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. Grayson66
    Jun 5, 2020
    8
    I really enjoy this game. It's super charming and wholesome. It's the perfect game for the times we're going through right now. The game only has one major problem and that's the island system and clunky inventory controls. The game desperately needs some quality of life changes. other than that, it's great. highly recommend
  2. HolyMoly8
    Jun 5, 2020
    0
    I bought this game for myself and my girlfriend. I thought it would be okay for both of us to play it, but that was not the case. The fact that each Switch console can only have 1 island in total, ruins the whole game if more than 1 person wants to play. I was looking forward to playing it, but as I want my girlfriend to have a good time with it, I am unable to play at all because of theI bought this game for myself and my girlfriend. I thought it would be okay for both of us to play it, but that was not the case. The fact that each Switch console can only have 1 island in total, ruins the whole game if more than 1 person wants to play. I was looking forward to playing it, but as I want my girlfriend to have a good time with it, I am unable to play at all because of the huge restrictions put on anyone who is not the island representative. And when playing co-op together, all you can do is run around, equip tools and use them, and pick up items, which don't even go to your inventory, because you don't have an inventory. If you can play it alone, it's a great game, but as it stands, I can't play a game that I payed for. It's an absolute joke.… Expand
  3. Chabracadabraaa
    Jun 4, 2020
    0
    1 island per Switch, really Nintendo?! I bought the game and it's great but I can't play it because my girlfriend don't want me to mess up her island... So what now, I am supposed to buy an other Switch? Good one!
  4. DemonoidAngel
    Jun 4, 2020
    5
    I don't know if it's just me, but this game seems like an awful grind. Furthermore, the grind comes from having to wait until the next day or 3 for construction or other things to happen. It's kinda sad when I only play for 30-40 minutes at a time, run out of stuff to do for the day, then shut it off to wait for tomorrow. Maybe it's just me, but I'll stick with Minecraft.
  5. obzhora69
    Jun 4, 2020
    2
    Lost my progress because nintendos stupid policy of not supporting cloud save
  6. mabur12
    Jun 3, 2020
    6
    LIMITED, IS GOOD BUT I CAN'T CREATE A 2ND ISLAND AND IF YOU COMPARE TO STARDEW VALLEY OR MINECRAFT IT FALLS SHORT.
    PD- I HATE MARSHAL AND RAYMOND
  7. idkaufman
    Jun 3, 2020
    2
    Fix the local multiplayer already. Only one person really gets to experience the full game while everyone else is limited in what they can build and do. There’s been enough public outcry that Nintendo should be addressing this.
  8. opmolloyoy
    Jun 3, 2020
    9
    This is definitely the best game in the Animal Crossing series and one of the best games available on the Switch in my opinion. There are definitely some small quality of life issues but they by no means ruin the game. It's adorable and relaxing and so easy to throw hours and hours of your time into without even realizing it. You can play for an hour one day and then get tired of it butThis is definitely the best game in the Animal Crossing series and one of the best games available on the Switch in my opinion. There are definitely some small quality of life issues but they by no means ruin the game. It's adorable and relaxing and so easy to throw hours and hours of your time into without even realizing it. You can play for an hour one day and then get tired of it but the need to come back the next day and check in on everything is always there.… Expand
  9. PriitySiick
    Jun 3, 2020
    8
    I love this game.
    A collectors dream game! With thousands of fish, bugs, fossils, paintings, furniture, and clothing items this game will keep anyone busy. It's very slow. It goes by real world time, but can be tricked by adjusting the system time in order to speed things up or even play into the "Stalk" market to gain an absurd amount bells early on. 10/10
    The terraforming leaves a    I love this game.
    A collectors dream game! With thousands of fish, bugs, fossils, paintings, furniture, and clothing items this game will keep anyone busy. It's very slow. It goes by real world time, but can be tricked by adjusting the system time in order to speed things up or even play into the "Stalk" market to gain an absurd amount bells early on. 10/10

    The terraforming leaves a lot to be desired. It is very slow and tedious with only being able to change one space at a time. If you mess up you just wasted twice the amount of time on one space. 9/10

    As someone who doesn't share their console with other people I never felt like I was in the backseat. However, I have taken a point off for the highly flawed multi-user experience as I feel it does take away from the game. 8/10    … Expand
  10. Versi
    Jun 2, 2020
    2
    Animal crossing: New Horizons Is the sparkling new addition to the animal crossing franchise. It was received greatly when it came out and I'm sure we can all admit it's a very pretty game.

