How does one evaluate success in a game like Animal Crossing: New Horizons? On the surface, a simple answer is by the star rating of an island, with more stars allowing access to content that is otherwise gated from players, but therein lies a problem for those who have no interest in conforming to a list of stringent, arbitrary rules sprung from a rather boring world view that limits what makes each island special.

Play As You Like? You’ll Miss Out On Content

Long before the game launched, the official trailer for New Horizons described the experience as “…setting your own goals…you have both the tools and the freedom to create the island paradise of your dreams.” For some players, this writer included, that means making an island getaway similar in style to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, filled with camping-themed decorations, and of course, a multitude of trees.

Technically, the game allows players to do anything they want, so the freedom part of the trailer was correct, but at the same time, unless one follows a specific set of guidelines about vegetation and decoration, they will not see an increase in their star rating, which means that some content will forever be gated. K.K. Slider will never arrive to give a concert and then visit periodically. The growth of Lily of the Valley will never occur either, as 5-Star islands are required for the unique plant.

Unfortunately, this means that all 5-Star islands acquire their rating by doing the exact same things, leading every island feeling somewhat the same, even with the unique touch of individual players. Isabel, it seems, is the authority on what constitutes a “good” island.

Beauty Is In The Eye Of Isabelle

Once the star rating of an island becomes relevant, Isabelle will constantly inform players of what makes an island better or worse. If you are a tree lover, this is bad news, because an abundance of nature will make Isabelle describe the island as “too rural” and impede any progress towards a higher rating. What does Isabelle recommend instead? Exterior furniture, decorations, and fencing. Lots and lots of ugly, restrictive fencing.

Obviously, not everyone will feel the same way, but the point is that beauty and the desires of each player take a back seat to Isabelle’s subjective and somewhat arbitrary world view. If a player despises fencing, they need to either bite the bullet and place it anyways or sacrifice game content. Some players have found a workaround by placing all the items they dislike behind their buildings, so that their island still rises in rating, but the view is obscured and less obviously forced onto a player.

Unfortunately, Isabelle’s requirements go completely against the description of the game from the main trailer, which promised to allow players “both the tools and the freedom to create the island paradise of your dreams.”

The Result – Islands Feel The Same

The exact formula for a 5-Star rating is still not completely known, but for the most part, we know that players need about:

  • 215 units of fencing 160 trees (combined types) 350 Flowers (combined types) 170 decorations of varying dimensions

While there are some players who go out of their way to make their island truly unique, visiting most player’s islands generally brings a feeling of uniformity and dullness due to the need to maintain the roughly 800 specific items needed for a 5-Star rating.

One Possible Solution – A Rating That Cannot Degrade

If the developers of New Horizons truly wanted to allow players to build the island of their dreams, the conditions to reach a 5-Star rating should not exist. A simple option would be to keep everything as is, but with a clear message to players that reaching the top rating is like a long tutorial, after which they would be free to tear down all that ugly, restrictive fencing and build as they like without worrying about losing their rating and the content that comes with it.

Another alternative is to do away with it altogether, because while the game is meant to be a relaxing, open experience for players, the mere existence of a rating system denotes judgement in a place that should be free of such considerations. We want to visit islands that truly reflect the feelings and creativity of each player, but right now, every island just feels like another cog in the machine.

Source: animal-crossing.com/new-horizons

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