The next Animal Crossing title is coming, and here’s all the juicy details!
The moment that all Animal Crossing fans have been waiting for has finally arrived: Nintendo announced the next Animal Crossing game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, at E3 2019. Once again, we’ll be running our own little village full of animal friends, and even visiting the villages of our actual friends as well.
Here’s everything we know so far about Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
What’s the setting in New Horizons?
Animal Crossing: New Horizons shifts the setting to a deserted island. In the trailer, it’s shown that you’re getting the “Nook Inc. The Deserted Island Getaway Package,” so you’re flown to a remote island, which you’ll soon be calling home.
You start off with a small tent (which you can now place on the beach as well, unlike in previous games), but you’ll be collecting resources and crafting things, until you can turn that tent into a small house, and work your way up from there. There’s also the ability to create bonfires outside since it’s an island setting, making it a great way to gather your favorite friends and hang out.
Can you craft things in New Horizons?
Crafting was a new feature that was implemented in the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp mobile game. It seems that the crafting mechanic is returning in New Horizons, as you’ll be able to use Tom Nook’s Workbench to make tools. Alternatively, this is also the place you can go to to buy some items as well as sell materials and items you’re carrying with you.
In the trailer, the Workbench is shown and the villager crafts together a “Flimsy Axe,” which is used to chop down trees for wood and other materials. The crafting recipes are found in an app on your NookPhone called DIY Recipes. This app has all of the info you need to know regarding what materials are needed to make each tool. The recipes include everything from tools to furniture, clothes to accessories, and more. The materials that you need will all be available right on the island, yes, including weeds. There are also going to be multiple item drops from each resource, like several different types of wood, different materials from rocks, and more. There are also clams that you may find on the beach, which you can use to craft fishing bait.
You’ll acquire new DIY Recipes from other animals or as you find new items. They can also be found in stores for purchase too, so you’ll want to double check whenever possible for new recipes.
We think that crafting is key to upgrading your house, which would make it a bit different from previous games, where you just needed to pay back Tom Nook’s loan. It’s not 100 percent confirmed, but with the crafting and resources, it seems to be leaning this way.
What are “Nook Miles?”
On the NookPhone, you’ll find a new feature called “Nook Miles.” This works like actual airline mileage programs. You’ll earn miles just by flying to the island itself, as well as doing various activities on the island.
Once you’ve accumulated enough miles, you can exchange them for items and other activities. Nook Miles are just a new way to enjoy the Animal Crossing game. Nook Miles can be seen as a way to make progress in the game in addition to just relaxing. You earn rewards for doing activities that you already like, and even activities that you didn’t enjoy before, just because pretty much any activitiy earns these miles.
What else is different in New Horizons?
There was only one size of house that was shown in the trailer, but there appeared to be a lot of customization that you could do on the outside of your home. Things like building campfires, tree stumps for sitting, benches, clotheslines, water heaters, cooking pots over a fire, and more. Another new feature is the ability to place items on top of other items, and you can even decorate furniture, adding an entirely new level of depth to customization.
It also appeared that you could quickly jump over small bodies of water by using a pole to get across. New Horizons also now lets you dig paths, so there’s no need to lay down a thousand designs on the ground anymore.
Since the game takes place on a deserted island, we’re not sure if there will automatically be shops in the game, or if you’ll need to help the villagers with building them from scratch as well.
Like in Happy Home Designer, you’ll also be able to move furniture items in half-units inside buildings.
Previously, Animal Crossing games would only correlate to the northern hemisphere in terms of real time and seasons, but with New Horizons, it now has the ability for users to play in the southern hemisphere time as well.
The NookPhone also has a Camera app, so you can use that to zoom in and out of a scene to take the perfect picture. It even includes different filter effects that you can apply, as well as various poses, before you snap the photo. All images are saved to your Nintendo Switch’s album.
Is there going to be multiplayer in New Horizons?
Playing together with your friends has always been a staple feature of Animal Crossing games, and New Horizons looks no different. At the end of the trailer, there are a total of eight villagers seen together gathering at some rocks next to the water.
They’ve confirmed that up to eight islanders can be living together on the same island. Up to four of them can play together at the same time using two pairs of Joy-Cons. There is online and local multiplayer, and more details will be revealed later.
During each multiplayer session, a leader can be designated for the group. The leader will have a yellow flag marker shown above their head, so it’s easy to distinguish who is currently leading the group.
When is it coming out?
Originally, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was supposed to come out sometime in 2019, but the release has been delayed. Nintendo said the reason for the delay is that they want to “ensure the game is the best it can be.”
The new release date is March 20, 2020. The game is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch and will cost $60.
A relaxing getaway
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Build, craft, relax
Animal Crossing: New Horizons takes place on a deserted island. Start off with a tent and upgrade to a house, customize it to your liking, make friends with the villagers, and play with your friends.
Source of the article – iMore