    Unfortunately the attraction to this game is about skin deep, it doesn't take long to break down the gameplay and run out of goals to accomplish. It starts to get boring and honestly kind of tedious to    Animal crossing: New Horizons Is the sparkling new addition to the animal crossing franchise. It was received greatly when it came out and I'm sure we can all admit it's a very pretty game.

    Unfortunately the attraction to this game is about skin deep, it doesn't take long to break down the gameplay and run out of goals to accomplish. It starts to get boring and honestly kind of tedious to even open. When you get started it's a lot of fun to explore your new town and look at all the new and updated graphics, but after awhile the furniture and clothing starts getting repetitive, and the lack of gameplay freedom starts to just get frustrating. This is a beautiful mobile game that they shelled out for 60 dollars.    … Expand
  11. Areina
    Jun 2, 2020
    0
    I was really wanting to get this game. But after talking with friends it seems like a waste. I intended to be able to share the console with other members of my family who were also interested in this game. But the one island per console system has made that an impossibility. It is ridiculous to suggest that multi person families should shell out $200-300 per console plus a franklyI was really wanting to get this game. But after talking with friends it seems like a waste. I intended to be able to share the console with other members of my family who were also interested in this game. But the one island per console system has made that an impossibility. It is ridiculous to suggest that multi person families should shell out $200-300 per console plus a frankly overpriced $60 per game copy as well. This is greedy and a poor move on Nintendos part. At this point I probably wont even buy a switch, because I dont like supporting money grubbing companies like this one. I dont know who along the development line thought this was a reasonable decision, but it seems like they've caused a huge loss in potential sales as a lot of people seem to have decided against the game/console due to this greedy tactic. Considering the console itself is already overpriced for what it is, I'm not sure Nintendo products are worth investing in anymore.… Expand
  12. Nikg92
    Jun 2, 2020
    10
    This game more than lived up to my expectations. Some people are complaining about the one island per console limit and that is valid. At the end of the day, this doesn't affect me as I see the Switch as more of a personal console than a family (shared) console so I personally am fine with this limitation. But on the other hand, save file limitations have been part of the franchise sinceThis game more than lived up to my expectations. Some people are complaining about the one island per console limit and that is valid. At the end of the day, this doesn't affect me as I see the Switch as more of a personal console than a family (shared) console so I personally am fine with this limitation. But on the other hand, save file limitations have been part of the franchise since its inception. You've never been able to store multiple save files (on one medium) for any Animal Crossing game. I'm sure this is meant to encourage sharing a single town for a more genuine and social experience, but some players don't like to be told how to play and I get it.
    Almost every aspect of the game is beautiful and amazing. Though, the background music for the island is a bit monotonous and lacks the variety of previous titles. In all past titles, there were always one or more background songs that I genuinely loved but none from this one have really sung to me. Another problem I have with this game is that arranging stacked furniture outside in a particular orientation is cumbersome and sometimes outright impossible. Another final complaint, and I could be wrong here, but it seems like the non-event-specific DIY recipes are granted in a purely random fashion where a weighted random algorithm would likely be more fair and enjoyable to players.    … Expand
  13. Camlost
    Jun 2, 2020
    10
    Un juego de 10, la verdad lo que es para mi esposa y para mi ha sido un juego de liberación dentro de este encierro de la cuarentena del Covid19, ademas de que siento que el juego permite compartir ideas y proyectos con tu persona especial.
  14. The-Pad
    Jun 2, 2020
    9
    Fantastic game. A lot of stuff to do, nice graphics, tons of customization. The island limit is stupid, but the game is wonderful.
  15. Derpityderpderp
    Jun 1, 2020
    0
    One island per console. Obvious ploy to encourage households to purchase more than one switch. It’s ludicrously greedy and immoral.
  16. GameZmaster43
    Jun 1, 2020
    0
    It’s absolutely appalling the design decisión from Nintendo not only making the one island per switch but also making only the first player the citizen representative. I was not the first player to start it up even though I bought it and now I’m stuck in the story. There are people that say this has always been the case, well that does not mean it’s right, it’s greedy from Nintendo forIt’s absolutely appalling the design decisión from Nintendo not only making the one island per switch but also making only the first player the citizen representative. I was not the first player to start it up even though I bought it and now I’m stuck in the story. There are people that say this has always been the case, well that does not mean it’s right, it’s greedy from Nintendo for trying to get me buy another switch for another familiar member. It’s a household console, already expensive in this time of crisis but also the game is expensive too, we do not live in a chocolate world. This feature has completely ruined the game for me, if animal crossing is a great game well then that’s a game that’s unplayable for me.… Expand
