Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) has certainly won the hearts of many, and now that eager players are anxiously looking ahead to the Switch 2 to offer a new entry in the series, it is a good time to look back on some of the things that perhaps the next Animal Crossing should learn from. ACNH continues to be played by many who have come to see their virtual neighbors as friends and a respite from the world. However, with no new content being added to the game, the idea of a new Animal Crossing experience is an exciting prospect.

ACNH is a beloved game, even by those who had never picked up a controller prior to finding this virtual island which offered escape from the bleakness of a world under a pandemic. Its laid-back, relaxing nature is one of its most distinguishing assets, allowing everyone to truly slow down and enjoy the peaceful world where you can pay off a home loan by selling weeds and fruit from the world around you. However, the first day of ACNH can feel a bit too slow, which isn't ideal for a brand-new game that needs to grab players' attention.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Has A Slow Start

There Really Isn't Much To Do Until Days Later

For players who have stayed with the same island for five years now, it may be difficult to , but the start of ACNH is actually a bit boring. After restarting my island last year, I realized just how hard it is to start over and deal with the first few days and weeks again. Although many players choose to sneakily alter the clock settings of the Nintendo Switch to make the game think that a day has ed, that really isn't how things are designed to work and can potentially cause problems.

The first in-game day isn't really counted as a "day" as it essentially consists of creating a character and flying to an island. Players find a spot for their tent and help the other two villagers find their spots. A couple of other easy quests happen, and a little celebration on the plaza, but that is basically it. Thankfully, that day runs on its own clock, and players can progress to Day 1 as soon as their character goes to bed.

Day 1, sadly, does not offer much for a player to do though. There is a brief crafting tutorial and players can get their NookPhone, but most of the apps are not included and there are few DIYs available. There is no Nook's Cranny, no Museum, no Able Sisters. Essentially, things can feel pretty boring, and players have to wait for a new day in the real world before things reset.

Day One Should Be Exciting In Animal Crossing

Players May Have A Hard Time Feeling The Pull To Keep Playing

A video game, like all entertainment, needs to hook players and grab their attention right from the start. While ACNH has a wonderful start from a roleplaying and thematic aspect, it almost encourages players to turn off the game not too long after starting it. People may struggle to get swept up in the fun, which would be important for getting them to return, if they run out of activities and content that they can do and have to wait.

ACNH was at an advantage, albeit a strange and certainly not ideal one, from the COVID-19 pandemic quarantines, which forced the world to slow down and match its pace. People may have been more prepared to give the game a chance than they otherwise would. The next Animal Crossing game will likely not have the same situation, and therefore would benefit from being a bit more interactive right from the start. Even previous games in the series had a bit more going for them in the beginning than New Horizons did, because they featured already established villages.

How Animal Crossing's Next Game Could Fix Camping

Players Should Get To Do More At The Start

The concept of camping at the start of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is actually a really fun way to start off the game while working through the tutorial and getting a home. Sleeping in a tent with few supplies felt right, and is a perfect beginning. Where it struggled was the way the game cut players off from much of the basic content of the game for the first several days. If the next Animal Crossing also features camping in a tent to start things off, there are many things that could help enrich the experience a bit more.

Perhaps the most frustrating for many is the lack of a museum for the first several days. At a time when players have little to do but catch bugs and fish, not having the ability to donate them to the museum creates an unnecessary annoyance and can become an unsightly and cumbersome problem. Many players resort to stacking these creatures in cages or aquariums all over the landscape while they wait because of the stress caused by wanting to complete the museum collections.

Another idea would be to provide players with more ways to begin customizing their island through terraforming, which would be much easier to do before too many more villagers move their homes to the island. While this may be a more difficult task for those who are new to the game, longtime players could be appreciative of getting to shape their world early on in the game, particularly for replays.

The Next Animal Crossing May Take A Completely Different Approach

Just As New Horizons Started Different From Previous Games

Of course, New Horizons was a bit more unique in its deserted island approach to starting out the game, and it is very unlikely that the next Animal Crossing will use the same theme. Rumors have already flooded the internet of ideas of driveable vehicles, skyscrapers, adventurous missions, and more. No matter what setting it is placed in or way that a player is introduced to the game, the Animal Crossing series will likely continue to be a bit of a slow burn simply due to its very foundation of slowing down.

It encourages everyone to pause and enjoy the simpler aspects of simply watering flowers or catching a cicada. That relaxed pace and soothing virtual home is one of the primary reasons that the series has earned itself such a large fanbase. So, although the next Animal Crossing could benefit from a slightly more engaging start, we really don't want things to speed up too much.