Animal Crossing is a simulation game that focuses on slice-of-life gameplay, living with villagers, and helping the town and those in it. In the games, there is a large emphasis on community, and on making the islands or town a successful place every Animal Crossing villager wants to live. While the games are typically quite self-contained, with bare-bones multiplayer options and small, confined spaces in which to decorate and build, there are plenty of ways in which the series could benefit from an open world.

Related: Apps That Need To Be On The Next Animal Crossing Game's Nookphone

Unlike the vast majority of open-world games, Animal Crossing doesn't feature heavy exploration, looting, branching questlines, or combat. However, as more and more games pivot to an open-world formula, there is a lingering question of what an Animal Crossing game could look like if it did. However, such a game must have the cute and homely feel of the original games while ticking all the exploration necessities that players love.

ACNH Open-World Exploration

Every good open-world game makes the players want to explore every single area of the map. Many times, players will forget the main quest because they are so enthralled with a small side quest or solving a mystery. One such mystery that players could spend time theorizing about is if Animal Crossing humans are an endangered species. But every good mystery must be discovered through exploration. Exploring structures like buildings or monuments has fun potential. In addition to buildings, there could also be natural elements that players can explore. Many of the distant islands in ACNH appear to be mountainous, so why not let players explore those mountains?

ACNH Open-World Vehicles

Many open-world games are so large they allow players to have mounts or vehicles to make traveling easier. If Animal Crossing released an open-world game, there would need to be some form of quick transportation, and planes would be a good fit here. When players visit islands in the latest Animal Crossing, they need to utilize the airport. Once Orville has taken care of the paperwork, the player boards the plane and is taken to their destination by Wilbur. However, if there was an open-world Animal Crossing game, it would be a fun option to allow the players to fly the plane. The flying mechanic could allow players to visit distant islands, like mystery islands, or reach high points of their island.

A second vehicle option could be a boat. When the Happy Home Paradise DLC was released, one of the free updates to the game introduced Kapp’n. He rests at the dock, and once a day players can go on one of his tours and listen to ACNH Kapp’n sing sea shanties. But an open-world Animal Crossing game could let players steer the boat, allowing them to explore the island’s coastline, probably finding secret caves or items. Then there is also the ability to visit other islands on the map, especially islands that would be beyond swimming range.

While it's unknown what the next Animal Crossing game might look like, there are lots of players who'd like to see an open-world formula - especially if it gives them more to do in the game. The latest addition to the franchise has been criticized for a lack of updates and meaningful content, but an ever-evolving and updating open-world game could fix this issue. Whether or not it will happen remains to be seen, but there's a lot of things that could make an open-world Animal Crossing worth Nintendo's time.