The water

[UglyMonsterFace]

I've seen a lot of complaints about the water in New Horizons, saying it isn't detailed or pretty.. I actually LOVE the way the water looks.. Have you guys seen the trailer?! Especially the time lapse of the villager where the time of day and weather changes. The river looks beautiful! It's actually kind of very realistic to me. The way the water droplets actually make splashes, and it reflects the sky. I love it soo much. The ocean seems a bit more cartoonish, but I love both designs. I don't understand why some people are complaining that the water looks ugly

 

[Boccages]

I agree. River water is quite stunning. Especially compared to previous versions of the game. There are even small ripples induced from rain droplets

 

[LambdaDelta]

where's that miiverse person to make a post about how gorgeous the water is

 

[Fey]

I neither love nor hate it at this point. I’m fine if the water stays the way it is, but can still see it being improved as well.

In terms of style, I will say that from the trailer alone there seem to be conflicting directions - some things appear very cartoony while others look much more realistic. I’m not bothered, I wouldn’t quite say that they clash, but it is noticeable and slightly strange. Curious to see what the final version will look like for sure!

 

[Roobi]

I also thought the water looked lovely when I saw the announcement. I think what puts most people off about it is the contrast between the water and the rest of the island, which looks really flat in comparison. The games' release is still pretty far away, so I'm sure everything will be properly textured and rendered by then.

 

[watercolorwish]

At first I was super judgey of the water because I compared it to the previous games. The rivers and ocean had the "stereotypical" look of water, with the textured ripples and shadows just moving in different directions. Since more physics have been implemented into new horizons the water looks much more.. clear? it just looks very deep-watered and fresh, especially in the scene with the pole-vault. This was a must since the look of past animal crossing games was very pop-up bookish, which is still present in new horizons, just with a more realistic spin comparatively. I don't know a thing about making video games though so this is all just from looking at it cosmetically

 

[Stevey Queen]

I think it looks great. I wanted clear water but whatever.

I will say the first time I watched the trailer during the time lapse montage, at night I thought the stars were being reflected in the waters surface and I was like omfg how pretty but I went back and watched a couple 100 more times and I think its just the water glistening in the moonlight, which still pretty but it's not stars.

 

[sweetnut_farm]

I haven't seen this posted anywhere yet so I'm sorry if this has been mentioned, but has anyone seen where we could swim/dive?

I also think the water is nice, especially the river.

 

[Toot]

The river looks fantastic. It looks calm and it flows naturally. I don't see the problem with it tbh.

 

[Aubrey895]

I love how the water looks. Especially when rain falls into it. It looks quite nice.

 

[Tinkalila]

I think the river water looks awesome! It looks very clear and deep.

 

[Hat']

Who even said it wasn't detailed lmao? Just look at the river, it' SO pretty.
When the villager pool vaults accross the river we can see all the details when the stick tocuhes the water and it's amazingly beautiful.

 

[mintellect]

i always figured the water looked the way it did in the trailer because the game isn't finished yet. although it's more simplistic than it previously has been, if they do choose to keep it that way upon release, i won't mind.

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

i always figured the water looked the way it did in the trailer because the game isn't finished yet. although it's more simplistic than it previously has been, if they do choose to keep it that way upon release, i won't mind.

To me, the water (especially the river) is the thing that looks the most finished tbh. Although there are a lot of people who say the water looks like it isn't finished at all. I don't see it hehe.

 

[Adriel]

i think it looks very nice! if they decide to change it id be okay with it though

 

[Khaelis]

I love the look of it. I've always enjoyed simplistic texture details in water. It just looks more natural to me.

 

[Neechan]

It’s something that it doesn’t ‘glisten’ like the other games in the franchise, even real water does it, to show the light refracting to the bottom of the bed, so unless these rivers are extremely deep (which they aren’t as shown with the pole vaulting across the River) then there should be some light that glistens to the bottom (And I’m not talking about the sparkles that are seen during that gameplay that show light bouncing off the water, totally different)

 

[lars708]

Of all the things the water really is just the thing I did not really care about at first. After looking at the trailer again because of the complaints online I still can't see what the issue is? I wouldn't say that it is super fancy or anything (the best water I've seen on Switch award goes to Yoshi's Crafted World so far) but it looks fine? It is a bit simplistic but like that's kind of the point and it blends in perfectly.

So what I'm trying to say is that on its own the water doesn't look impressive at all but as a complete image it meshes very well with the environment which is also very beautiful if you ask me. Consistent visual identity is something I really value in media!

 

[projectx1991]

I adore the water. I actually hate the ocean design and love the river water.

 

[oath2order]

Yeah personally I think it's great.