Animal Crossing: New Horizons took the world by storm when it released in 2020. As the fifth entry in the popular cozy franchise, it delivered on high expectations, offering tons of customization options as players could create the island getaway of their dreams. After a while, it can be nice to shake things up and try something brand new. It's actually surprisingly easy to theme an island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons after another kind of genre entirely.

Using the game's Custom Design Portal found in Able Sisters clothing shop allows you to shared designs from players all over the globe. With these tools at your disposal, why not plan your next island after a totally different video game and take your cozy getaway experience to a new level?

10 Stardew Valley Brings Farming And Fun

From One Cozy Game To Another

One of the most popular farming games around, Stardew Valley is the perfect game to theme an Animal Crossing: New Horizons island after. With the addition of farming in the 2.0 update, Animal Crossing made it easier than ever to create a farm-themed getaway. Planting crops purchased from Leif will provide that authentic Stardew feel, and filling an island with delicious fruits and vegetables is simple and fun.

Villager's buildings can be organized to imitate the layout of Pelican Town. Consider even creating outfits based on residents and gifting them to villagers in the corresponding homes. Terraforming in Animal Crossing allows the rivers and ponds to be reshaped to match the natural layout of Stardew Valley perfectly. Placing a few well-thought-out paths and decorations will solidify the entire thing and create the perfect leap from one cozy couch game to another.

9 Cyberpunk 2077 Welcomes You To Night City

Fill Your Island With Cyberpunk Flare

The neon-lit streets of Cyberpunk 2077 aren't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Animal Crossing: New Horizons. However, with a little creativity and artistic customization, Night City can be brought to any island. Creating pathways that look like city streets and lining them with streetlights is a great way to inspire an urban feel. Neon signs can be drawn as patterns and hung on walls to mimic bright, glaring ments.

Fashion is a huge part of Cyberpunk 2077, and with the Custom Design Pro Editor, all kinds of slick clothing can be created. Face paint can even be made to look like cybernetic implants on a villager's face. Try creating all kinds of custom outfits and gift them to the island residents to involve them in the fun. Get creative and transform your island into the streets of Night City.

8 Pokémon Makes You Wanna Catch 'Em All

Complete A Whole Different Kind Of Pokédex

With over 25 years of games to choose from, Pokémon is the perfect franchise to base a new Animal Crossing: New Horizons island on. There are so many iconic locations to choose from, and the island could easily be one unified place or a compilation of famous spots. The entrance to the island can be made to look like Pallet Town. Victory Road could be constructed at the top of the island as a pinnacle of achievement. Decorations can be carefully placed around the Town Hall to make it look like a Pokémon Center.

Pokémon can go beyond just decorations in Animal Crossing. What is the Critterpedia but a different kind of Pokédex? There are plenty of opportunities to use a "Catch 'Em All" mentality and work to complete the museum with every kind of bug, fish, and critter imaginable. Not only can the island look like Pokémon, but it can play like it too.

7 Fallout Explores The Wasteland

A Post-Apocalyptic Island Vacation

Fallout is another long-running series with plenty of customization options to choose from in its later titles. The fourth main entry in the franchise even has settlement-building as one of its main features. With that in mind, combining it with Animal Crossing: New Horizons seems like an easy choice. Put down plenty of dirt paths to cover up all that green grass: it's time to make an island wasteland.

Making a vault jumpsuit for a villager is simple using the Custom Design Pro Editor. All the trees can be cut down and left as stumps or replaced with the decayed tree decoration. Fossils could be carefully placed to imitate the long leftover bones of a defeated Deathclaw. Customize items with color pallets that make them look rusty and old, and the island will be looking post-apocalyptic in no time.

6 Hades Delves Into The Underworld

Escape From Your Own Island

Hades, the massively popular indie roguelike that made waves in the gaming community, could make an amazing island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The island residents could be living in the House of Hades deep within Tartarus. The next level up, fiery paths could create the burning heat of Asphodel. Beautiful trees and lakes can be put together to imitate the wonders of Elysium.

