All you need to know about Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing is one of the coolest video games you can have on a Nintendo Switch. Envious people will say that Zelda is the best one, but it’s just because they haven’t played Animal Crossing yet. The game has received critical acclaim and has become a cultural phenomenon.

It is a popular life simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released in 2020, during the pandemic, for the Nintendo Switch.

In this game, players are new residents on a deserted island. Over time, they can build a community, make friends with the animal villagers, and create their unique island paradise.

Several Animal Crossing games have been released over the years, and New Horizons is the newest one. It is a cozy game that offers a wide range of features and activities that make it enjoyable and satisfying.

The best thing about this video game is its ability to provide a sense of relaxation and escapism. It offers peaceful, open-ended gameplay combined with its charming and colorful art style. It also creates a unique and immersive experience that allows players to unwind and disconnect from the stresses of everyday life. In fact, it was a great relief and helped many people during the pandemic.

The game features a real-time clock and calendar corresponding to the player’s actual time and date. Many activities, such as fishing, bug catching, and furniture collecting, can be performed at different times of the day and year.

Another great thing about the game is its sense of community and social interaction. The game encourages players to interact with the island’s villagers. They can visit each other’s islands, trade items, and participate in various events. These activities add a sense of community, fellowship, and social interaction. Moreover, if you have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, you can visit other players’ islands.

How to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

To start playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you must have a Nintendo Switch console. Here are the basic steps to start playing the game:

1. Turn on your Nintendo Switch and select the Animal Crossing: New Horizons icon from the home screen to start the game.
2. The game will begin with a tutorial introducing you to the game’s basic mechanics. After the tutorial, you can customize your appearance. Many of the instructions will be given by Tom Nook.
3. Once your character is created, you will be transported to your deserted island. Then, you will start building your community, make friends with the villagers, and create your unique island.

It’s also good to remember that Animal Crossing is a game that encourages exploration and expression of creativity. So don’t be afraid to try different things and see what you like.

What is the main goal in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

The main goal of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is to create and customize your island and, eventually, get a 5-star island rating. You can achieve this goal through a variety of activities, such as:

• Building and decorating your home: You will start with a tent, but you will be able to upgrade it and make it bigger over time. You can also decorate your home with furniture, wallpapers, and flooring.
• Exploring and expanding the island: As you progress through the game, you will be able to unlock new areas of the island. You can also collect resources, such as wood, stone, and iron, to build and decorate your home and the island. With this, you will make it more habitable for yourself and the other villagers.
• Making friends with the villagers: You will meet various characters on the island, each with their unique personality. You can interact with them in various ways, such as by giving gifts, participating in events, and more.
• Collecting items: There are a wide variety of things to gather in the game. Such as furniture, clothing, and tools that you can use to decorate everything or craft new items.
• Participating in events: Various events take place throughout the year. You will enjoy holidays, fishing tournaments, and bug-catching contests. Participating in these events will allow you to earn rewards and interact with the other villagers.

In short, you need to create a community, make friends, and decorate your beautiful island. You can take your time and finish things when you can. 

There is no hurry in this game. You can enjoy the experience at your own pace and create your own goals as well.

What are the most important characters in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

Players take the role of a new resident on the selected deserted island. You can have different users in the same Nintendo Switch and various residents. But only the first player can be the Resident Representative.

The main characters in the game are the villagers and NPC that the player will meet. These include:

• Tom Nook: A raccoon interested in real estate, which is why he runs the “Nook Inc.” and gives the player their initial loan to start building their home.
• Isabelle: A cute dog who works as Tom Nook’s secretary and sometimes is the player’s advisor. She provides information and helps with various tasks.
• Timmy and Tommy: They are Tom Nook’s nephews and run the Nook’s Cranny shop, where you can buy items and tools.
• The Able Sisters (Sable and Mabel): They are two sisters who run the island’s clothing shop. They sell clothes and accessories.
• K.K. Slider: A musician dog who visits the island every Saturday.

These are some of the main characters in the game, but there are many more NPC that you will meet as you progress through the game.

