Howdy all, we’re 47 days out from Animal Crossing: New Horizons and I’m sure, like me, many are fervently excited! While I hold the Animal Crossing team in high regard and expect good things from NH, I’m really keen to see the deeper details and workings of the upcoming paradise simulator.
My own personal haven
There have been a few trailers so far, all showcasing the desert island setting, crafting, ability to place furniture outside and the basic functionality of the multiplayer. In these, there have been some exciting new additions to the ‘core formula’. Favourites of mine include; harvesting crafting materials from the overworld, carving paths and DIGGING UP WHOLE TREES.
But, while the core formula is appealing, it undoubtedly runs itself thin after a few weeks at best. Historically the games would then buffer the experience with events, shopping, minigames, house expansions and museum donating to name a few. So effective is the extended gameplay that players soon have spent months, even years fine tuning their slice of life into their own personal haven and collecting many of the in-game items from common to event-only.
So what do I want to see most? The extended game world!
I can’t help but feel we haven’t seen even half of what New Horizons has to offer geographically. Aside from Wild World, the other main games have had other areas to visit besides your town/camp. While the city area was a thinly conceived shopping area, the island in New Leaf for example was an amazing addition that extended what could be caught, gave you another area to customise and was the hub of a plethora of fun minigames. New Leaf also built upon the city via its high street, which expanded as you spent more and more time with the game. There was the HHA (Happy Home Academy), 3 giant areas that would fill with player homes to explore and gather inspiration. Then finally the Camp, a short but meaningful addition. In short, New Leaf made huge strides in extending your stay in the wonderful Animal Crossing universe.
There must be dedicated shopping in this game to go alongside the crafting. With Nintendo alluring to the return of series character mainstays, it would surely be logical to have a physical shopping hub since there is no such location on the main island (based on the maps shown thus far). It seems villagers will suggest things via DIY recipes, and perhaps the Nooklings too will help extend your repertoire. But there’s still room for Reese and Cyrus to return with their second-hand store and customisation expertise. If not on the fly, perhaps character customisation options will still be down to Harriet. Maybe a Pokémon Sword/Shield approach where you choose your appearance and she works her magic. I for one would still appreciate a physical location in which to browse, I feel it provides players a means of considering a larger variety of the games expansive furniture offering.
One Particular Suggestion
What I am hoping for, is a feature I have detailed before that was touched upon in Pocket Camp. Hotspots. Areas of the game, fixed within certain seasons / weather for you to visit, explore and collect things. In Pocket Camp, the game world is divided into sections; river, grove, island and beach. Each area focused on one or more of some key components that make Animal Crossing; fishing, bug catching, fruit and shell gathering. They also had animal and human players in which to interact.
I feel, combined with the spirit of the New Leaf island and expanded upon this could be a big hook. The island is permanently basking in the Summer climate, how about an Autumn plain, or Winter snowscape? With each comes their own creatures to discover, materials to collect and character interactions no matter what time of year you’re playing. There are many things the app did well, in the meantime while we wait I do urge anyone interested in the deeper mechanisms to check it out. Who knows what else we’ll see carried over?
That’s all from me for now. Do let me know what you want to see and hope they include too!
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