Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)
Finally! A brand new Animal Crossing game for the Nintendo Switch! This is a simple game of going on a deserted island and building a town. The game is unique in that the game time is the same as real time. While there is a lot to do, some may find it difficult to get into due to the lack of story or direction. It is hard to describe why this appeals to many people. For some people find it relaxing, other like being creative and doing custom designs or designing their island or home decor. This game is also multiplayer so you can have people over or visit others. There are seasonal events and items and the game continues to get free updates! I do highly recommend this game and think its definitely worth the price and the online subscription!
The first couple of days are a bit slow. You can visit friends' islands or have visitors until the second day. You can't explore your whole island because you need certain tools to climb up or cross over rivers. I'd advise to have the patience for this slow part till you can do more. You can also have friends just give you the recipe or items you need too if you don't want to wait for them. You can pass the time by fishing and catching bugs as it is required to proceed with unlocking more features to the game.
There's probably over 1000 items you can get in this game. These items are mostly random so the game has that kind of gacha thrill. Other than the random tree and balloons that can drop items, the stores randomly change what they sell everyday. Your island will be randomly assigned to one native fruit trees and flower type. You also get a sister fruit and flower on mystery islands. If you want to get the other types you will need to find a friend or strangers who you can trade with or gift them to you which requires an online subscription. There is a special npc that sells other flower varieties and Nook shop also sells some flowers. Some items are obtained through crafting. You get DIY recipes from message in a bottle you find on beaches, from villagers, and from balloons. Crafting requires materials most of which you can get from foraging around like chopping trees or hitting rocks.
Other than collecting items to decorate or dress in, there are other things to collect for the museum! Fishes, bugs, fossils, and art! Fishes and bugs are seasonal and timed. Certain ones only come out at certain time of day and months. So it will take all year to be able to get them all unless you time travel. And yes, you can time travel if you want but the only downside to that is events that would get added in later updates. You will have to time travel back and that might mess things up. One that that will mess up is your turnips will spoil. Another thing that could mess up is your villagers would leave and their house is an empty plot. Some say they had no problems time traveling but please do so as your own risk!
Since theres a big animal crossing fandom there's lots of resources and information on friendship levels, flower breeding, fish and bug monthly lists, turnips, and trading. Trading is a great way to get other color variations on items but been sure to read guides on protecting yourself from getting scammed!
