What I like the most about Animal Crossing: New Horizons (and the series) is the freedom. There is no right way to play it. For once, I am taking thing slowly, at my own pace.
So far I played it for about 25 hours, and I got the game on the 22nd of March. Many of my friends are way ahead of me, because they played for more than an hour (or less) per day. Other ones have just started their adventure on their island.

The good thing about Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that you don’t need to grind for bells in order to have a nice island. Sure, grinding helps you make progress faster, but it’s not something you are forced to do. You play more hours per day just because you enjoy it.

I don’t care about time-traveling or the easiest way to catch tons of tarantulas. These are certainly ways to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons, they are just not the ones that I personally enjoy. As long as we are all having fun, we are all playing the game the right way.

My Very Own Experience

The first days I played mostly at night. I’ve had problems sleeping since the beginning of the quarantine in Italy, and playing videogames surely helped me. No viruses, no lockdowns, this game gave me a feeling of normality. Its release during this troubling period was indeed a blessing in disguise.

When I play, I mostly go fishing, something that I usually don’t enjoy in real life or in other videogames. I also really like the DIY Projects and to go looking for materials. I just wish I had a much bigger inventory because I easily run out of space while harvesting.

My house has a total of three rooms, and for now I do not intend to expand it further. I will eventually, but my main goal is to furnish the third room as a kitchen. I am spending all my Bells in improvements for my island, which I called Pawnesia, like new bridges. Also, I am working to bring K.K. for a concert and to find new inhabitants for Pawnesia.

I thought I would play more with my friends online, but for now I am mostly playing alone. It’s just that I have so many things to do with my island that I just kind of forgot to invite my friends or to visit them. The fact that you can have fun both by playing alone or with someone is simply great.

Review Incoming?

To be honest, I don’t think that I will ever write a review for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Maybe I will write another article like this when I’ll eventually stop playing it, but I am not ready for a traditional review. Yes, I can tell you that gameplay-wise is great, and that technically wise Nintendo did a very good job, but it’s a very personal experience. More personal than other games. I wouldn’t have this many problems with a game like The Sims, even though it has a nice level of freedom too.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a game that I waited to play for months and that is helping me through the quarantine. I just don’t find the words to write an objective review about it. What I can do is to recommend it to every Switch owner at least to try it. It’s a personal experience that I think many players will enjoy.

P.S.: I hate the Easter Event.