Animal Crossing: New Horizons

 Switch
User Score
5.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 6617 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,370 out of 6617
  2. Mixed: 571 out of 6617
  3. Negative: 2,676 out of 6617
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  1. pinkoval
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    Really upset that you can only have one island :( ruined the experience for my me and my girlfriend.
  2. Ayylice
    Mar 21, 2020
    10
    Game getting review bombed over nitpicks and small inconveniences, sounds about metacritic.
  3. Broxby
    Mar 24, 2020
    4
    The one island per Switch was a weird choice, but the fact that the Resident Rep is the 1st person to play, and as of yet, no way to change that is the biggest mistake Nintendo has made with AC:NH.
  4. Spowell91
    Mar 23, 2020
    2
    This game has some great elements and it is a lot of fun for the FIRST player to boot it up. For every other user who shares the switch console you are given a sub par experience. Only the first player to start the game gets to experience the whole game, complete with building shops, completing tasks for Nook, moving buildings, unlocking recipes, and generally continuing the storyline.This game has some great elements and it is a lot of fun for the FIRST player to boot it up. For every other user who shares the switch console you are given a sub par experience. Only the first player to start the game gets to experience the whole game, complete with building shops, completing tasks for Nook, moving buildings, unlocking recipes, and generally continuing the storyline. Everyone else does not even get to help donate resources to building projects so their ability to progress in the game is limited by how much the primary player has unlocked. Nintendo is basically trying to force households to buy multiple consoles and multiple copies of the game as that is the only way for everyone to get the full experience!
    The island also does not have enough resources to go around when you have to share those resources with everyone else in your household who plays the game. It can easily create tension and arguments as players fight over the valuable resources like iron that are in limited supply but are needed for crafting. I love the animal crossing series and was really looking forward to this game, but since my husband happened to log on first, I do not get to experience the game as it is meant to be. I am so frustrated that Nintendo would limit us with this one island per console garbage!    … Expand
  5. DaRon_83
    Mar 24, 2020
    2
    While the game itself is beautifully designed and cute looking and you get lots of motivations from what you can do. There are some design aspects and restrictions that are not worth to play the game...at least if you are more than one player.

    1st critics: the menu design. If you want to buy, craft, build or sell things or just interact with objects and NPC, you have to click through    While the game itself is beautifully designed and cute looking and you get lots of motivations from what you can do. There are some design aspects and restrictions that are not worth to play the game...at least if you are more than one player.

    1st critics: the menu design. If you want to buy, craft, build or sell things or just interact with objects and NPC, you have to click through the same procedures over and over and over and over again. You can´t just simply shortcut actions when done once. You can´t just hand over animals to the museum in a pack. You can´t just skip menus. No, you need to do this one after another and always go through the same question and answer procedures every time again and again. That is nonsense and game design from 1990.

    2nd critics: Nintendo linked one island to the hardware and that´s it, no matter how much accounts are on the Switch. At all, Nintendo should have given the option if you want to live together on one island or everybody have its own. But being forced to live on one island is just stupid. Nintendo agued that it´s for protect against cheating. But why the **** do you do this? There´s no competition in the game. When people want to cheat, let them cheat if it´s part of their game experience. Are you the mother of all gamers?

    3nd critics: it´s the worst of all and a reason to sell the game. Nintendo decided to give the full game experience just to the player who initiated the game first. HOW STUPID IS THAT. Everybody else on the Switch is not just being forced to live on the same island. NO. They can´t even do all the things that the starter account can do. Every other account on the Switch is downgraded to a worthless peasant of the leading player. Being restricted to do basic things, but not being allowed to change major stuff on the island like create buildings, modulate the terrain or doing any important action to develop the island further. Just the leading player can do that.

    Nintendo, that´s the most stupid game design I´ve ever experienced in my whole gaming career of 25 years. You are forcing families with just one console to devide into one major player and everybody else being peasant players. For a NON-COMPETETIVE game that was designed to player FREE and LIKE THE PLAYER WANTS IT TO EXPERIENCE on a FAMILY CONSOLE, you ****ing idiots.

