Animal Crossing: New Horizons was finally announced yesterday at the Nintendo Direct E3 2019 and is set to release on the Nintendo Switch next year on 20 March 2019. Following the announcement and the short gameplay trailer that Nintendo featured in its live broadcast, more in-depth gameplay was shown at the Nintendo Treehouse: Live.
The live demo showed what the upcoming game would feature on the Nintendo Switch, as commented by developers Aya Kyogoku and Hisashi Nogami. The demo was showed us new crafting mechanics and outdoor decoration, while also discussing the setting, multiplayer and the basics of island life.
Gameplay
The first thing we notice is that the game is set on a deserted island that is owned by the Nook family. Your character will have to buy this island from Tom Nook and expand the island in your own way. Instead of a house, you get a tent at the beach, with a bed, a lamp, and a radio to accompany you. You can move the furniture around and can decorate the setting as per your preference.
Talking more about the ability to decorate, you can also place your furniture outside of the tent, allowing you to decorate the area around your tent or home. In the demo, we were shown the player being able to place fences, paths, beds and whatever they want around the tent.
Another feature mentioned by Nogami was that the time of day and the weather changes are going to progress like the previous Animal Crossing Games, where the time and date will be set to your real-world time zone.
We also get to see the inventory menu, which only has 20 spaces for items. We are not sure if the spaces can be increased or are set only for your quick items like shovel or fishing rod. Your character can also access their phone, which opens up a menu with a lot of options. You can select a photo mode here, or a new feature called Nook Miles that we will talk more about, call a fellow islander, access the map, or go to the DIY section.
Crafting
Something that is going to be new in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that players can actually craft their own furniture. In the demo, we were shown a new DIY feature that allows you to make furnitures such as beds, desks chairs and lots more. We are shown the crafting recipe that asks you for the type and amount of resources you will need to craft an item. Resources such as hardwood, softwood, clay, rocks, and more. Other than furniture, you can also build a campfire, shovel, sighing rod, mailbox, cooking pan, etc.
The items can be crafted from Tom Nook’s tent where you can use the workbench. Crafting is free, but we are unsure if this is the only place you can craft the items. You can also sell your items to Timmy Book for Bells, to either save or to pay off your debt. Timmy Nook also sells items that you may be looking for in exchange for Bells.
Nook Miles
This is a new feature that is coming in Animal Crossing which works similarly to how airline miles work, but you gather miles from traveling or performing certain actions like crafting. Nook Miles can then be exchanged or new items to use in your home. These rewards are given out little activities such as picking out a weed.
This feature can be seen as a system of experience points, but you can use every point in as money to get any item you want. That is of course if you have enough. However, since the game awards you with the Nook Miles from any activity, racking up the miles does not seem to be tedious.
Multiplayer
Animal Crossing now comes with a new multiplayer feature allowing you to call a fellow islander to join your game and play co-op. you can actually play locally with friends by using a Joy-Con controller. The new multiplayer will allow you to interact and work together in the world.
Playing locally will allow you to choose a leader by pressing the button and selecting either player to lead the gameplay and screen. While we are shown only two players, you can have up to eight players on a single island, with a maximum of four players in local co-op. The game also has a wireless and online multiplayer, however, Nintendo plans to talk about these features at a later time.
The developers, in the end, mention that although the game looks to be complete, there is a lot of more they need to work. This is why they have delayed the release for next year to complete the development.
What do you think of the gameplay demo of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Let us know what you think of the new features of the game? Post your comments below.
