With travel restrictions in place all over the world from the effects of COVID-19 and efforts to prevent its spread, people everywhere want to do what they can to travel or even find their own paradise. Coming at a time that the virus had already begun to spread all over the world and hit each of the 50 United States, Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch has offered this opportunity to the home-stuck traveler.
What is Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Released as a sequel in the Animal Crossing franchise on March 20th, 2020, the game could not have come at a better time. The game places you on a vacant island with a few new friends and lets you control the pace you play. With a small campsite at the center of the island, you begin to gather materials to set up your new “home” (your tent) wherever you like, along with those of your new friends. This is the start of your new island adventure!
Relax on Your Island
Over the course of the game, you are able to build farms, new houses, upgrade your tent to a mansion, set up a museum, shops, and much more. The beauty of the game is that, while it functions in real time (day/night, day of the week, etc.) you can play at your own pace! Catch cool new insects that vary depending on time of day and time of year, go fishing for small perch in a pond or sharks in the sea, do whatever you find relaxing or fun!
Travel in Style (Even From Home)
While you will soon learn the ins and outs of your island, you also have the ability to travel to new islands to discover new resources and even meet new friends to invite to your own. While you may be restricted to home or very limited travel opportunities in real life, you can fly with Dodo Airlines to new island destinations to explore areas you don’t normally have access to. Come and go as you please to newer islands as long as you can afford the in game currency.
Pay Your Virtual Debt
While in previous Animal Crossing titles you tend to owe a familiar tanooki character debts for allowing you to own a new house, Animal Crossing: New Horizons does so in a friendlier way. The task giver and leader of the company that brought you to your new deserted island, Tom Nook, lets you know that you do owe him for bringing you out, but once you pay him back, you only owe him each time you upgrade your house! House upgrades are optional, but worth it. Imagine if you could just own a house and pay back your “banker” whenever you were ready!
Upgrade your Tropical Island Paradise
As you complete tasks on your new island paradise, you will contribute to new structures being built that give you new optional tasks or even cool things to buy. Once you contribute a certain amount of resources, a beautiful museum, new deluxe shop, town hall, and more will pop up that give you more to do on the island.
Build Your Ideal Private Island
Once you have begun setting up your new friends around the island and organized the Town Plaza for everyone’s use, you will receive new options of things to create and do. You can actually adjust the island completely to your liking! While your island begins with a couple different heights that you can’t originally get to, eventually you can not only access higher areas, but you can build and terraform them as you like! Adjust waterfalls, create more rivers, fine tune your beaches, do as you see fit as the mayor of your new fine island town.
Play with Friends!
Perhaps the most popular feature of the game is the ability to play with friends. Whether via local play (using Nintendo Switch local connection) or online through the internet, you and friends can visit each other’s islands whenever you like (after the tutorial)! There are thousands of islands available in the game that you can wear, build, and decorate with and your friends are bound to have different ones than you. Visiting their island will also give you new ideas of ways to decorate your island or pattern your buildings. Inspiration comes from different places, and sometimes that can be while fishing and hanging out with friends on their virtual island.
Travel Might Return in Full in 2021
If talking about traveling to your own virtual island has you wanting to travel for real, remember that, unfortunately, COVID-19 is still restricting most areas from travel. Most companies are trying to revolutionize sanitization where possible and scientists and doctors are working day and night to figure out ways to combat the virus even further. While some companies are trying to get travel started as early as July 2020, you can bet that 2021 will see more open up itineraries with the new guidelines in place.
More Atlas Traveler Video Gaming Blogs
Playing Nintendo Switch on an Airplane
Made before Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out in March, 2020, this blog details many great games available on the Nintendo Switch for you to play by yourself or with others when traveling by plane. While that may not be happening as much with COVID-19’s prominence, you’ll be sure to find new games you’ll like just like Animal Crossing: New Horizons here.
Best iPhone Games for Airplane Mode
While gaming on the Nintendo Switch can be done on the go, especially when using the Switch Lite, sometimes the convenience of playing games on your phone go unmatched. This blog features some worldwide popular phone games along with ones you wouldn’t think were great in airplane mode as options to download and play on the go.
