With many Switch games lined up to receive new enhanced or even expanded versions as Nintendo transitions to its Switch 2 console, a Switch 2 Edition for Animal Crossing: New Horizons could be a huge hit if it adds a simple yet significant feature. Despite already showcasing a range of all-new games for the Switch 2, Nintendo has also revealed that several existing Switch games will be updated in line with the next-gen console and its capabilities. But while a Switch 2 Edition hasn't been confirmed by Nintendo just yet, Animal Crossing: New Horizons could benefit from an upgrade by introducing one key feature.
Unlike past Animal Crossing games that centered around rural towns and villages, AC: New Horizons set a new standard for the series by giving players the freedom to shape, build, and decorate their own deserted island. However, between the base game's original content and post-launch updates, AC: New Horizons limited its players to one island per save file despite the creative potential it had just introduced. But since the Switch 2 Editions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, will support second save files, Nintendo could finally resolve this and give AC: New Horizons the same treatment.
Animal Crossing is Long Overdue the Mario Treatment
Though the Mario franchise has a 20-year head start on Animal Crossing, it's time for Nintendo to seize the same opportunities with the latter.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Could Benefit From A Switch 2 Edition
At its core, Animal Crossing is built on the social sim genre and the immersion of real-time gameplay, where players are encouraged to play virtually every day and actively interact with both NPCs and fellow players. However, AC: New Horizons and its ability to customize islands through terraforming went a step further than previous Animal Crossing games, introducing new levels of creative control for these communities. Ultimately, while limiting players to one town per save file in past Animal Crossing games may not have been an issue, it now becomes an obstacle for AC: New Horizons' newfound potential.
Like the Reddit post below, players took to social media to express their frustrations about AC: New Horizons' one-island limit and share potential workarounds, ranging from simply restarting the game to using multiple game copies and Switch consoles.
Though it would mean a break from tradition, Animal Crossing may be at a point where the series should consider allowing players to build several towns, islands, or communities, either in-game or across multiple save files. If players are prepared to go to such lengths to have multiple islands, Nintendo could ease this change into Animal Crossing's formula, starting with a Switch 2 Edition for AC: New Horizons.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Switch 2 Edition Could Deliver Multiple Saves
As was revealed for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the Switch 2 Editions for both games will introduce multiple saves, allowing players to pick up where they had left off in past games with the option of starting from scratch. Similarly, AC: New Horizons could transfer these features over to its Switch 2 Edition, carrying over data from the Switch while offering an additional save to start a new island. Alternatively, the Switch 2 Edition could push the envelope by letting players create several islands in one save file that they could travel between in-game, such as by using AC: New Horizons' Airport.
It's the Perfect Time for Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Switch 2 Edition
Despite releasing in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, AC: New Horizons became a success as the ideal cozy game for players in lockdown and fans of Nintendo's flagship franchise. While this could make it one of the older games to be considered for a Switch 2 Edition compared to 2022's Kirby and the Forgotten Land or 2023's Tears of the Kingdom, the earlier launch of Breath of the Wild in 2017 would suggest that AC: New Horizons' age wouldn't hold it back. Moreover, an enhanced edition might even give AC: New Horizons a second chance on the Switch 2 while players wait for the next Animal Crossing game.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- March 20, 2020
- ESRB
- Everyone / Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Expansions
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