  17. AShinyGiratina
    Jun 1, 2020
    9
    Point and laugh at the children in the User Reviews giving this game a bad score just because of how salty they are.
  18. TheHonestNinja
    May 31, 2020
    1
    I wanted to love this game, but its not a game made for family , its made for people who lives alone who share no social contacts, the fact that only one instance of the game play can exist in a console is just overwhelmingly stupid and arguably the most arrogant and greedy thing ever since nintendo history. the only option to have 2 people play the game is to either buy a new console forI wanted to love this game, but its not a game made for family , its made for people who lives alone who share no social contacts, the fact that only one instance of the game play can exist in a console is just overwhelmingly stupid and arguably the most arrogant and greedy thing ever since nintendo history. the only option to have 2 people play the game is to either buy a new console for the other and a new copy of the game, or delete the first player’s account.
    i wish i could return this, people should be outrage because of this... i simply can not believe the score of reviews, anyone giving this more then 5 is biased, because it’s half a game.    … Expand
  19. dreamyy5
    May 31, 2020
    0
    one island for one NS is unacceptable! And the multi-player experience is TERRIBLE! Basicly 2p 3p and 4p is watching 1p playing all the time. They can do very limited things. This is a game for single player!
  20. JennX
    May 31, 2020
    1
    I suppose it's a great solo game but if you are more than 1 people with 1 console it's unplayable. The first one to play take the resources to craft a couple of tools and the other player doesn't have resouces to do anything. You have to wait 24 hours for the resources to respawn To be able to play if you are 3 players you have to play 1 day on 3 to let everyone grab their resources.I suppose it's a great solo game but if you are more than 1 people with 1 console it's unplayable. The first one to play take the resources to craft a couple of tools and the other player doesn't have resouces to do anything. You have to wait 24 hours for the resources to respawn To be able to play if you are 3 players you have to play 1 day on 3 to let everyone grab their resources. That's really a shame to transform 1 of the favorite Nintendo game into a game that you have to buy 1 console by game copy........… Expand
  21. Nathan727
    May 31, 2020
    0
    With 1 Switch console in my household, my brother is island representative. My character can do practically nothing except tend to my own home, and cannot actually progress the island (in other words, have bought half a game)
  22. Ozzburne
    May 31, 2020
    0
    One Island per switch. Absolutely trash menu system. Trash inventory Management. Villagers do more passive things but rarely give you things to do. Load times are forever for no reason. No way to evict villagers you dont like, and no way to reset their wardrobe either, so god forbid they pick up some ugly clothing out of nowhere. Cant set up DL'd custom design in shop. Honestly this game,One Island per switch. Absolutely trash menu system. Trash inventory Management. Villagers do more passive things but rarely give you things to do. Load times are forever for no reason. No way to evict villagers you dont like, and no way to reset their wardrobe either, so god forbid they pick up some ugly clothing out of nowhere. Cant set up DL'd custom design in shop. Honestly this game, while fun to play for a few weeks, is so crammed full of absolutely Garbage Tier design choices, I've stopped playing entirely. Maybe if they fix all their Day One Dev mistakes I'll come back, but seeing as its Nintendo I doubt they even see an issue. You'd think they've never made a game before, or havent been around for the last decade where crafting have been put into pretty much every game, and far better than in this one. Just stay in New Leaf, it made far better decisions than this game.… Expand
  23. Nerdrage613
    May 30, 2020
    1
    Might be a good game but I'll never know without buying a second switch as I'm stuck behind the 1 island per switch rule.
  24. SirLedyuka
    May 30, 2020
    0
    TL;DR
    The game is not finished nor polished. it looks like a giant beta with lots of feature that Nintendo put in the game for testing, but are very limited. I'm convinced the team that developed AC:NH is not as skilled nor experienced in game design than the one who've done the previous games.
    This game is a deception: - One island per console. You want to play with your relatives?    TL;DR
    The game is not finished nor polished. it looks like a giant beta with lots of feature that Nintendo put in the game for testing, but are very limited. I'm convinced the team that developed AC:NH is not as skilled nor experienced in game design than the one who've done the previous games.