    No Nintendo, you designed the game to experience it the way you want and sell more consoles. That´s it.    … Expand
  6. QualityGame27
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    Simple enough 10/10 if you live alone. 0/10 if you live with LITERALLY anyone else in your household. 1 island per console where whoever makes the account first is the only one able to progress, and everyone else is locked into their progression with no hope of escape except a 300 paywall of buying an entirely new console. Shameful that this even took place. Easily a 0/10 until fixed.
  7. REKT
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    Really fun and chill game. Encourages playing daily but not ALL day that is a nice change of pace. Easy to lose yourself in. Better multiplayer would be nice.
  8. Ellinov
    Mar 21, 2020
    10
    Having a total blast so far! All the animals are adorable and the music is soft and calming. My friend visited my town and we played instruments together for like 10 minutes. This was definately the kind of "sit back and relax" kind of game it was hyped up to be.
  9. Taiyuabi
    Mar 21, 2020
    10
    It's beautiful, is definitely more than I was expecting.
    I can't wait for the upcoming events!
  10. Mikyto
    Mar 21, 2020
    10
    Animal Crossing is an absolutely perfect game in all areas. I beg you, dear reader, ignore the entitled nature of the negative reviews. The decision to limit players to a single island has been made for artistic purposes and was very well communicated to the playerbase before they could have made their purchase. At the end of the day the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite consolesAnimal Crossing is an absolutely perfect game in all areas. I beg you, dear reader, ignore the entitled nature of the negative reviews. The decision to limit players to a single island has been made for artistic purposes and was very well communicated to the playerbase before they could have made their purchase. At the end of the day the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite consoles are portable devices that most of the time support only one player. Expecting anything else is straight entitlement.

    In the graphical department Animal Crossing: New Horizons is astonishingly amazing. It's gorgeous to look at. The gameplay is fantastic and a lot of fun. This is exactly the game needed to let go and relax during these hard times.    … Expand
  11. dagallas
    Mar 21, 2020
    10
    I love the animal crossing series, and ACNH is a perfect addition! Countless islands to explore and everything looks great, lots to do and it is so relaxing just chilling on your personal island. Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy relaxation and fun.
  12. kmcdevitt
    Mar 22, 2020
    5
    I bought this game as soon as it came out since I have always been a fan. I started my own island an character and fully expected my sister, who shares a switch with me, to be able to play her own game too. We find out later that she can not have her own island and that she is extremely limited to what she can do in the game. The whole point to animal crossing is doing stuff in theI bought this game as soon as it came out since I have always been a fan. I started my own island an character and fully expected my sister, who shares a switch with me, to be able to play her own game too. We find out later that she can not have her own island and that she is extremely limited to what she can do in the game. The whole point to animal crossing is doing stuff in the community. What is she going to do? Just walk around in a world she cant even dig in? Great job Nintendo. You made what could have been a perfect game into a dud.… Expand
  13. JanisB
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    Amazing. I don't understand all these criticisms that you can only create one island per switch, if I were you I would confirm by researching the features that provide the game. This game has infinite possibilities, it's perfect. I love everything in this game
  14. Rase
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    El juego en sí es fantástico, como todos los animal crossing. Este viene cargado de novedades, como el crafteo de muebles y herramientas, y la personalización. El problema de este viene con el multijugador y la imposibilidad de tener más de una isla por consola. No es justo que si somos dos usuarios que la usamos, solo tengamos una isla, y uno sea el que hace todo y decide, y el otro soloEl juego en sí es fantástico, como todos los animal crossing. Este viene cargado de novedades, como el crafteo de muebles y herramientas, y la personalización. El problema de este viene con el multijugador y la imposibilidad de tener más de una isla por consola. No es justo que si somos dos usuarios que la usamos, solo tengamos una isla, y uno sea el que hace todo y decide, y el otro solo pueda hacer el resto de cosas.

