Animal Crossing New Horizons is my favorite game after 3 years

[VanitasFan26]

I am not afraid to say it and as much as I criticized this game so many times I would have to say Animal Crossing New Horizons is probably my favorite game. It may not be as great as past AC games but at least it was the game that got me through the pandemic when it first came out in 2020. If it wasn't for this game I would not know what I would do. Despite its flaws it still is a great game to play when you just want to relax and it has been my more comfort game to getaway from all the bad stuff happening in the world.

 

[ConfusedDad]

i honestly have played no other AC games, but i just like it so much bc it is calming and takes my mind off the real world, and anything that does that is good enough for me lol

 

[Roaldisthebest]

its in my top 2 favorite games of all time! i think the villagers are pretty cute and activities such as fishing are fun to get into. (i spent a whole hour searching desperately for a fish I won't see until March next year.. its not looking good so far lol)
I love New Horizons for allowing us to get more unique design opportunites for our towns, it's overall just a feel-good positive time and compared to older games (I've only played Wild World) it's my fav for how much it's added to the series. I love the direction of the music (aside from two hours which i find pretty bland), and the artstyle in this one is my fav. I can't wait to see if the next game surpasses this one as my favorite.

 

[Hsn97]

No, it’s not even close to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty of hours worth of enjoyment out of it. But I’ve also equally had as many hours of frustration, annoyance and disappointment from it. 3 years on after its release and I do still dip into it every now and again. But it feels empty and lack lustre especially when you compare it to so many other games (most of which had smaller teams and budgets!) It’s a good game, I’d rate it maybe 6/10 but I still recommend games like New Leaf or Stardew Valley or over and above New Horizons.

 

[VanitasFan26]

No, it’s not even close to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty of hours worth of enjoyment out of it. But I’ve also equally had as many hours of frustration, annoyance and disappointment from it. 3 years on after its release and I do still dip into it every now and again. But it feels empty and lack lustre especially when you compare it to so many other games (most of which had smaller teams and budgets!) It’s a good game, I’d rate it maybe 6/10 but I still recommend games like New Leaf or Stardew Valley or over and above New Horizons.

Thats fair. I totally agree with this.

 

[mare stellas]

While i was putting money on the side to get a switch and acnh (loved the content from youtubers stuff) i saw that i had Wild world on a N5 card. So i tried it ans oh god, i hated every second.

Not only do you have very litlle to do, but i got insulted ten minutes in. New Horizons is defenitly more my style, i have way more control over my stuff, i dont have to put to much effort and attention in the villagers. (I dont like talking to npc un general >>>)From what i've heard of the previous game, NH is my favorite of the franchise.

But it's not my ultimate favorite game of all time. (But stands just behind Stardew Valley, Minecraft and FF14!)

 

[Fisher]

I'd say it's my favorite AC game, though nostalgia makes me want to say Population Growing or City Folk are my favorite haha. I have my complaints too about New Horizons, but being able to put items anywhere on the island/town is a feature I've really wanted in AC since the first game and finally getting it in this game was like a dream come true for me.

Certainly not my favorite game I've ever played tho, that'd be RDR2 or Witcher 3 but definietly my favorite AC game.

 

[nightglow]

Not my favorite game of all time, but it is the game I play the most rn. Mostly because you have animal people friends and it's a chill game.
Dinkum, as much as I like that game, lacks animal people friends.

 

[-Blue-]

Not my favorite game. Not even close. And honestly that title kind of shifts from time to time and depending on what mood I am in.

It's a good game, but not my favorite AC title either. I wouldn't rank it the lowest, but possibly 3rd. I get that it has a lot of QoL updates and overhauls that make it more manageable compared to a game that dropped in 2002 or 2012/2013, but it's also 2020/2023 and they just dropped the ball with no real multiplayer. I played online with NL and that's where a lot of those hours were spent (chilling with friends) and it was free, but we pay for a online sub now and connection is the same and worst without real multiplayer.

 

[VanitasFan26]

Not my favorite game. Not even close. And honestly that title kind of shifts from time to time and depending on what mood I am in.