How to travel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can travel to uncharted islands by using the Nook Miles Ticket. You can buy it at the Resident Services building.

Here are the basic steps to travel to other islands:

1. Purchase a Nook Miles Ticket, which costs 2,000 Nook Miles.
2. Once you have the Nook Miles Ticket, go to the airport and speak to the character Orville. He will ask you if you want to use the Nook Miles Ticket. Select “Yes” to begin your journey.
3. After choosing to use the ticket, you will travel to an uncharted island. Each island has different resources and landscapes.
4. You can collect resources, catch bugs and fish, and interact with the island’s inhabitants if there are any.

The islands you visit using Nook Miles Ticket are randomly generated. So, the resources, animals, and inhabitants are not the same as your home island. It’s a great way to get new resources and items.

Besides, you can travel to other friends’ islands using local communication. But if you have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, you can visit other islands online.

You can search Animal Crossing groups on Facebook to meet other players, visit their islands and share items with them.

Let’s talk about time travel, is it cheating?

As we said before, the video game has a real-time clock corresponding to the console’s actual time and date. But it could be modified in the console’s settings.

Nothing too bad happens if you time travel in Animal Crossing. But it is considered a form of cheating by many players, as it allows people to gain some advantage over those that don’t do it.

Changing the time or date on your console affects the game’s internal clock. This action can cause various unintended consequences.

Consequences of time travel:

• Disrupting events: Many events in the game take place at specific times of the day or year. If you time travel, you might miss them.

• Changing the behavior of villagers or visitors: Some characters will only appear at certain times of the day or seasons. By time traveling, you may miss opportunities to interact with them. If you time travel to the future, villagers will be sad and might move out since you were “out for a long time.”

• Affecting the growth of plants: Plants take time to grow, so you may miss the opportunity to harvest them, or they may grow out of control.
• You will lose your turnips: All your turnips will rot if you travel back in time, even a minute.
• Damaging your relationships with other characters: Some characters may stop coming to your island or may not give you some items.
• And worst of all, cockroaches will infest your home.

Advantages of time travel:

• When you ask Tom Nook to upgrade your house or build a bridge, stairs, and inclines, you can go to the next day to have the construction completed.
• Play day or night, winter or summer, on your island, no matter when you are actually playing. If you don’t have so much time to play, you can do it to enjoy all the island’s seasons.
• Finally, you could put money in the bank, then skip forward a decade to collect the interest.

So, it’s up to you to decide whether to use the time traveling function or not.

Final tips when playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons

1. Set daily goals to keep yourself motivated. Such as catching a certain number of fish or bugs, collecting fossils, or completing DIY recipes.
2. Don’t compare your island with other islands. Try to be unique! Focus on your own journey and progress. Don’t search for ideas on Pinterest because you could feel frustrated since items appear randomly. So, you probably won’t have the same things that other players have.
3. Get to know your island’s villagers and participate in their activities. This will help you to build relationships and earn rewards.
4. Don’t be afraid to experiment and be creative. In the in-game design editor, you can create custom patterns and share them with other players.
5. Use the island’s natural resources, such as fruit and wood, to create furniture and tools.
6. Take advantage of multiplayer by visiting friends’ islands and working together on projects.
7. Try to catch all the fish, bugs, and sea creatures to fill up your Critterpedia. You also can make a profit by selling the ones you don’t need.
8. Have fun and enjoy the game!

Is it worth playing animal crossing in 2023?

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a popular and well-reviewed game for the Nintendo Switch. It has received praise for its relaxing gameplay, creative freedom, and social features. That is why this is one of the most popular cozy games.

It is a video game that is always updated for every event and holiday. It also has a DLC, Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise, that takes your creativity further. So you’ll always have something to do.

Whether or not it is worth playing will depend on your personal preferences and interests, but many players find it to be a fun and enjoyable experience.

If you haven’t played yet, you should do it now that you know how to play Animal Crossing New Horizons. It is a great game to be creative and relieve stress.