    También estaría bien poder tener dos islas aun siendo un jugador, para poder experimentar más con la construcción del terreno que te permite, o probar los distintos tipos de islas. No entiendo porque Nintendo puede haber hecho algo así, que solo limita la experiencia final. La única explicación es para vender más consolas y juegos..    … Expand
  15. Djdjfjfjj
    Mar 24, 2020
    1
    Good but bad Nintendo only allowing one island per console we can’t transfer our saves or download our saves I hope Nintendo will add save recovery soon
  16. nofx911
    Mar 24, 2020
    1
    Normally, I would give this game an 8 out of 10, but I can not believe Nintendo would allow a first person release that is so incredibly crippled. Against better judgement I decided to try the game knowing that there is only one island per switch (I have never played animal crossings games before so did not realize how annoying that would be). However, they made is worse since the personNormally, I would give this game an 8 out of 10, but I can not believe Nintendo would allow a first person release that is so incredibly crippled. Against better judgement I decided to try the game knowing that there is only one island per switch (I have never played animal crossings games before so did not realize how annoying that would be). However, they made is worse since the person that creates the island holds everyone else back. I do not have time to play right now, but my son is home and he is essential stuck since I do not have time to play. Maybe I missed something or did not understand when setting everything up, but that for all companies to be that anti consumer I would have never guessed Nintendo. Just seems like a cash grab from a company that has one of the hottest systems ruining a game that would be very good otherwise.… Expand
  17. ChrisLinen
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    So they disabled cloud saves even though I'm paying $20/year for that. Next, you can't have more than one island per console, so if me and my sister wanted separate islands, we would have to spend $360 dollars to buy an entire new Switch just to have 2 islands. Oh and don't forget that certain features of the game are only available to the player who created the island, so single player isSo they disabled cloud saves even though I'm paying $20/year for that. Next, you can't have more than one island per console, so if me and my sister wanted separate islands, we would have to spend $360 dollars to buy an entire new Switch just to have 2 islands. Oh and don't forget that certain features of the game are only available to the player who created the island, so single player is broken for everyone except the island creator. Oh and they made it a lot harder to "time travel" in the game. On the 3ds animal crossing, I would set my game time 2 hours different because I like to play every morning at around 6:00 AM and my school starts at 8:00 AM. Everything important in the game happens at 8, so I just set the time so that when it's actually 6, the game thinks it's 8:00. Now it's harder to change the in-game time, so I literally cannot play the game because everything important happens while I am in school. Wow, Nintendo's first party games are getting so bad. The older ones like Smash, Mario Kart, BOTW, etc. were really good but Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion 3, and Mario Maker 2 are all really bad. Their online is absolutely screwed, I can't believe they make me pay $20 for a broken system. Don't buy this game.… Expand
  18. Garblovian
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    Broken multi-player ruined the game. The local co-op is the most poorly designed game mechanic I've ever seen. Why couldn't they just make it split screen like every other game... ever? Beyond that the fact that everyone on a one switch has to share an island is the most desperate attempt to get people to but more switches.
  19. Nmo
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    So no cloud saves, only 1 island per console, and everyone except player 1 is screwed over to just collecting flowers? Don't buy this
  20. Chriosania
    Mar 24, 2020
    1
    Be great if I could play the game. One island per console and the nonsense "resident rep" makes it impossible for multiple people to play this game. I'm locked out of most of the game because the first player hasn't unlocked everything yet. Hardly a family game for what one would consider the most family friend console. Worst AC to date if things aren't fixed....and I've played almost every game.
  21. Ununheptium
    Mar 24, 2020
    4
    Great game, but Nintendo needs to fix the multiplayer couch issue. Every player's account on the switch should be able to access everything and progress. There is no sense of community with just 1 leader and the other players not being able to make major decisions. I don't mind the one island per console .
  22. Pillowytuba1
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    This game is truly a 1 player game!!! I bought it because it said up to 8 players. Such a lie! False advertising and makes kids very sad. You need a switch per player to really enjoy the game. It has made kids everywhere cry!!!! BIG MISTAKE NINTENDO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  23. hello-ev
    Mar 25, 2020
    0
    This game would be so close to perfect -- the graphics are gorgeous, the new options for customization and design are excellent, and Nook Miles are a fun addition. HOWEVER, its one fatal flaw is how greatly secondary players are hamstrung, and it's enough of an issue for us that it takes a lot of my enjoyment out of the game and eclipses all the positives.

    I was the one to start the    This game would be so close to perfect -- the graphics are gorgeous, the new options for customization and design are excellent, and Nook Miles are a fun addition. HOWEVER, its one fatal flaw is how greatly secondary players are hamstrung, and it's enough of an issue for us that it takes a lot of my enjoyment out of the game and eclipses all the positives.

    I was the one to start the game on our Switch because I had a day off work, and therefore relegated my partner's save file to being a sidekick that can't contribute to the main storyline or placement of buildings, and is stuck waiting on whatever progress I make in the game. Even though I have the "privilege" of being the first player and RR, my enjoyment in the game is totally shot because I know I took the "good" spot from my partner.

    We'd GLADLY buy a second copy of the game so we could each have our own island, but we can't afford to purchase an entire second Switch just because Nintendo can't get their act together.

    It's really a shame that such a great game is totally marred by this (very intentional) design flaw.    … Expand
  24. Shelly34
    Mar 25, 2020
    1
    The new Animal Crossing is really successful and it is great fun to play this game.
    There are many innovations and the gameplay has been made very motivating.
    Now comes the big BUT: You can only build one island per console and per game. That means the second player has the A .... card. We are currently playing the game in party mode on the couch together and we are just EXTREMELY    The new Animal Crossing is really successful and it is great fun to play this game.
    There are many innovations and the gameplay has been made very motivating.