It's a good game, but not my favorite AC title either. I wouldn't rank it the lowest, but possibly 3rd. I get that it has a lot of QoL updates and overhauls that make it more manageable compared to a game that dropped in 2002 or 2012/2013, but it's also 2020/2023 and they just dropped the ball with no real multiplayer. I played online with NL and that's where a lot of those hours were spent (chilling with friends) and it was free, but we pay for a online sub now and connection is the same and worst without real multiplayer.

Gonna agree with the multiplayer. Its not really the best.

 

[Paperboy012305]

I mean, don't get me wrong it's a good game, but I'm more of a New Leaf player.

The decorating, nostalgia and more features you get in that game are more fun and calming compared to New Horizons.
With New Horizons, you have to think more to get your decorating done, which is stressful in my eyes. Wheras New Leaf has less of that, making my builds have a more serene and relaxing time as I do them.

I'd enjoy New Horizons more if I actually had the advanced decorating skills and the will to do them, but I don't.
My whole Islands I've had for 3 years straight have been empty with barely anything, and it may remain that way sadly.

 

[EZbot]

for me personally, it's the closest thing we have to play The Sims on Switch lol
Sadly I haven't played AC games before NH. Well, I did play a bit of NL on my lil bro's 3DS, but I've never really played it iykwim

It's an okay game I guess? The overall gameplay gets stale after you play it for a while. The villagers said about 10 different lines at most, there's not much to do on the island but terraforming/decorating your island for online clout, and multiplayer is now primarily just for Nookazon transactions. It's a pretty, pretty game that focuses more on aesthetics and less on gameplay.

I'd still play the hell out of it. I won't stop until I get a full island where I'm gonna live vicariously through my avatar

 

[-Blue-]

I mean, don't get me wrong it's a good game, but I'm more of a New Leaf player.

The decorating, nostalgia and more features you get in that game are more fun and calming compared to New Horizons.
With New Horizons, you have to think more to get your decorating done, which is stressful in my eyes. Wheras New Leaf has less of that, making my builds have a more serene and relaxing time as I do them.

I'd enjoy New Horizons more if I actually had the advanced decorating skills and the will to do them, but I don't.
My whole Islands I've had for 3 years straight have been empty with barely anything, and it may remain that way sadly.

To add to this, they could've given us the QoL update that HHP got with the 'god-mode' outdoor terraforming/designing. I don't know why they didn't think we would love being able to move furniture around in a grid or even rotating pieces freely.

Something as simple as moving a furniture piece or rotating a piece (especially if it is on top of another) can take what should be seconds into minutes or hours. And that's not really where I want to spend my time on an necessarily complicated feature.

 

[lunatepic]

Thought on this one for a bit! as someone super indecisive, I rarely label things my ‘favourites’, it feels so definitive haha. but even if we were to lessen the scope of the question and have it be ‘is NH your favourite AC game’, the answer would still probably be no. I think each entry offers a different kind of experience, so it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges. new leaf had a multiplayer system i honestly probably sunk hundreds of hours into, gamecube has that immersion and that nostalgic charm, and new horizons has tons of shiny new design tools to play around with.

 

[McRibbie]

To add to this, they could've given us the QoL update that HHP got with the 'god-mode' outdoor terraforming/designing. I don't know why they didn't think we would love being able to move furniture around in a grid or even rotating pieces freely.

Something as simple as moving a furniture piece or rotating a piece (especially if it is on top of another) can take what should be seconds into minutes or hours. And that's not really where I want to spend my time on an necessarily complicated feature.

I think it's as simple as this: HHP is generally focussed on quicker, shorter builds, where the amount of outside space you've got to work with is basically the size of a large room, and you've got an infinite amount of basically everything to work with so you can just go "boom boom boom, done".