    This game is a deception:
    - One island per console. You want to play with your relatives? Buy a new console you pigeon!

    - The local multiplayer is simply awful: the current player is considered "Master" and the second player a "Slave". As a slave, you can do absolutely nothing. NOT EVEN OPEN YOUR OWN INVENTORY. The local multiplayer is basically useless.

    - The UI design is bad, really bad. You need to pass 3 dialog boxes minimum before even reaching the feature you want. Characters talk to say nothing, really.

    - The famous "Characters are more intelligent now! They're aware with their environment" is completely **** They're no real upgrade of the dialogue system, villagers end-ups saying the same thing over and over again. The environmental awareness basically adds one dialogue out of the 20s they have.

    - You don't get to choose you villagers. If you fall with a villager you don't want, you're screwed, as the mechanism behind a villager moving out is strange; nobody knows exactly how it works. For me, I had to wait 2 months for a specific villager, out of the 6 I don't wanted in my island, to go.

    - If one of your villager move out, you have only a day to find another you want. Otherwise, the game will automatically give you a random one, too bad if you don't want him ¯_(ツ)_/¯.

    - It 's been 3 month since the release of the game. The only update we had were about "fixing stuff" and reducing some insects spawn because player could make a lot of money with it (But they let people sell their villager for an insane amount of money; see what happened to Raymond, it's just disgusting), and adding characters that should've been in the initial release of the game (Redd and Leif).

    - The craft system is very basic. You can't even craft multiple object at once, or use materials stocked in your house directly in the craft system.

    - It seems there's less insects and fishes to capture. Gyroids have been completely removed from the game. You read that right.

    - The game has a "story" that you can reach in about 1-2 weeks (because the game makes you wait one day each time you progress). When you finally reached that goal, the credits play, and it feels like there's nothing else to do in the game. Because there's nothing else to do in the game.

    - There's even less interactions with Nook and Isabelle than the last game. I thought it would be time for Nintendo to let players know Isabelle and Nook better, but no.

    - Speaking of them, they do the daily announcements every time you launch the game. After the completion of the main goal of the game, Isabelle will, EVERYDAY, says that there's nothing to say, unless you have someone move in/out, or a special event.
    Basically, this feature is useless after spending 1-2 weeks in the game.

    - The RNG behind the crafting recipes is broken. It's like the game doesn't want you to learn new items to craft. For weeks I stumble upon the same crafting recipes everyday. This is even more infuriating when the recipe you earn is composed of other recipe you don't have.

