I think it is fair to say that all Nintendo Switch 2 owners and prospective owners are likely wondering when the nextAnimal Crossingwill release. Many expected it to be a launch title; more thought Nintendo would at least tease it during the Switch 2’s reveal. After all, it has been five years sinceNew Horizonslaunched, and we’ve had nothing more than a faint whisper about the next game in the series. It is absolutely time we heard about its existence at the very least, or, perhaps more wishfully, saw some gameplay.
However, as much as it is fun to speculate about when thenextAnimal Crossing’srelease datewill drop, there is value in discussing what type of game it should be. After all, while eachAnimal Crossingentry has adhered to a strict set of rules and gameplay conventions, they are, more or less, completely unique games with plenty to teach their successor. Of course,there is one game in the series I firmly believe the nextAnimal Crossingshould stay far away from, as copying it would make the experience significantly worse.
The Next Animal Crossing Should Be Less Gameplay-Focused
It Needs To Be About Community
As great as it is, and as much as so many people love it,New HorizonsabandonedAnimal Crossing’soriginal conceptin favor of a more gameplay-focused experience, and that is a genuine shame.Animal Crossingwas always meant to be about communication, about bringing players and their villagers together, to help inspire people, teach them new ideas, and let them learn about relationship dynamics so they could better foster their own.Animal Crossingis and should always be a life sim, andNew Horizonspartially forgot about that.
Of course, that’s not to say thatNew Horizonsdoesn’t have plenty of life-sim mechanics, nor that it lacks the most obviousAnimal Crossingtrappings. In fact,New Horizonsis the perfect distillation of a lot ofwhat makesACso great. However,it almost distills those elements too much, grinding them into a fine, simplistic paste. It is generic, unambitious, and often lacks the magic that made the earlier entries so special. Villagers don’t have meaningful personalities anymore; they aren’t rude in the same way they used to be, and there’s a dwindling emphasis on mingling with them.
New Horizonsisn’t theworstAnimal Crossinggame, but it is the least like it. The nextAnimal Crossinggame, therefore, can’t copy it, or else it risks making the same mistakes it did. Instead,it should return to the original concept, hone in on the community-based aspects, and drive forward the desire for connection and meaningful relationships. The nextAnimal Crossingneeds to, more or less, abandon everything that madeNew Horizonsthe game it ultimately became.
The Next Animal Crossing Should Abandon A Lot Of New Horizons' Ideas
There Doesn’t Need To Be So Many Gimmicks
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsgave the player too much freedom, and, in doing so, robbed them of any sense of belonging. The ability to completely change the landscape of your island meant it lacked any sense of identity from the start, serving more as a blank canvas. Similarly, the focus shifted to aesthetics rather than bonding with your fellow villagers or merely existing within the idyllic world.New Horizonsplayers can’t help but become obsessed with the design of their island, and that all-consuming activity makes it more of a video game and less of a life-sim experience.
The next game in the series mustfixAnimal Crossing’sbiggest mistakesbyabandoning that focus on gamifying every element of the experience, introducing new features, and refining pre-existing ones, such as letter-writing and villager interactions. It should cut out the crafting, terraforming, and even island decoration - or at least tone some of those elements down - to make room for more island or town-wide activities, co-op features, and bigger villager personalities.
In doing so, the nextAnimal Crossinggame will be leaner, but far more focused and akin to what the original creators had intended. It would also be a unique experience, something it desperately needs to be, as it will never be able toreplicateNew Horizons’success.It needs to carve out its own path and make a name for itself, rather than riding the coattails of a far more successful game and therefore endlessly living in its shadow.
There Are Some New Horizons Mechanics That Are Worth Keeping
Nook Miles Are A Good Incentive
That all being said, there are a few good ideas fromAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsthat should probably make the cut. Namely, Nintendo should bring backNew Horizons’ingenious Nook Milepoints. This essentially gives players a reason to do all the mundane activities they do every day by rewarding them with the possibility of interesting furniture items.Any form of passive incentivization to engage with existing mechanics is always a great and solid foundationfor the core gameplay loop.
The crucial point is that whatever the next AC game may be, it cannot copy New Horizons.
I also don’t hateNew Horizons’implementation of multiple islands, and them being a way of recruiting new villagers. It works well inNew Horizonsand could easily find a home, albeit likely in a less tropical setting, in the nextAnimal Crossinggame. Regardless, the crucial point is that whatever the nextACgame may be, it cannot copyNew Horizons. We do not need another gameplay-focused life sim. We needAnimal Crossingto return to its roots and do something truly remarkable.
