Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a smash hit when it released in 2020. The game currently sits as the second highest selling Nintendo Switch game of all time. Despite being loved by many Switch users, there is one feature missing from the game that could cause a lot less headache for players.
While Animal Crossing: New Horizons is definitely one of the coziest games on the Nintendo Switch, there still is a lack of some quality of life features that players may expect to be available going into it. One missing feature has been the point of contention since the game’s release three years ago.
Animal Crossing Should Allow Players to Have Multiple Towns or Islands
Upon starting Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players are prompted to pick between a selection of four different islands, each with their own layouts determining where rivers are and how the land is constructed. This can be a tough choice because there is no preview of how Animal Crossing's islands will look in-game, only an overhead view portrait of them. Additionally, if a player changes their mind on which island layout they want to reside in, the only way to change it is by restarting the game, losing all of their progress.
This tough choice could be combated by allowing players to have multiple islands. With multiple islands at their disposal, players wouldn’t have to worry about losing all of their hard work, accessories, items, bells, and Animal Crossing villagers just because they want their island to look a little different. Many Animal Crossing players have worked on their islands for months and even years, pouring considerable amounts of creativity into the towns and attractions that they place on it. Losing all of that progress can make all of that work feel like a waste of time.
The addition of multiple islands in Animal Crossing: New Horizons would give long-time players an extra incentive to keep playing. Some people can get bored with playing in the same layout they’ve been in since they started the game, especially so for those who have been playing since the game launched. If these players were given the choice to start working on another island with a new format, it is safe to assume that they could easily sink hundreds of more hours into the game by just making a new town with a different aesthetic than the one they have currently.
Restarting A Town in Animal Crossing
When restarting an island or town in Animal Crossing, players don’t just lose buildings and things that they’ve planted on the island; they lose everything. Every clothing item, every piece of furniture, and every villager they met is reset upon restarting an island. Losing everything to restart becomes even more daunting when realizing that the game takes real life days to progress and give players the opportunity to earn these items back.
Currently, if players want a new look to their town, they tend to do a full-on makeover of it, placing buildings in different locations and establishing a new aesthetic for what they want their town to look like. In a way, this is still a restart to their island or town in the sense that players have to deconstruct what they spent time building and replace it with something new. The most creative Animal Crossing islands have a cohesive look, and for players that want more than one aesthetic, having multiple islands would encourage that.
If Nintendo is firmly determined to make players see an island all the way through, rather than to jump between multiple, the ability to choose a new island could be locked until a certain amount of days. This would give Animal Crossing: New Horizons players the freedom to have two or more unique islands, while also encouraging them to stick with the one that they picked from the beginning.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for the Nintendo Switch.