    - The whole Island Terraformation was a great idea, but badly executed. You can only terraformate one cell at the time. Your island is about 100*100 cells. It'll take you days before you reach your terraformation goal.

    - Remember when you could invite villagers to your house? Forget that. It does not exist in this game.

    There's a lot of thing Nintendo could have done to polish the game. There's a lot of features that are missing from the previous games, a lot of characters that are missing too.
    The game doesn't seem finished, nor polished in any way. In 3 months, we had ONE update with 2 characters that should've have been in the initial release of the game.
    Nintendo doesn't seem to care. but since the game is one of the most sold game of all time on switch, I don't think they'll continue to update the game with new characters and upgraded features.
    The hype killed the game.    … Expand
  25. xoriark
    May 30, 2020
    0
    I never loved animal crossing but all my friend had fun playing this game so i've already buy it for my girl friend and i think i will do my island but i was on my girl island and i think its a bug so i go on internet and see you can only have one island per switch i always loved nintendo but now they drop for me
  26. bgah462
    May 30, 2020
    1
    Multiple players on one switch, one island. Paid for half of the game, get to participate in about a quarter of the gameplay.
  27. AskAtlas
    May 4, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have played Animal Crossing New Horizons and New Leaf, and while New Horizons is a decent game for simple improvements to the ways of game mechanics, it remains imperfect in the aspect that you still have to grind through dialogue to do quality-of-life things like crafting fish bait. However, as I said, it still is better in that aspect over previous installments as your materials automatically stack. Aside from that simple gameplay adjustment, I honestly believe New Leaf, which was on the Nintendo 3DS is better than this Nintendo Switch title. My reasons?

    New Leaf put you in a role where you have an entire city at the mercy of your ordinances and it truly felt like you were making a difference in not just your mayor chair, but in the virtual lives of your villagers, whom will occasionally ask you to run errands or generally ask your opinion on something. Sure, New Horizons has the later of that statement, but you can play the entire game and not care about whether a villager leaves because it is very apparent that they are no different than interacting with AOL back in the day. I have told Nintendo these recommendations, but they have yet to listen. I told them that they should re-add the island fruit/tortimer Island/minigames back into the series, considering you are on an island and the multiplayer aspect of it is only really good if your friend needs one of your cherries, as there is no activities for you to do with them and when they visit, perhaps you could play hide and seek since you cannot see them, special npcs, or even your own villagers wondering on the map. It is bad when Pocket Camp, a game that is on the phone, has triple the content of this new installment. Yes, I understand Nintendo said they will update it for up to three years, but it makes a customer like myself believe that Nintendo just released an incomplete product and is trying to intrigue someone with that status for future updates when they cut so much content from the series. You are on an island, cannot dive or swim, cannot find island fruit on island tours, cannot find the DIY recipes you want unless you use third-party sites like Nookazon, and even then, you may not want to deal with someone asking 13 million bells for just 1 cherry.

    The bottom line is this game is missing SO MUCH content and I feel a need to play New Leaf because this game is incomplete, lacks anything truly fun, and when Nintendo talks about three years of updates to such a stale game, they basically are telling every customer that bought it that their game, that they pay $60 to have and $20 to play online with, will not be truly complete until three years. You know, part of the fun I have had in New Leaf was time travelling to holidays when I would get bored, but you cannot do that because they are so afraid that people will spoil a holiday that tells people to collect stamps or take a few wedding photos for characters that should have already been in the game for furniture customization. This is the worst animal crossing game I EVER played and maybe after three years it would be the best, but who wants to wait three years to enjoy a game at full experience?

