Animal Crossing: New Horizons Reviews

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is ranked in the 99th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Apr 5, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons revitalizes the series formula with a fully customizable island that players get to design from the tent up.

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IGN
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Mar 16, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is an expanded, polished, next-generation reboot of a classic Nintendo game that's full of surprises.

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Essential
Mar 16, 2020

An impressive suite of improvements combine with a more clearly defined structure for Animal Crossing's finest outing to date.

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Mar 21, 2020

Overall, playing New Horizons was well worth the wait. The game is relaxing, enjoyable, well thought out, and fantastic chilled out fun for all ages. Right now, we really need a distraction from the chaos around us, and this game has come at the perfect time. So relax, hop on that plane, and enjoy your new life on the beach, in the woods, or even by the river. The choice is yours.

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Mar 16, 2020

There continues to be nothing quite like Animal Crossing, and New Horizons proves that there's life in the old Nook yet.

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9 / 10.0
Mar 16, 2020

A new challenge system reinvigorates the familiar core, providing a wonderful incentive to explore all of Animal Crossing's myriad activities. This cheerful life sim is the next best thing to an actual vacation

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Unscored
Nov 15, 2021

What makes Animal Crossing an appealing franchise is that I’m able to meet it on my own terms — even if those terms are the polar opposite of the ones I brought to the game in 2020. New Horizons is no longer my “global living room,” as Bijan Stephen described Fortnite in 2018. It’s more like my secret clubhouse, a space that’s mostly just for me, and maybe the kind of friends that feel comfortable sitting in silence. Coming back to the game this time — alongside all of its new content — means doing things differently, but it’s still just as satisfying.

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Unscored
Mar 16, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a respite from the current state of the world. I find my general anxiety slowly subside as I run through my town, water my plants, and build furniture for the sassy chicken gentleman living down by the beach. It’s exactly what I need right now.

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9 / 10
Mar 16, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives you more creative freedom and more to do on any given day while preserving what makes the series special.

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Kotaku
Top Critic
Unscored
Mar 16, 2020

I know this can’t last forever. But in the meantime, I’m going to absorb as much from my time here as possible in the hopes of taking at least a little bit of Aurora back with me.

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Alex Donaldson
Top Critic
Mar 16, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is everything I hoped it would be, and it’s yet another stellar release that showcases a confident Nintendo at its best. It is excellent, and is easily another must-own Switch title – at least, if you can understand and embrace Animal Crossing’s uniquely lazy pace.

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Unscored
Mar 16, 2020

Animal Crossing games have always delivered a compelling version of self-quarantine, and this one overflows with quantity, without sacrificing quality, to do so at a scale series fans have never seen.

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4.5 / 5.0
Apr 5, 2020

Animal Crossing has always been a series where every little thing leads to something productive.

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Mar 16, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons transports the player to another world, one where the hardships of life seem inconsequential.

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9 / 10.0
Apr 8, 2020
Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Easy Allies Review video thumbnail
10 / 10
Mar 16, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons takes Animal Crossing and not only drags it back onto home consoles, but improves upon every single facet imaginable.

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GamesBeat
Top Critic
95 / 100
Mar 16, 2020

The best thing I can say about New Horizons is that I think it's going to win over some players who previously bounced off the franchise. And it will do so without losing any longtime fans in the process. Those players will find more to love than ever before.

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10 / 10.0
Mar 16, 2020

A beautiful, welcoming game that is everything and anything you want it to be. This is one you'll play all year and beyond, and it's exactly what the world needs right now.

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9 / 10
Mar 16, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is beautiful and peaceful, offering safe harbour from the stresses of everyday life. There's so much to do and so much to see, so what's wrong with making a back seat?

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9 / 10.0
Apr 3, 2020

By bringing players into their own island, Animal Crossing: New Horizons works the series' charming, wholesome magic like never before.

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