NH itself on the other hand is something that you can come back to day by day and work on a little bit at a time because hey, it's an Animal Crossing game after all. It's not something you just plonk everything down at once and call it a day. It's also using a MASSIVE map that would make using the outdoor grid not that much more convenient, because you'd have to either stop and start using it constantly in order to decorate the entire map, or you'd have to keep zooming in and out of the thing in order to do anything with it.

tbh I do think that not being able to rotate stuff on tables and whatnot is a massive pain, and it's the only thing where I'm gonna go "yeah, you've got a point there" but for the most part, nah. I don't think it was ever meant to be a feature in the game.

 

[cherrytheone]

I don't know if it's my favorite game, but it still means a lot to me as it was my first AC game. I don't have time to play a lot of video games so I'm not a video game connoisseur so I don't really have a *favorite* right now. Next to New Leaf it is my favorite AC game. I love all the cute little features of New Leaf but I used to play New Horizons all the time because it was my favorite. I've lost interest in New Horizons since I started my New Leaf town but not because I dislike New Horizons. Its mostly because I really only have time to play one AC game at a time.

 

[Belle T]

My opinion of the game is sort of paradoxical. I think most every other game in the series is much better designed within the constraints that they have. But I think I enjoyed my time with New Horizons more than I did with New Leaf. Perhaps it's the incredible array of personalization, or maybe it's because the startup grind feels considerably smaller by comparison to previous entries. But despite my numerous complaints about the game, I found myself enjoying it more often than I didn't.

I don't think I would call it my favorite game or even favorite game on Switch, but it's definitely one I'm happy that I eventually grabbed.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

Out of all games ever? I think it's my favourite game by default. I don't really play a ton of games!

Out of all AC games? Yeah NH is definitely my favorite, though the only other AC game I've played was New Leaf. I can never go back to NL though, the graphics are just too hard to look at, and I think it'd be the same with all the other old AC titles.

It'd be cool if they ended up re-mastering an older AC game... even better if they somehow found a way to combine NL and NH into one, with the newer graphics.. and more dialogue

 

[Xara]

that’s great! new horizons isn’t my favourite game in the franchise (that would be new leaf), but it’s definitely one of my favourite games in general! it’ll always be special to me for not only getting me through the pandemic, but for being the reason i came back to tbt after a 2.5-3 year hiatus. i’ve met so many people because of new horizons, and i’ll always be grateful for that. <3 plus the graphics are absolutely stunning and the best in the entire franchise, and it’s great being able to relocate most buildings and not having to worry about villagers randomly moving out anymore. i haven’t played since january because of how busy i’ve been, and if it was new leaf, at least half of my villagers would probably have moved out by now lol.

new horizons has its flaws, but it really is one of the best games in the franchise. i’m excited to see where the franchise goes from here ^^

 

[Muna]

Yes, it is, without even a second thought. Now to the details.


It's not a perfect game, I'm sure all of us are aware that it has so many areas in need of improvement, I find it annoying as well. But the improvement over the previous games is enormous in my opinion and I'm really surprised when people say that they prefer any older AC title. Sure, maybe there are some aspects which were better then, some other things completely missing now, also probably the nostalgia kicks back with a huge force, but still, I think New Horizons is best Animal Crossing title overall and at the moment. I could never go back now to the New Leaf and play with the same enjoyment as 10 years ago, even though I have more hours in NL than in NH.


Are there any other games with better graphic, music, more engaging and not so repetitive gameplay and on top of that with actual interesting story? Obviously there are many. I've played quite a lot of games and of course there are some that are truly amazing, almost perfect, that I would call the best of the best. But Animal Crossing took over my heart a long time ago and it doesn't make much room for others.

Sure, there are those magnificent games that I would always admire, but they didn't have the same impact on my life and feelings as AC. It's hard to put it into words and not making a whole essay but just... Animal Crossing is so special for me, I always feel welcomed and loved when I play, it's always so heartwarming and reassuring, and when I think about my whole AC experience over the years I just melt inside. Too pure, too wholesome, too one of a kind. It's a little horrifying that a video game evokes such emotions in me, but it is what it is and I'm not going to fight it. So yeah, there's no way any other game would be able to top all this.


So to sum it all up: I think New Horizons is the best in the Animal Crossing series, it's not the best game of all times, but it's my favorite.