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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. monks99
    May 15, 2020
    10
    People are giving this a zero just because they are mad that they can't have more than one island! This game is one of the best switch games ever made. If the people weren't so passionate about this game..they wouldn't be on here giving it a zero...but a zero is rediculous!!
  2. Zezuca
    May 15, 2020
    5
    I'm generously giving this a 5/10, because the gameplay is full of flaws and ages terribly.

    This title's multiplayer "feature" is complete and utter garbage. First off, every single time a new player joins, a lengthy cut-scene (about 40 seconds) will display to EVERYONE on the island. Also, no one is allowed to use Nookphones or have a dialog while a new player tries to connect. Then,    I'm generously giving this a 5/10, because the gameplay is full of flaws and ages terribly.

    This title's multiplayer "feature" is complete and utter garbage. First off, every single time a new player joins, a lengthy cut-scene (about 40 seconds) will display to EVERYONE on the island. Also, no one is allowed to use Nookphones or have a dialog while a new player tries to connect. Then, comes the biggest issue: the game DOES NOT SAVE while another person is visiting your island. Imagine you've been playing with your friends for one hour or so, and suddenly your connection fails (even a second is enough). Every player will be disconnected and ALL the progress made by EVERYONE in the last hour will be COMPLETELY ERASED Even the host will lose all the progress. The game only saves at two moments, when in multiplayer: when a player leaves or when someone arrives on your island.

    Then, there are the crafting mechanics. Poorly thought and limited, you cannot craft more than a single item at once. If someone needs 15 fish bait, the player will need to craft fish bait 15 times, go through the lengthy dialogues 15 times and endure the cut-scene 15 times. This issue is somewhat fixable by having a Turbo controller.

    What can't be fixed is the lack of recipes. I've only got one recipe a day by opening the bottles that come ashore, and a random villager will also gift you a random recipe once a day. I have got duplicates on many occasions. And that's about it for obtaining new recipes. You'll need a thousand years to complete the recipe list.

    This game has a ton of new fishes and different species. But to get them all for your museum, you'll need to travel using Nook Miles Tickets. While those aren't particularly expensive, there's only about 1% of chance of visiting an island with different fish or bugs. I'm 70 hour into the game and NEVER managed to travel to an interesting island. Most of the times, players'll get sent into a small island that has the exact same resources as the home island. So, if you think exploration is a forte in this game, rethink.

    Then comes the arbitrary limitations: players are not allowed to send more than two letters a day, cannot purchase or view custom designs when someone is visiting, cannot terraform when online, trading or giving fish or bugs in any way is not possible. Redd will only sell a single piece of art a week (original or false). Terraforming is full of limitations, such as not building waterfalls in a diagonal or leveling the edges of an island.

    Building mechanics are mediocre. The house interior is very customizable, and player designs are very well used in the game. But the lack of crafting recipes and the Nook store's 4 itens a day limitation will cripple your creativity. There are nearly no counters or tables to furniture the house.

    Getting attached to villagers is also not recommended, as they'll randomly move away, even if you talk to them everyday and create friendship bonds, the'll eventually leave you. I like to think that each villager is a tickling bomb, when their internal timers reach zero, they'll vanish from my island and a new random'll take up their space . There's also no getting around to this.

    So, the good things: the graphics are really cute, well made and unique. The music is also very good, the new mechanics (although sloppy and poorly thought) are a welcome addition to the series. There has been some good quality of life improvements, such as inventory space and item catalogues. But all in all, the problems of this game overcome the improvements. And they have added interesting new content via updates, although nothing was game-changing.

    I can only recommend this to VERY enthusiast newcomers into the series that have never played sandbox videogames before, or to die-hard Animal Crossing fans that are willing to swallow its many problems while paying 60 dollars for a clearly unfinished game that lacks a lot of polishing. Even though, a warning for those people: like Pokémon, this game has NO CLOUD SAVING. If something happens to your console or the save data gets corrupted somehow, your island is done for. Users cannot manually backup the save, because it's stored inside the console (not on the gaming card, not on the SD Card memory).

