Customer Ratings & Reviews

Wow, this was the first AC game I've ever played, but this has exceeded any expectations I had. Compared to the more-involved, combat-intensive games I've played, Animal Crossing New Horizons is a breath of fresh air, allowing me to enjoy a simple island life. Lots of options to be creative, and plenty of fun NPCs to meet and talk to. Great for all ages!

For those of you new to AC just go ahead and pick up this game. It is amazing and Animal Crossing is such a good comfy simulation game. All the feels and wholesomeness! You can skip the rest of this review as it will be geared toward AC veterans. AC veterans... this game is about on par with NL in my opinion... Graphical updates are wonderful for sure and don't get me wrong I love the game but they also seemed to have removed A LOT of things we loved from NL. They also changed quite a few mechanics in the game, and not in a good way. Some of them are just... weird and we're all not sure how things work anymore. Swimming/diving is no longer in the game (I loved it so big point loss from me.) Fish and bug catching is easier... all the 'rare' fish/bugs are no longer super rare... I caught 3 coelacanths in a 2 hour span one day... and similar things with other bugs/fish... sooo that challenge has been removed... it doesn't feel as rewarding.. fossils spawn up to 6-8 a day not sure. Its just not a huge challenge to collect anymore. The crafting/customization is super cool but poorly implemented. You either have to carry mats with you all the time which take up 2-6 slots depending on what you need, OR you have to pull them in and out of storage. Also you can't craft in your house and auto use mats from storage, which is super annoying. You can do this with your clothes closet from storage though so idk why they can't do it with crafting. You also can't multi-craft and have to watch the animation EVERY TIME. There are instances where you will want to multi-craft and it gets soo tedious. The other complaint I have with crafting is you have to get DIY recipes before you can craft certain items. This works similar too the publics works projects gathering.. animals, balloons, messages in bottles give you the recipes.. and there are A LOT. You can buy a small handful from the shop... but for the most part... this is going to be a pain in the butt to get DIY recipes. If you have friends who can make stuff for you its not as bad but still annoying. Speaking of crafting... you have to craft ALL of your tools. Eventually you can buy them but it takes a bit unless you time travel(more on that later). Even golden tools break! Gold is super rare to get from rocks too. The tool breaking mechanic is honestly the biggest downfall of this game in every way for me. I hate it. I hated it in BOTW too. This is BOTW, but AC style. Golden tools should NOT break. Time travel is still a thing, and works about the same except you can't go farm holidays/events because they are locked behind timed updates... I'm on the fence about this. I get why but I also don't like it for those of us who are grown up now and can't play ALL the time and holidays are usually busy.. I personally am a time traveler (get over it gate keepers). Here's the positives: the customization is endless! This is where the focus of the game is honestly and probably why the rest seems lacking so its a double edged sword. The island, your house, your clothes, everything is customizable in some way. So many colors and styles to choose from for the clothes! The terraforming on the island is soooo cool! I love it! It does take some time as its like one square area at a time (like digging holes). I can't wait to see all the creative things people will do with this option! There's plenty of videos about this I won't go into detail. I will say this is probably the biggest game changer though. The DIY recipes are really neat! I'm working on collecting cherry blossom themed stuff right now! There's seasonal DIYs plus normal things. I can't wait to find them all! Resources at first are hard to come by but soon you unlock mystery tours with nook miles tickets and resources are abundant. I was worried about this at first but its not been a problem minus the first shop upgrade unless you TT. Overall I still love this game and highly recommend it. There are huge quality of life upgrades but there's also a few drawbacks. I didn't want to spoil much here so I didn't got into full details but I listed my major complaints. The swimming being gone is a big sad face from me. If they improve crafting over the coming updates I would give this 5 stars though.

This game is the reason I bought my switch. I play this every day and I can’t stop. So much fun , everyday you play you have new tasks and more people to meet and make friends with, so much better than the previous games in the series!!! You can even visit your friends islands and trade fruits, materials and presents, a must have for all Animal Crossing fans

Fun game for everyone! Very creative and can be challenging so it provides hours of entertainment and enjoyment. Love seeing former characters and villagers from previous Animal Crossing games! I also think that earning bells, planting flowers/trees, catching bugs and shooting down balloons is easier in this new version.

This game filled a gap in my soul. I started playing during the pandemic and it quickly became one of if not my favorite game of all time. Fits basically any mood and is almost guaranteed to make your day brighter and more positive. A classic

Amazing game. My girlfriend loves it and is very into it.

Love everything about this game. It's an awesome family friendly game and a great way to connect with others. Playing together from 3 different states so far. Will always be suckered into owning this brand of game system because of amazing family friendly games like these. Just wished the systems themself didn't break down so tragically and quickly.

