Summary
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons allowed players to have more freedom in building their island, but there is still room for improvement in terms of crafting and island construction.
- The Sims 4's free build mode, which allows for experimenting with designs without consequences, could be a valuable addition to the Animal Crossing series.
- A separate free build mode in Animal Crossing: New Horizons would save time and resources by allowing players to preview and make adjustments to their island design before committing to it.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons gave players more freedom to build their island to their liking than any other entry in the series. From being able to craft furniture and place pieces outside, to choosing where important buildings and villager homes will be built, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a dream come true for players who longed for the creative freedom previous entries in the franchise did afford. However, as nice as these new mechanics were for island building, the next Animal Crossing could go one step further and borrow a feature from The Sims 4.
Although there is a lot to praise about Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there is still a lot of room for a sequel to improve upon the concepts introduced in the game. A major area of focus for the next Animal Crossing game, or even a surprise update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, should focus on adding more quality-of-life improvements for crafting and island construction to help streamline the process. This type of feature could come in a form similar to that of The Sims 4's free build mode, which could help add a new layer of convenience and creativity to the Animal Crossing series.
Animal Crossing Could Use The Sims 4's Free Build Mode
The Sims 4 offers players the opportunity to design their world without the limitations typically imposed by the game by enabling Free Build Mode. While technically considered a cheat, EA encourages players to utilize this feature in order to experiment with different designs and building layouts before spending the resources in the game for real. Free build mode gives The Sims 4 players a lot of room to flex their creativity without worrying about wasting valuable time and resources on their main save, and it could translate quite well to the Animal Crossing series.
The pacing of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is great for those who want to take their time and relax on their island, but it can also end up making island customization and building a chore. Terraforming an area only to decide it doesn't look right or building a villager's home only to realize it's not in the right location can waste time and resources. If Animal Crossing: New Horizons had a separate free build mode where players could lay out and make adjustments to their island ahead of time and then preview them before committing the resources to building their design on their real island, a lot of headache could be saved.
Crafting is another major part of island decoration in Animal Crossing: New Horizons as the game offers many of its best outdoor furniture as crafting recipes. This means that players who want to utilize these furniture pieces will need to gather the resources necessary to craft them, which can be costly and time-consuming if it turns out they don't like the result. Being able to see how these furniture pieces look in-game without having to use the time and resources necessary to craft them in a free build mode would help players use their resources more efficiently when overhauling their island.
Animal Crossing already has a great foundation for a free build feature in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and the Happy Home Paradise DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These games offer players the ability to design houses for villagers without the resource and time constraints of the main series games. A future Animal Crossing game could expand upon the concept of Happy Home Designer and allow players to use a similar mechanic but include the ability to design their entire island separately from the main game, not just individual buildings and houses.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available for Nintendo Switch.