    I have played this for about 70 hours, but the frustration with the lack of polish and overall unfinished or pre-test project feeling this game has is too much for me to keep on playing. I now seriously consider selling the cartridge to get something else. This game is nowhere as polished as Breath of the Wild, and its quality is substandard for a console-seller title. A lot of people will hop into ACNH because of the hype and, like me, will be frustrated when they realize this game ages like milk.    … Expand
  3. PoopmouthRon
    May 15, 2020
    2
    My wife set up the game so now I play the game on kid mode. Please add multiple save files.
  4. Username11
    May 14, 2020
    0
    Seemed like fun, and i was REALLY exited. Well, my mom got on the game first and selected an island, and now she owns the game, and the ONLY POSSIBLE GAME SAVE. i cant contribute ANYTHING meaningful to the game, other than collecting sticks and crafting things. She gets to make every decision on the island and my WHOLE family has to share this one island, and all of it's resorces. We ranSeemed like fun, and i was REALLY exited. Well, my mom got on the game first and selected an island, and now she owns the game, and the ONLY POSSIBLE GAME SAVE. i cant contribute ANYTHING meaningful to the game, other than collecting sticks and crafting things. She gets to make every decision on the island and my WHOLE family has to share this one island, and all of it's resorces. We ran out of stones to get iron & gold from. The couch co-op mode is terrible too. As a second player all of your items get directly sent to the "town lost and found" and anyone can take it out of the box, except for you, WHO COLLECTED IT. This would make sense if it was a 50 dollar consol or something that each person in our family could have but to spend 300 BUCKS to fully play a game on your own is ridiculous. So basically, i cant even play the game, i cant help move out island in the right direction, and i cant play an important role as a second player. And this is all on a 60 dollar game that my dad bought. Glad ONE person gets to enjoy it.… Expand
  5. YoBoJosh
    May 14, 2020
    0
    I swear fixing the problem with only 1 island would be so easy... Every other game has different users have different save files! Did Nintendo expect a family to have multiple switches?!?! If they did, then there would be no reason to have only 1 island. They thought it would be some cute little addition to the game for siblings to play on the same island. But that can’t be further fromI swear fixing the problem with only 1 island would be so easy... Every other game has different users have different save files! Did Nintendo expect a family to have multiple switches?!?! If they did, then there would be no reason to have only 1 island. They thought it would be some cute little addition to the game for siblings to play on the same island. But that can’t be further from the truth. It’s like a full war, especially how resources can only be collected ONCE per day. Now, I agree that’s perfectly balanced and makes sense, but not when there’s siblings fighting over who gets the rocks or fruit or fossils. This whole thing, wouldn’t even be the worst thing ever, if everyone had the power of the resident representative! Like, my sister managed to log on first, and she barely even plays! But she plays enough that she won’t let me take over her account. So if I want to move a building, make a bridge, etc, I have to drop money, save, go on her account, build the thing, save, then go back on my account. It’s ridiculous! Why can’t the other players make bridges inclines layout changes etc. Not to mention only the main user can do the tasks to try to get K.K. on the island. Also the main user gets certain recipes that other users can not get unless they find it in a ballon gift thing. Besides the terrible terrible design, I like this game a lot and I can’t stop playing it. I just wish Nintendo would listen to the community and make this REALLY easy change.… Expand
  6. kuehnau
    May 14, 2020
    5
    It's Animal Crossing. It's always been Animal Crossing. And while they add some quality of life improvements to the game and some more polish, it's still pretty much the same game you've played since the DS era.

    And the game still suffers from it's biggest drawback. Animal Crossing is a game that has no direction, it's about you personally finding stuff to do. And unfortunately,    It's Animal Crossing. It's always been Animal Crossing. And while they add some quality of life improvements to the game and some more polish, it's still pretty much the same game you've played since the DS era.

    And the game still suffers from it's biggest drawback. Animal Crossing is a game that has no direction, it's about you personally finding stuff to do. And unfortunately, everything there is to do is the same mundane schlock you've come to expect from every other previous iteration of the game.