    FYI, all these positive reviews on here seem to be made by someone who was paid to say those things because how can they be okay with a secondary player feeling left out in their experience? How could they defend this trash of a game that should have not been released till evidently three years later when it would be complete? I am not saying it isn't an enjoyable game, but try New Leaf before you leave your review; I bet your opinion will change because compared to New Leaf, this is a skeleton in the series, waiting for meat and skin to be truly whole.    … Expand
  28. nonameisaname
    May 29, 2020
    4
    it's just an empty game. Compares to the other Animal Crossings in the past, Nintendo just released a incomplete game saying 'oh we are going to update stuff slowly as what others expect from Animal Crossing!'. Also very worried about DLCs in the future as I have feeling that they might release and sell something that we expected from the game that it supposed to be there!
  29. JAVN
    May 29, 2020
    8
    New Horizons is a a great addition to the animal crossing series.....However

    So i picked up New Horizons as my first game after buying a switch during lock down, i saw it as a relaxing game to kill a lot of hours to get through the current pandemic, and i want to start by saying that it did exactly that, from the moment i booted the game up i was instantly hooked on the idea of building    New Horizons is a a great addition to the animal crossing series.....However

    So i picked up New Horizons as my first game after buying a switch during lock down, i saw it as a relaxing game to kill a lot of hours to get through the current pandemic, and i want to start by saying that it did exactly that, from the moment i booted the game up i was instantly hooked on the idea of building my island from the ground up and creating the environment i want, from carefully placing items to create cute little Cafes to acquiring my favorite villagers, Animal Crossing seemed to have it all, and after 2 weeks and 175 hours of game play later i was still discovering new items and new little quirks that kept the game compelling and intriguing.

    Now however, as great as i just stated the game was, and let me reiterate still is, there are still issues with the game, for a start, Terra forming and overall island customization, i'm honestly surprised this hasn't been touched upon by other reviewers but i personally felt this side of the game incredibly frustrating and lacking in creative freedom, i lost count on the amount of times i went to place down a tree, in plenty of room, only to be told by the game that "There isn't enough room" on far too many occasions ideas for island designs where ruined by the games little leg room when it comes to item placing, Now. let me get onto Terra forming, now i'm willing to give the game some leniency in this department, partially because its a rare feature to find implemented in any Nintendo game period, never mind an Animal Crossing game, and while the feature is overwhelmingly well received and massive for giving the players a sense of customization and the ability to really make their island their own....its incredibly clunky, like to the point i almost don't want to use it, i don't know i feel like a lot of Animal Crossings customization features in this game are very limiting, while at the same time giving players the freedom to still do almost anything they desire, its a strange middle ground and one that while frustrating at times, i suppose i still managed to look past when you realize how simplistically charming the rest of the game is.

    In conclusion, is Animal Crossing a great game? Yes definitely, is it perfect? No, however with its charming art style, addictive game play, and ability to edit your island to your desire, is it a game that is guaranteed to keep you hooked and checking in every day? definitely    … Expand
  30. bioann
    May 29, 2020
    10
    Игра, которая помогла мне справиться с полным отсутствием интереса к играм моей жены. Теперь мы каждый вечер, после того, как наш ребёнок засыпает в обнимку со своим любимым плюшевым зайцем, мы залипаем со своими любимыми животными (жителями) на своих консолях Nintendo Switch. У каждого свой остров и каждый по своему счастлив, хотя продолжаем ездить друг к другу в гости, чтобы полить цветыИгра, которая помогла мне справиться с полным отсутствием интереса к играм моей жены. Теперь мы каждый вечер, после того, как наш ребёнок засыпает в обнимку со своим любимым плюшевым зайцем, мы залипаем со своими любимыми животными (жителями) на своих консолях Nintendo Switch. У каждого свой остров и каждый по своему счастлив, хотя продолжаем ездить друг к другу в гости, чтобы полить цветы и увидеть изменения с последнего визита. Игра, которая раскрывается только в купе с богатой фантазией и желанием творить. Жанр игр серии Animal Crossing, как мне кажется, лучше всего описала со супруга: «дизайнерская песочница». От себя добавлю, что это ещё и отличный таймкиллер, в котором одно удовольствие проводить большое количество времени каждый день. 450+ часов с момента первого запуска и это даже не половина того, на что она способна.… 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 »