Below are some select reviews from larger sites that are in English (a full list of reviews, including non-English ones can be seen by clicking the Metacritic link):
SITE | SCORE | QUOTE |
Famitsu | 9/9/10/10 | "While including all the fun features throughout the series, they also solved all the detailed parts that I wished they would’ve done before" |
GameSpot | 8 | "After 17 days, my biggest concern is that not much has upgraded in a while. New Horizons certainly has a slower pace than other Animal Crossing games, partially because you have to work to get things up and running on the island at the start." |
Nintendo Life | 10 | "Every moment is unashamedly blissful, with excellently-written characters that truly feel alive and an island paradise that gives infinitely back more than you put in." |
IGN | 9 | "It's important to note that New Horizons has built-in penalties for abusing time travel, so Nintendo recognizes time travel is part of Animal Crossing, but lightly discourages it" |
Destructoid | 8.5 | "it's what I've wanted Animal Crossing to be for many years." |
Polygon | – | "I find my general anxiety slowly subside as I run through my town, water my plants, and build furniture for the sassy chicken gentleman living down by the beach. It’s exactly what I need right now." |
Kotaku | – | "Everything and everybody is meaningful, not just because they can be polished into something beautiful but because they were already beautiful to begin with." |
Eurogamer | – | "probably the best this series has ever had to offer and therefore one of Nintendo's very best games to date" |
GamesRadar | 9 | "although that comes with some time-based frustrations, that urge to just spend 'five more minutes' on your island deepens with every passing day." |
Ars Technica | – | "A few early, tutorial-like missions, including building the island's first store and welcoming the island's first new additional residents, can only be accessed by [the 1st island resident]. [Only they] can build some of the biggest updates for each island, from a new series of bridges and incline ramps, to sillier customizations like the town's flag and song." |
US Gamer | 9 | "Animal Crossing: New Leaf remains the pinnacle of the series, but New Horizons brings with it a bunch welcome quality of life changes. The addition of crafting isn't a burden as I worried it would be." |
Nintendo Insider | 10 | "an essential purchase for anyone that owns a Nintendo Switch. As heartwarming as it is wholesome, Nintendo has delivered meaningful changes that help to structure your peaceful island existence." |
Game Informer | 9 | "Plenty of materials are available to replace broken tools, making the problem about scarcity and more about filling time" |
GameXplain | Loved | New Horizons is by far the best entry in the series |
Nintendo World Report | – | "The villagers in particular really made me smile as they have more animations, fun dialogues and roam more freely across the town." |
VG24/7 | 100 | "New Horizons is everything I hoped it would be, and it’s yet another stellar release that showcases a confident Nintendo at its best. It is excellent, and is easily another must-own Switch title" |
EGM | – | "while any clothing items you put into your home’s storage are then directly accessible from clothing-related furniture, none of your crafting materials gain that ability, even if you’ve got a crafting bench right there in your house. You’ll have far too much to pick up or carry around to constantly have all of those materials on hand at all times, so crafting becomes a game of checking the recipe for what you want to make, swapping in materials, building it, swapping out materials, and repeating." |
The Telegraph | 100 | "within the first two weeks, New Horizons has defied all my expectations. Encompassing everything from the humble beginnings which make the series welcoming to newcomers to the extensive customisation options that fans have been dreaming of for years, New Horizons represents the apotheosis for the series so far." |
NEW INFO
• IGN confirms that the max villager count is 10
• the first person to play the game is designated Island Representative. Only they can play tutorial missions like building the first store, placing the 1st villagers' homes, build bridges and ramps, and change town flag and song
• plenty of materials are available to replace broken tools (no real scarcity per day)
• Nintendo Life confirmed no hourly music until Resident Services building is built (upgrade from tent). Eurogamer says: "my first 30 hours of play were conducted to a single piece of music rather than the evolving soundtrack of older games"
• GameXplain didn't come across gyroids at all...
• you can customize your Nook Phone case with custom designs too!
• IGN lists persimmon as a possible starting fruit
• Kotaku confirmed that for new villagers moving in, you'll be "crafting furniture and decorations for both the inside and outside of their homes" using recipes that Nook provides
• Kotaku: "I managed to find a nice, private beach on the backside of the island that I haven’t told anyone about yet. Doesn’t appear to hide anything special; it’s just been nice to head back there and chill for a bit. "
• Nintendo Life says you can't use touchscreen to make custom designs
• Nintendo World Report says music tracks are purchaseable early on so you can have "different zones" with different tracks, likely by placing a radio there
• Game Informer picture confirms villagers can get sick again!
• EGM confirms we now have 300 mail slots, up from 10 (lol)
• GameXplain confirmed the landscaping and waterscaping permits can be purchased for 6,000 nook miles each
• IGN says your villagers assemble to do yoga together
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