    The "mystery islands" could have been a nice touch, but they are a quarter of the size of the normal island. Islands are picks from a small selection of pre-made islands instead of being procedurally generated. So instead of constantly finding new islands, after a weeks worth of playing the game, you'll begin to constantly see the same island types over and over again.

    The developers made an attempt to give you more to do, but it ends up boiling down to being rewarded for doing the same stuff you have always done instead, while locking rewards behind "Nook Miles", a secondary form of currency in the game. The end result is, they've managed to already take a core mechanic from the game and turn it in to even more of a grind than it was before.

    Animal Crossing's popularity isn't surprising; it was simply a coincidence, it managed to be released around the same time a massive pandemic was taking place. If it weren't for that, I doubt it would be getting such high accolades from people, because at the end of the day, this version is just as mediocre as any of the other releases.

    For whatever insane reason, Nintendo has also decided to put in a bunch of really weird restrictions to the game that are ultimately unhelpful, frustrating and counterproductive to what a game should be.

    Animal Crossing needs to be BETTER, not the same.    … Expand
  7. jordanm5
    May 14, 2020
    0
    do NOT buy if you share a switch with anyone. only one island per switch and only ONE person can progress the game. nintendo lost all respect on this one, greedy company hates their consumers
  8. Random22
    May 14, 2020
    4
    Anima crossing new horizons is a good game but it has a big problem. The fact that you can only have a island per switch is pretty bad for the ones that can't buy another nitendo switch and have siblings that are interested in play the game alone, that includes me and my brother. I really hope that nitendo fix this issue because it's the only problem that i see with this game.
  9. ROflows
    May 14, 2020
    9
    *Just to start, I played the game as a solo player and thus will score it based on what I experienced.*

    A very fun island creation game with many possibilities. It is a very addicting game, with so much potential. It is beautiful and rewarding for those who wish to create their own little escapes. Probably the most annoying thing for a solo player would be Island Designer's slow    *Just to start, I played the game as a solo player and thus will score it based on what I experienced.*

    A very fun island creation game with many possibilities. It is a very addicting game, with so much potential. It is beautiful and rewarding for those who wish to create their own little escapes. Probably the most annoying thing for a solo player would be Island Designer's slow progression.