    Now comes the big BUT:
    You can only build one island per console and per game. That means the second player has the A .... card. We are currently playing the game in party mode on the couch together and we are just EXTREMELY disappointed with Nintendo.
    How can you develop a game today that has such a bad couch co-op mode and then ask a family that everyone should buy a console and a game if you want to build your own island and not all the time like want to run one annoying tag after the other.
    A split screen, for example, would have been a great idea for the couch co-op, where the second player can go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants, that should be possible without any problems in 2020.

    I actually would have liked to give the game 5 stars, but I'm just disappointed with Nintendo, it's not that difficult to provide a separate island for each player on a console.

    Unfortunately, all other players lose the fun of the game !!!!    … Expand
  25. HULK9362
    Mar 26, 2020
    0
    I am not a fan that their can only be one island per switch. I hope they fix this soon.
  26. BadrGaieb
    Mar 21, 2020
    10
    This is 100% the best AC experience so far Ignore the 0s given by stupid people out here, the game is amazing
  27. Munchie03
    Mar 21, 2020
    10
    By far one of the most charming games of 2020. The game offers a variety of tasks and adventure to explore with its new deserted island theme. The DIY crafting mechanic allows you to build new items instead of buying them like in past game and offers new uses for existing material on your island. The characters are charming and have unique personalities that keep the game refreshing.
  28. NatJacks
    Mar 21, 2020
    10
    Absolutely loving the game so far, I love how it's equal amounts of hand-holding and letting you do whatever you want. Can't wait to play this for many years like the previous games. But Nintendo really needs to add more than one island per switch...
  29. Skyrapture
    Mar 22, 2020
    10
    Super jeu. Seulement trois jours dessus mais je m'éclate, il y a toujours des choses a faire et le système d'objectifs permet de renouveller l'intérêt après la routine quotidienne effectuée.

    Ceux qui ont noté 0 par rapport au multijoueur sont des trolls. Nous jouons à trois sur l'île et souvent en simultané net nous avons aucun problème avec les ressources. Achetez le jeu et jouez y    Super jeu. Seulement trois jours dessus mais je m'éclate, il y a toujours des choses a faire et le système d'objectifs permet de renouveller l'intérêt après la routine quotidienne effectuée.

    Ceux qui ont noté 0 par rapport au multijoueur sont des trolls.
    Nous jouons à trois sur l'île et souvent en simultané net nous avons aucun problème avec les ressources.
    Achetez le jeu et jouez y avant de critiquer.    … Expand
  30. unfortunayt
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    my first ac game; i do not regret.

    video reviews can be a little biased bc of the popularity of ACNL, but it is a genuinely fun game to play. it should be noted more clearly that only one island can be created on a switch & that the community can be a bit toxic, as most communities are, for the way you choose to play the game. As of the time i'm writing this review (a few days after    my first ac game; i do not regret.

    video reviews can be a little biased bc of the popularity of ACNL, but it is a genuinely fun game to play. it should be noted more clearly that only one island can be created on a switch & that the community can be a bit toxic, as most communities are, for the way you choose to play the game. As of the time i'm writing this review (a few days after launch), there is a dupe glitch going around that has completely ruined the online trading market. i suspect this'll be patched relatively soon and hopefully the market will level out again soon after. the game itself is very fun to play & very addictive. luckily for me, i didn't run into the island limit problem. if you're the primary owner of your switch, and don't plan on letting others use it, this game is a must have. right up there with Super Mario Odyssey & Breath of the Wild.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best Switch Game of 2020
1
#1 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 111 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 110 out of 111
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 111
  3. Negative: 0 out of 111
  1. Universo Nintendo
    Dec 19, 2020
    95
    Animal Crossing New Horizons is basically perfect. Full of wholesome content that helped us cope with the COVID-19 pandemics, the game keeps the heart of its predecessors while innovating enough to make it unique. It may not have won Game of the Year but it'll be the game we all remember from 2020, for sure.
    Read full review
  2. The Digital Fix
    Jun 22, 2020
    80
    Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a stunning new instalment in the Animal Crossing franchise, hindered only by its lack of immediate content, quality of life issues and missing returning characters and features While future updates will give the game long-term playability, for those already sipping vacation juice on their five-star islands, island life feels pretty mundane right now.
    Read full review
  3. CD-Action
    May 12, 2020
    95
    It’s full of detail, pretty small things, and surprisingly well working simulations and systems – everything polished in such a way that the player really does care about everything that’s going on. [06/2020, p.40]
See all critic reviews »