Need a break from your stressful life? Tom Nook is more than happy to help you find an island getaway — for a fee, of course.

What’s Different About This Animal Crossing?

New Horizons has a much larger focus on crafting and building than previous games. You craft (breakable) tools, terraform the world around you, craft furniture and clothing from raw materials, and more. This is easily the most significant change to the series.

Other known changes include an improved character creation menu, a new currency you earn by completing tasks and challenges, and vacations to uncharted islands.

I Don’t Know What an “Animal Crossing” Is

If you’re not familiar with Animal Crossing, it’s a fairly open ended, relaxing game where you mostly make your own goals. The crafting and Nook Miles aspects of New Horizons make the gameplay of this version more directed than the previous games, but you’re still looking at an extremely chill game with no actual “fail” condition.

One of the core aspects of Animal Crossing is that it takes place in real time. If it’s night where you are, it’s night in the game; if it’s fall where you are, it’s fall in the game. The time of day and the seasons have major effects on the game. For example, many types of fish and bugs only come out at certain times or seasons, and there are seasonal events that only happen on certain days. The stock of goods available in shops and the resources available around your island also replenish on a real-world clock. This isn’t like one of those obnoxious mobile games where everything is on a ticking timer and you can pay to speed it up. This is a game that is intended from the start to be played a little bit each day to see what’s new and keep your town improved.

Here are some of the mainstays of Animal Crossing gameplay:

• Meeting new villagers, talking to them and running errands for them
• Fishing, which is traditionally one of the best money makers
• Catching bugs
• Planting flowers and trees
• Playing dress-up with the extensive clothing and accessory options — you can even design and add your own
• Decorating your home with the massive amount of available furniture
• Collecting fish, bugs, fossils and art to fill the museum
• Taking part in seasonal events
• Visiting friends’ towns

You are not required to do any of these things — you can pick and choose which parts of the game you care about.

Would I Enjoy Animal Crossing?

People have been asking me this a lot, so I thought I’d provide a quick summary.

You may like Animal Crossing if:

• You want a game that is absolutely chill, cheerful and stress-free
• You enjoy making your own fun
• You like the idea of customizing your appearance, your home or your town
• You like games where you complete lists of tasks or chores
• You want a game you can play for a little while each day
• You love collecting items or clothing in games
• You enjoy video game music — Animal Crossing has traditionally had a marvelous soundtrack

Animal Crossing may not be for you if:

• You’re looking for a game with a story or a clear endpoint
• You don’t like customization options in games
• You want a challenge
• You want a game you can play for 10-20 hours, finish and move on forever

I hope that helps answer your questions about whether you’d like Animal Crossing! Feel free to ask any more questions in the discussion thread below!

May your rivers overflow with fish and your wallets overflow with bells, my friends.