    As I played by myself, obviously I did not have the problems with additional players; however, that is really frustrating that people would have to deal with that issue by purchasing another console.    … Expand
  10. TheWiseCherokee
    May 14, 2020
    0
    Only one island per console????? That’s not going over well with my kids and I’m not about to buy each of them a switch simply so they can have their own islands to enjoy. Wish I could get a refund.
  11. hirundo
    May 14, 2020
    10
    Amazing game, true to the classics and beautiful to boot. I feel like this game was made for the Lite, an on the go world that you can check for a few minutes at a time on your commute (or play for hours while at home). The regular updates have been so good as well!
  12. shaemarie
    May 14, 2020
    0
    Bought this game for my kids to play and I'm fuming that they can't each play on their own islands on their own account. Each subsequent player is extremely limited by the first player and they get a watered down experience. So dissappointed.
  13. Cronch
    May 14, 2020
    2
    I can definitely say that the game is extremely enjoyable. It’s very nice to sit down to on yet another day at home, and it kept me coming back each day. That is, of course, until I discovered that I couldn’t change the island representative. By then I was already too far into the game. I enjoy playing with the real time aspect of Animal Crossing so when it’s taken more than a month to getI can definitely say that the game is extremely enjoyable. It’s very nice to sit down to on yet another day at home, and it kept me coming back each day. That is, of course, until I discovered that I couldn’t change the island representative. By then I was already too far into the game. I enjoy playing with the real time aspect of Animal Crossing so when it’s taken more than a month to get where I’m at on my own account, along with being forced to also progress another player that my brother no longer uses, it makes me furious to see that every solution I try to turn to says the same thing: if I want to become the island representative I have to delete the entire game’s save data. It’s simply impossible for me to do that after putting all this time into a game that I really truly love. It’s a shame that I can’t enjoy it any further after all my hard work.… Expand
  14. Halpocus
    May 14, 2020
    10
    Beautiful game with lots of things to do. You can see the progress your Island makes and all the different animals with their own personalities, all the furniture you can buy and place in your home is truly something for video game lovers. Visiting other islands is really fun aswell as calling animals to come to your island. 10/10 would buy again.
  15. Befepe
    May 14, 2020
    10
    Sin duda de los mejores juegos de Switch, y el mejor de simulación de vida, recomendado a ese público que quiere una experiencia relajante y entretenida.
  16. TheDSiscool
    May 13, 2020
    7
    One island per console? Yes, please! For the past 3 games this is the way it's been. Gamecube was the one where you could have multiple and that required multiple memory cards. Yet I don't see people review bombing those. Those were better games too.
  17. dimansp
    May 13, 2020
    0
    Worst game ever! One Island per switch! Network doesn't work - loading every where, it's not playable!
  18. Snowii
    May 13, 2020
    0
    The second players cannot be mayor .jjjdjdjdkdskkzkkzznznnnznznznznznnznznnzn
  19. laurlaur84
    May 13, 2020
    1
    This is a super fun game and it really should have a higher score. However, I cannot get over the fact that you cannot have multiple islands on one console. Never in my life have I seen a game where you can’t have save files for different users, and I think it’s atrocious to believe that people will shell out the money for a second console just to play it separately. That is not how a gameThis is a super fun game and it really should have a higher score. However, I cannot get over the fact that you cannot have multiple islands on one console. Never in my life have I seen a game where you can’t have save files for different users, and I think it’s atrocious to believe that people will shell out the money for a second console just to play it separately. That is not how a game should work. I shouldn’t be limited to what other people I play with are doing, and vice versa. That’s not truly creating my own island, which is the whole appeal of the game. Nintendo, fix this. NOW.… Expand
  20. Fjanua
    May 12, 2020
    2
    As primary user, I'd give this game a 3. As secondary, I would give a 1. First 10 hours of the game are exciting and filled with possibilities but the pace slows significantly as you run out of things to discover. Unless you like designing and organizing, it's unlikely you'll spend more than 20 minutes per day paying. Absolute biggest mistake was only allowing 1 island per switch. TheAs primary user, I'd give this game a 3. As secondary, I would give a 1. First 10 hours of the game are exciting and filled with possibilities but the pace slows significantly as you run out of things to discover. Unless you like designing and organizing, it's unlikely you'll spend more than 20 minutes per day paying. Absolute biggest mistake was only allowing 1 island per switch. The entire point of this game is gathering resources and collecting. When you have to share your resources with someone else the game becomes pointless and a waste of money. I dont see any good reason for this rule, to me it's unfathomable for a company to have such a brainless flaw.… Expand
  21. Carlitosssss
    May 12, 2020
    0