With careful planning, the island could be set up as one giant path, beginning at the airport and circling around through all the regions of the game until it arrives back where it starts — the perfect imitation of a roguelike game loop. Decorations could even be placed throughout to reinforce the unique environments found all throughout the Underworld. Don't forget to add a couple of fountains so you have a safe place to rest.

5 Legend of Zelda Makes Hyrule Your Own

Be Sure To Hide Plenty of Korok Seeds

Journey to Hyrule by terraforming the entire island into the kingdom from the Legend of Zelda series. Outfits allow the villager to dress up as Link, Zelda, or any other fan-favorite character. The structure of the island can be modified to mimic locations from your favorite Zelda game, from the deserts of the Gerudo region to the dense trees of the Lost Woods. Lava-patterned flooring could even be used to remake the dangerous heights of Death Mountain.

The island can be made a little more interactive for visitors by burying small items to have a Korok hunt. Invite some friends over and race to see who can gather the most buried items before time runs out. There are a number of ways to enjoy a custom version of Hyrule made right in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

4 Super Mario Leads To The Mushroom Kingdom

Make Great Use Of In-Game Items

Why not make use of built-in items within Animal Crossing: New Horizons and transform your island into a Super Mario paradise! Originally added in celebration of the 35th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros, there are plenty of items to choose from. From Goal Poles to Super Stars, decorating an island based on the beloved franchise is a snap. All the items can be purchased from Nook Shopping very early on in the game, so it won't take long to begin the fun.

Even the villagers can in, dres in outfits based on iconic characters, including Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Wario. Sadly, Waluigi will have to be made custom. With some work, it would even be possible to recreate an entire level or a Mario Party board on the island. Yet another great opportunity to invite visitors over and show off an island with interactive elements. Let's-a-go!

3 Five Nights At Freddy's Delivers Spooky Vibes

Survive The Night On This Creepy Island

Looking to bring a little bit of horror to Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Consider creating an entire island based on the animatronic horror franchise Five Nights at Freddy's. Locations across the island can be used to represent different moments in the franchise. Create a checkerboard pathway to imitate the classic look of the first game's location. Set up booths and games reminiscent of the dazzling Pizzaplex. Transform the inside of a house into the spooky underground Sister Location.

You can change your island tune at any time by talking to Isabelle in Residential Services and selecting the "Change the island tune" option.

Sound can even play a big factor in putting together a Five Nights at Freddy's-themed paradise. The island tune can be modified to play something spooky, like the song Freddy plays when your power goes out: "Les Toreadors." With that musical motif in place, every villager spoken to will be able to give the player a little scare.

2 Sonic The Hedgehog Speeds Across The Island

Plenty Of Zones To Choose From

For over 30 years, Sonic the Hedgehog has been a franchise dazzling gamers everywhere. There are dozens of games to choose from and tons of places to draw inspiration from in order to create a themed Animal Crossing: New Horizons island. Some of the franchise's most iconic locations, like Green Hill Zone and Chemical Plant Zone, could be fused together and used to create the ultimate Sonic island. Even exotic locals like the Space Colony Ark could be constructed with some space-themed items.

Through the use of custom outfits, you can cosplay as your favorite character as you race through their own specially created courses. Creative decorating and customizing could even bring items like the Chaos Emeralds and rings onto the island. Add a custom island theme with some of that iconic Sonic music to complete the vibe.

1 DOOM Creates The Ultimate Fusion

Make Doom Crossing A Reality

What could DOOM and Animal Crossing: New Horizons possibly have in common? A release date, as it turns out. Both Animal Crossing: New Horizons and DOOM: Eternal were released on March 20th, 2020. This quirk of timing led to the creation of Doom Crossing, a popular pairing of Doomguy and Isabelle as best friends (and sometimes more). With that all in mind, why not take the meme to the next level and build a DOOM-themed island?

It might seem a little tricky to recreate the surface of Mars or the depths of Hell, but with custom objects and paths, it's totally possible. Remake the Mars base with space-themed items and red sandy ground. Set up some fossils and make odd combinations of skeletons atop lava flooring to recreate the feel of Hell. You can take this popular pairing and make it a reality in the best way possible in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.