multiplayer? I am curious if my wife and I can play on the same island, at the same time, while being able to run around independently of each other.


 

Codes 208

Member
You don't need to be fan of Animal Crossing to see the appeal of it, that why I can never understand why some people acting as its huge math problem to understand why people enjoy the series.
Just for added context, im making fun of a certain thread, this isnt my actual opinion. Im relatively indifferent to the series but i definitely get the appeal, it was basically minecraft long before minecraft actually came out (or more like a nintendo-themed harvest moon really)
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Just for added context, im making fun of a certain thread, this isnt my actual opinion. Im relatively indifferent to the series but i definitely get the appeal, it was basically minecraft long before minecraft actually came out (or more like a nintendo-themed harvest moon really)
I know, I'm just talking in general.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Shame the game can be whatever you want imo
I might get it down the line, I mean currently hating myself for not getting in to Ace Attorney sooner. But as of now they are too many games coming out, especially at end of March and April.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
I might get it down the line, I mean currently hating myself for not getting in to Ace Attorney sooner. But as of now they are too many games coming out, especially at end of March and April.
Oof so lucky AA is amazing
 

Terenty

Member
Ok, i dont have anything against cartoony artstyle in games, but this literally looks like a game for pre school children
 

benjipwns

Banned
The most important review:
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is basically a fantasy of harmless colonialism, one where all the rough edges have been sanded off to make room for talking animals, pastel furniture, and catching bugs. Tom Nook has started a new "Deserted Island Getaway" travel package and you, along with two other animal villagers, take him up on it. After choosing between four maps, I landed on a completely unoccupied island alongside a kangaroo named Sylvia and a pig named Cobb. It would become Ella, my new home.

More than anything, Animal Crossing: New Horizons asks the player what makes a society. Each and every action you take to develop your island is an exercise in community building. Several characters in the game will tell you that what makes your island special is your presence, your outreach to your neighbors, your kindness. It's as much a game about community organizing as it is about claiming new lands.

But, let's be clear, it's also about claiming new lands and stripping them for resources in the pursuit of consumer goods, and leaving them destroyed and forgotten in your wake.

I may not be displacing a native people or anything like that, but it's still hard to wash off the politics of the frontier when I play. The idea of finding "unoccupied" land and taming it, turning it into an urban society, is so entangled with colonialism that it is impossible to unravel that knot.
When a game lets you do anything, I always get analysis paralysis. If there are too many options I freeze up, too anxious about what I'm missing out on if I make my choice too hastily. The delights of Animal Crossing as a series are so self directed that it has never really given me that anxiety. I feel like New Horizons has finally illuminated for me why this is so, and it comes down to how much of this game is intended to make the player feel warm, comforted and safe.
My favorite area in this museum is a small greenhouse with a fountain that's filled with butterflies. I have taken so many screenshots of my Animal Crossing: New Horizons character just sitting among the butterflies. I have had to delete other screenshots from my Switch—at least two hundred of them—because I wanted to take more screenshots of my character sitting in that butterfly sanctuary, or fishing on the pier, or sitting in my immaculately decorated room. There is a gentleness to these places that I can't find in the world during the time of COVID-19. I'm looking forward to spending even more time in those calming spaces, but with my friends, once they have their copies of New Horizons and online play is functional.
I try to play New Horizons shortly after I wake up and after work, before the shops close at nine. Starting the day with an announcement from Isabelle, who just arrived and is taking over the morning announcement duties from Nook, is a nice way to set the pace for what I'll do in the game each day. When a new villager comes, I know to greet them. If a new building has been built, I know that I should go to Resident Services and ask Tom Nook to hold a ceremony to commemorate it. There's a simplicity to life on Ella that I cherish, especially as life becomes so uncertain and stressful in the wake of COVID-19 and the Democratic presidential primary.

Two weeks ago I went canvassing for the Sanders campaign. Most of the people in the building I canvassed weren't home, and most of those that were did not speak English. The few people that were open to speaking with me and my friend were all warm, personable and friendly. A few invited us inside for water. One was a 99 year old socialist who told us she was a delegate for Walter Mondale in the Democratic National Convention in 1980. Another got into Sanders through her daughter, who encouraged her to buy a huge banner for their balcony. It's been a contentious primary, and online it's often felt toxic, but talking to people at their homes, that unpleasantness melted away. It was warm and affirming, and that is what Animal Crossing achieves at its best. New Horizons is asking you to create a society from scratch, to build a community out of a deserted island, but making a community isn't dependent on how many trees you cut or weeds you pull. Community in New Horizons is built in the same ways it is built in the real world: by talking to your neighbors, and listening to them in return.
 
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