It’s Got a Real Slow Start
If there’s one thing that’s going to catch out newcomers to the series and veterans alike, it’s how much of a slow start Animal Crossing: New Horizons has.
While in the past you’ve already had a town that’s bustling with people doing their day-to-day chores, exchanging gifts, and visiting shops, Tom Nook’s Island Getaway is a little more… limited.
At first, you’ll only have one or two buildings on your island, and the rate at which you can unlock and buy tools to be able to do more around the island is painfully slow.
Honestly, you’re looking at a good few real-life days passing by before things really kick off and the game transitions into its more open-ended, free nature.
Whether New Horizons is your first Animal Crossing game, or you’re a long-time fan, don’t let the first few days get you down. It’s well worth pushing through.
Only One Island Per Switch
It’s already been a part of more than its fair share of controversy, but we’ve got to mention it again just in case it’s slipped by any of you prospective New Horizons buyers.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons does not allow for more than one island to be saved on a Nintendo Switch. This is the case even if you have multiple User Accounts on the system. Everyone will play on the same island, with the same villagers and same fruit.
This may be disappointing to some players who wanted to personalize their island to their liking, rather than having to compromise with a family member or loved one.
Unfortunately, there’s no way of working around this one, but it has also been the case for most Animal Crossing games in the past since the GameCube version. That one allowed you to have a different town per memory card, but considering the premium price for memory cards, you were still somewhat limited.
Anyway, best you know now rather than once you’ve got the game and arguments ensue!
Only Two Villagers to Begin With
When you first start out on at Tom Nook’s Deserted Island Getaway, you’re going to be a little underwhelmed.
That island teeming with decorations, furniture, neatly-laid out paths, beautiful flowers and just a general magical aura about it that you’ve seen in the trailers are a stark contrast from what you’ll be greeted by when you first arrive.
The island is a blank, albeit weed-filled canvas. You’ll need to really do some gardening to get things up to scratch.
What makes things worse, though, is that it’s only you and two animal villagers on the island when you first arrive. It limits the variation in what you can do during these early stages, particularly during those opening days when there’s not a whole lot going on.
Don’t worry too much, however, as the animal villagers will soon be flocking to your island ready to set up life alongside you. It really is just a bit of a waiting game at the beginning more than anything else. Just stick with it.
Online Play Requires Subscription
It can be easy to forget that the Nintendo Switch has an online subscription service. Namely because few massive multiplayer titles make their way to Nintendo’s hybrid system.
Still, it’s a thing and you’ll need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription if you’re wanting to have friends visit your island or go and visit theirs online.
This isn’t the case if your friends are all together in the same place, though, as you can just use local wireless features to visit one another.
Fortunately, the Nintendo Switch Online subscription is considerably cheaper than its PS4 and Xbox One alternatives. You’ll be looking at $20 for a year’s subscription, one month for $4, or three months for $8.
The Whole Cloud Save Situation
While this isn’t something that’s going to affect every Animal Crossing: New Horizons player, it is going to affect some of you.
Nintendo has announced that New Horizons doesn’t support Cloud Saves. That means that at launch, you cannot backup your island to the cloud. As such, if you lost or broke your Nintendo Switch, your island and all that New Horizons save data would be gone forever.
Fortunately, Nintendo is apparently looking into a data backup option specifically for New Horizons. You can check out part of the FAQ regarding this below:
Is there a way to transfer save data onto another console?
- We are currently considering a function to move user and save data to other consoles that is uniquely for the software. The function is planned to be implemented within the year.
What if I lose my save data?
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons does not support Nintendo Switch Online’s Save Data Cloud Backup feature. However, we’re currently considering a function for Nintendo Switch Online members to backup save data, uniquely for the software, in case one’s Nintendo Switch console itself malfunctions or is lost. The function is planned to be implemented within the year.”
Just make sure you’re keeping your friends close, and your Nintendo Switch closer to keep that island safe during these initial few months.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons comes to Nintendo Switch on March 20.
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