While it may be a while before Nintendo develops another Animal Crossing, fans are eagerly anticipating what comes next for the cozy franchise. Back in 2020, no one could have quite expected just how big Animal Crossing: New Horizons would be, but thanks to many factors, the game went on to beat out every past entry considerably in sales. Players from all over flocked to the world of Animal Crossing, and with this massive fanbase, there is a lot riding on the eventual sequel.
The next Animal Crossing game will need to shake a lot of things up, as Nintendo tends to do that with every single entry. Players can expect new gameplay elements, new villagers, a new style, and numerous changes or tweaks. Alongside those standard additions, Nintendo might want to consider taking things to a whole new level by delving into just what makes villagers tick. Instead of sticking with the tried-and-true villager model, it might be time to make them more lifelike.
Before It Is Even Revealed, One Big Change is Likely For The Next Animal Crossing
The next Animal Crossing game hasn’t yet been confirmed, but it’s likely going to switch up one recurring part of every mainline entry in the series.
Animal Crossing’s Villagers Have So Much Potential
Villagers Should Actually Behave Like Real People
One of the first areas that this next Animal Crossing should focus on is giving villagers the ability to form relationships with one another. These relationships could come in all shapes and sizes, from friendly or romantic to bitter rivals. Already, these villagers can grow closer to the player throughout their Animal Crossing adventure, so there is seemingly no reason that cannot be applied to inter-villager relations as well.
These villagers should be allowed to form attachments as the village grows, with their personalities serving as a way to tie them together. Then, those relationships could have an actual effect on the way that the Animal Crossing village operates. Maybe certain villagers can be found hanging out with each other often, maybe two villagers will react negatively if they are forced to do certain activities together, and maybe players can help the villagers grow even closer through some fun little side activities. Additionally, these relationships could go even further by actually having villagers move in together. And even though it may be a massive change for the series, it might be time for Animal Crossing even to introduce children into the mix.
The Village Itself Needs to Be Opened Up To Its Residents
While these deeper personalities will be a lot of work for Nintendo, the villager expansion should not stop there. In the next Animal Crossing, villagers should finally be able to actually interact with the village itself. Up until now, they really only got to fish, water plants, and wander the land aimlessly. They have never been able to mess around with most of the things players fill their villages with, nor did they have much of a say in how their own home looks.
Animal Crossing‘s Villagers should be allowed to mess around with the various objects decorating their village. They should be able to get a tan on the beach, actually play instruments, ride or play with the many carnival-themed objects, and act like a normal person would. Additionally, it should not be solely up to the player to decorate villagers’ houses or land. Even if some may be a bit annoyed by random objects suddenly appearing, it is about time that villagers utilize their own property to its fullest extent.
There is no news on when the next Animal Crossing will come out, but when it eventually does, it really needs to expand villagers. It has been over two decades since they were first introduced, yet they still lack lifelike features like relationship forming and the ability to interact with their surroundings more.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the fifth major game in the Animal Crossing series. This slice-of-life simulation game tasks the player with developing an abandoned island into a small town for its resident villagers. The game was released at the start of worldwide lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which catapulted it into massive success. It’s currently the best selling game of all time in Japan.
- Released
- March 20, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer , Local Multiplayer
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Comic Mischief
- Expansions
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise
- How Long To Beat
- 61 Hours