    To the buffoons who thought making this game damn-near inaccessable to a second account on the same console: congratulations you have utterly and completely screwed the pooch. My girlfriend and I spent our hard-earned money because we thought this would be a fun experience for both of us to share. Now imagine our disappointment at the realization that one of us would get a complete gameTo the buffoons who thought making this game damn-near inaccessable to a second account on the same console: congratulations you have utterly and completely screwed the pooch. My girlfriend and I spent our hard-earned money because we thought this would be a fun experience for both of us to share. Now imagine our disappointment at the realization that one of us would get a complete game while the other would get a slap in the face and a note that said: thank you for your money idiot! I will make it my life's priority to disparage this game in front of anyone who dares mention it. I will spit fire and hellstone at the person who dares glorify this fart parade of a game for I can accept a video game company trying to make money off my stupidity but I will not accept a game company making money off their own stupidity.… Expand
  22. acicali
    May 12, 2020
    0
    This is truly bittersweet. I'm unable to even purchase this game because of the development decisions regarding one island per-console. We have a Nintendo Switch because it's a family console. I play as a parent, and several of my children also play. We have 4 joy-cons as well as *many* games. We will not be purchasing Animal Crossing because we do not wish to choose who gets to play itThis is truly bittersweet. I'm unable to even purchase this game because of the development decisions regarding one island per-console. We have a Nintendo Switch because it's a family console. I play as a parent, and several of my children also play. We have 4 joy-cons as well as *many* games. We will not be purchasing Animal Crossing because we do not wish to choose who gets to play it and who gets to "not play" it secondarily. If a future update resolves this issue, count us in.… Expand
  23. Lryan01
    May 12, 2020
    2
    This game is fun if you don’t want to play with anyone else. If you have more than one person who wants to play it’s a nightmare. If you choose to buy this game get a physical copy, if it drives you crazy there are no refunds from Nintendo eshop. I’m so disappointed. I really liked it until I realized its really only meant for one person to have the full experience. Oh, and the multiplayerThis game is fun if you don’t want to play with anyone else. If you have more than one person who wants to play it’s a nightmare. If you choose to buy this game get a physical copy, if it drives you crazy there are no refunds from Nintendo eshop. I’m so disappointed. I really liked it until I realized its really only meant for one person to have the full experience. Oh, and the multiplayer is horrendous. Only the ‘leader’ is able to do anything meaningful while the other players mostly just run around with them. The non leader cannot even pick up items.… Expand
  24. jnlu
    May 12, 2020
    1
    why can only the very first player who went on the island run errands for the racoon(?) and get the necessary DIY functions for free other players on the same island have to buy the functions by bells and don't know how the island is going on unless the first player told them
  25. Dclose38
    May 12, 2020
    1
    When using multiple accounts only the primary account has access to certain game functions. This slows the progress for every other account since the game only allows one island per device.
  26. RavenWraith
    May 12, 2020
    10
    This is the best Animal Crossing game I’ve played. The repetitive tasks are tedious at times but I play every single day.
  27. Gamemettle
    May 12, 2020
    10
    I've spent hundreds of hours, and have thoroughly enjoyed my time. I like customizing clothing, and my island. I love filling up my museum. The animal neighbors are cool. This isn't my first time playing an Animal Crossing game, and this one is the best.
  28. Obi77
    May 12, 2020
    0
    Was enjoying this game but then my Switch started to fail from a cooling fan failure...so I went and got a new switch .... oh sorry we can't move your island maybe next year.... ok so we will start a new island and now that family members who really enjoyed it can make one and we can all start at the same place .... oh yeah sorry again only one island PER CONSOLE .....ummm if you haveWas enjoying this game but then my Switch started to fail from a cooling fan failure...so I went and got a new switch .... oh sorry we can't move your island maybe next year.... ok so we will start a new island and now that family members who really enjoyed it can make one and we can all start at the same place .... oh yeah sorry again only one island PER CONSOLE .....ummm if you have kids how the heck are you gonna have them all agree where to put things and the style of island this is ridiculous ... i went from enjoying this game to being able to see nothing but the money grab faults of design… Expand
  29. JuicyPrimeRibs
    May 12, 2020
    0
    Don't get me wrong the game is good but the whole idea of having different islands on the same switch was a bad idea. My brother and I really wanted the game and we were about to pay somewhat half half but then we realized that only one person can be the island representative and the other person is just a slave for materials. My brother said he could wait for the game to eventually addDon't get me wrong the game is good but the whole idea of having different islands on the same switch was a bad idea. My brother and I really wanted the game and we were about to pay somewhat half half but then we realized that only one person can be the island representative and the other person is just a slave for materials. My brother said he could wait for the game to eventually add that feature of more than one island on a switch and I feel really bad for him. Nintendo, if you see this. Please just update it. It would make acnh an amazing game and me and my brother would have something to talk about.… Expand
  30. Syhlcam
    May 12, 2020
    8
    The menus and the interface, it's tiring after a while. It's really the black point, because the game is beautiful, fluid and really cool and addictive.
Page:

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 »