Very Popular kids game, just like Minecraft. These games are meant for kids to 'create' their own imaginary world. At a young age, they can use their imagination and have their very own Nirvana and they have control over everything. These games are shaping the creativity of kids. So far, my 10 yr old loves it. Keeps her busy and she is happy.

My grand daughter really loves this game. I was on top of the Christmas gifts in 2025. Thanks Best Buy.

Disclaimer: at the time of purchase, Best Buy included extra incentives for purchasing the game through them. Game itself is in my top two most-played titles on my Switch, but it's even better if you have someone to play with, since only a certain selection/varieties of items will be available to you whether as your native fruit or the stock you can find in your island shops. Has its pros and cons compared to the previous Animal Crossing title, New Leaf, with New Horizons having greater customization on your island map and not having your villagers move out on you if you ever take more than a few days' break from the game, but New Leaf having various gameplay elements still lacking in New Horizons such as co-op minigames on Tortimer island, Brewster, or more varieties of fruits. Having multiple people visit can be clunky since the game has you sit through loading screens with each person who leaves or visits, and you can't progress or get much done on the island while there are visitors in the way of decoration, construction, or donating things to the museum.

It’s a great game bought it for me and my family to play together I’ve gotten it multiple times because we all wanted our own separate islands. But the kids love it!

We have always been a fan of animal crossing since the game cube days. This game is the best since the first. We love the gameplay, the crafting, and customization. It actually works great for a reading tool for your younger kids. My son is 7 and reading the dialogue a little above his level so he's getting some good reading practice in.

At first, I thought this game was pretty lame as I attempted to play it with my 8 and 6 year old daughters. And then, after shelving it for a few months, I saw a YouTube video on how to advance the game which included converting your tent to a house and expanding it further, building tools, recruiting animals to the island, placing and planting cool stuff, which lead to many new visitors and tasks. So we pulled the game back out and now we love it so much I bought this second copy so the kids can visit each other on their own two unique islands. I have an island resident on both islands and love to spend some relaxing time hanging out and doing lots of fishing for the museum (yep there is a museum that you can donate fossils, fish, bugs, sea creatures and paintings too…and that’s just what I’ve seen so far). Also, time impacts many events and island dwellers so it’s fun to log on often and see what’s available to have fun with. Can’t go wrong with this game if you spend a little time understanding how the progression works.

I bought this game for my teenage son. Since he got it, he has been playing it non-stop. I have observed him playing it and am very impressed by the graphics and game play. If you are looking for something to keep your kids busy during these challenging times of social distancing, you can't go wrong with this game.

It’s awesome. Best part is being able to connect with lots of players. Buy their designs. Some of the designs are so unique they really make the game more fun. Finding things to DIY that are unexpected, like Goth items and tomb stones. We were able to make a spooky graveyard. No end. I made an “ amusement park” So much fun.

The greatest game ever!! It’s so easy to play and there’s plenty of possibilities! The game takes a while to play because it goes by actual time but it’s really fun and honestly addicting!

Decided to revisit Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Switch 2 and hey… it’s still such a vibe. Even after all this time, it feels fresh and relaxing. If you’ve been thinking of jumping back in, or visiting first time, do it. Totally worth it.

This is my sons game. He loves it. It follows your real time. So the clock on the game is your actual time. When it’s dark in real life, it’s dark on the game. It’s a game that you slowly gather tools and skills to allow you to do more and more as you go. You don’t have to eat or drink for your character to stay alive, but you do fish a lot.... you then sell your fish for money. In addition to money you can make “Miles” in the game. You can use the Miles to fly to other islands. There you take whatever you can hold in your storage, then fly back to your island and sell your things to the little shop on your island. You can also buy things with your Miles. Miles are harder to get. You also are charged for your house and have to pay back loans. This is actually a good learning experience for all kids playing this game. They also use some big words during the game...as it seems on purpose to teach kids words...(knowing that the parent will help them read the screen). Overall, this is a good game and I would recommend it to all. This game was sold out in all the stores and we had to order it to be mailed to us. Hope this helps you decide.

Great game and feels like you can keep playing indefinitely. Glad to see more events and updates to this game.

It’s a great little game that my kids won’t atop playing. The only knock is that when playing together on a single Switch players 2-4 are very limited in what they can do which is a bit of a disappointment. You also have one island that everyone on the Switch shares even if you log in solo. On one hand it’s nice to help them progress the island since mine are younger and likely wouldn’t be able to on their own. On the other hand, kids are kids so they can make changes to the island you may not want. Lastly the Nintendo online experience is a bit rough as your play is interrupted every time someone joins or leaves and island. Those complaints aside it’s a super fun game!