Full disclosure: This was meant to be an in-depth review of “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” but with the way I play, I haven’t even come close to experiencing everything that the game has to offer. It seems like everyone else on Twitter has though. Tweets boast pictures and videos of players and their fully upgraded houses, beautiful town layouts and intricate clothing designs, but all that makes me wonder: Have they missed the point?
I just want to say right off the bat that games are meant to be fun and played how you want to play them. If jumping through time in Animal Crossing to achieve things faster makes you happy, then go for it. My problem isn’t with that itself, but the way that New Horizons has become a contest of sorts online.
To me, the entire Animal Crossing series is about appreciating small moments, spreading joy and doing the things that make you happy. New Horizons is not an exception to that and allows the player to do so much more in terms of customizing their island and shaping it to be exactly what they want it to be. However, those customization options aren’t available at the start of the game.
At the time of writing, I’ve logged 45 hours in New Horizons. I’ve played just about every day for at least an hour or so since it came out three weeks ago. When I play, I don’t change my Switch’s system data to jump forward in time. This means that I unlocked the ability to change landscapes and add structures to my island only a few days ago. However, according to what feels like everyone on Twitter, I’m far behind.
Seeing everyone else be so successful in the game puts this inherent pressure to make the most eccentric island full of the biggest and best things. However, with the way that Animal Crossing is designed, that requires jumping through time in order to achieve those things quickly, which feels at odds with the intent of the game. I’m willing to bet that people who play like that miss the moments I have when I sit on a tree stump and simply watch the clouds drift by or lie in a hammock by the beach listening to the sounds of the ocean.
If the developers wanted you to skip forward in order to quickly better your island, I feel like they would have included that feature in the game itself. Play how you like but skipping through time to make things for the sole purpose of posting them on Twitter feels ingenuine.
Animal Crossing isn’t meant to be a contest where you show off how cool your house is. It’s a quiet game about treating your neighbors with kindness, trying out new fashions and, yes, sometimes running away from angry bees. Social media has made it challenging at times to enjoy a game that exists to only spread joy. But, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t compare yourself to anyone else as long as what you’re doing is making you happy.
Either way, I hope you’re having fun whether you time skip or not. Just please be kind to me and my unfinished house and let me know if you have any good tips on dealing with the angry bees.
