Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the latest entry in the beloved franchise, and fans can’t get enough of it on the Nintendo Switch. Animal Crossing has always been a mainstay for Nintendo, but the series is seeing all-time high numbers in terms of sales and this latest entry will likely break every sales record in the franchise.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons does a great job at modernizing the familiar while also introducing plenty of new features. Let’s take a look at 5 new things in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as well as 5 returning features.
10 Returning: K.K. Slider Performances
K.K. Slider is very much the Animal Crossing equivalent to The Beatles. Having him perform in your town or on your island is such a beautiful and cherished experience. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, his first performance serves as the end of the “game,” as the credits roll once he’s finished.
Once you pop back in, Tom Nook will inform you that K.K. Slider will return to perform on Saturday afternoons, and to look out for him. Do yourself a favor and collect all of his music tracks, so you’re never without your favorite K.K. Slider tunes.
9 New: Nook Miles
When it comes to love for a series of games, few rival that of Animal Crossing. It’s big knock though has been that it often lands in a place where players are left wondering what they should do once they’ve captured all of the available insects and fish, as well as decorated their home.
The Nook Miles program was implemented to provide both long and short-term goals for players so they can stay involved in the game as the days, weeks, and months pass. It’s completely optional, but provides as much value to players as they’re willing to put in.
8 Returning: Rock Farming Trick
Series veterans are familiar with the process of digging holes in such a way to obtain the most amount of resources from a rock. Newer players, on the other hand, learn rather quickly that the kickback from hitting a rock with your shovel causes the player character to move.
This can hurt your yields, as once you hit the rock for the first time a timer starts. Wasting time moving back into place to hit the rock once again can result in you losing out on several possible iron, gold, or clay drops.
7 New: Half-Tile Movement
The Animal Crossing franchise has built its name on the idea of players being able to customize and craft their town and have it reflect their wants and desires. Decorating your house has always been fun, but started to feel cumbersome and dated as the years went on.
Thankfully Animal Crossing: New Horizons added the ability to place and move objects in half-tile increments, which, as small of a change as that sounds, completely revolutionized the way players can furnish and decorate both their homes and the island at large.
6 Returning: Personal Museum
One of the most fulfilling parts of any Animal Crossing game is the process of filling up your museum. It is run and operated by a wise owl named Blathers who tends to ramble, but overall he’s a swell guy. The series understood early on that the act of catching fish and bugs as well as digging up fossils was fun, but there needed to be more there.
The museum is a living journal of your personal experiences with the game, as everything in there is dated and marked. You can relive the moment in which you caught that ultra-rare insect or fish.
5 New: Breakable Tools
Animal Crossing: New Horizons features a crafting system that has players building new tools and items, provided they have the proper resources at their disposal. Because of this crafting system, the tools players use break and must be replaced.
Even the best versions of nets and shovels break eventually, which becomes more tedious and annoying the longer you play the game. It’s unclear if the game will ever feature non-breakable upgrades to players, but it certainly is near the top in terms of most requested updates by fans.
4 Returning: Golden Tools
Golden tools make their anticipated return, but unfortunately are much worse in Animal Crossing: New Horizons due to them breaking. Fans are wondering if/when the game will reward dedicated players with the ability to craft permanent tools, as it can become frustrating to constantly be building new ones hundreds of hours into the game.
Unfortunately, golden tools have lost some of their luster in the newest entry, but fans are hoping they serve a greater purpose in the months and years to come.
3 New: Island Designer
Animal Crossing: New Horizons felt it was finally time to give players complete control of their town they call home. After players accomplish the task of getting the K.K. Slider to perform on their island, Tom Nook gifts them with the ability to apply pathing wherever they’d like.
Through the Nook Mileage Program, players can also unlock the ability to terraform both waterways and cliffs, as well as unlocking more pathing options. It’s an optional tool that gives players the ability to design their island in whatever way they envision.
2 Returning: Never-Ending Debt
A running joke in the Animal Crossing series is that Tom Nook is the world’s cutest debt collector. The great thing about him is that he never charges interest and he never really pressures you for payments.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons follows in line with every other game in the series, in which you’re given the home upgrades up front and then must pay off your loan after you’ve received the upgrade. It may seem like a never-ending pit of debt, and in that way it makes the game feel much more like home.
1 New: Dodo Airlines
Dodo Airlines is a new addition to Animal Crossing and is the vessel in which Animal Crossing: New Horizons players can visit other players’ islands, as well as the in-game mini islands. Orville and Wilbur are the two dodo birds who run the entire operation, with the former being the customer associate and the latter being the pilot.
They’re a neat addition to the franchise as their infectious personalities and adorable branding make them feel right at home. They’re your literal gateway to the outside world, so they’re kind of a big deal.
NEXT: Animal Crossing New Horizons: 10 Tips For Building The Perfect Island Getaway
