Animal Crossing: New Horizons Is Everything That Pokemon Sword and Shield Weren’t
You’ll have to pardon me for taking yet another jab at poor old Pokemon, but I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I declare that I had more fun in my first day of New Horizons than I did in months of Sword/Shield.
It’s not to say the beleaguered RPG titles are bad games, of course. They’re undoubtedly very good games, but not necessarily good Pokemon games.
When a franchise has been so strong for so long, it’s bound to waver here and there, and in my eyes at least, Sword/Shield represents the lowest point the beloved pocket monsters have ever seen. It dared to be different, straying from the formula courageously in ways that, more often than not, failed to hit the mark.
Dynamaxing has to be my least favorite gameplay element in the series since the wild, glitchy days of gen 1. When it’s applied in-game against Gym Leaders or in multiplayer raids, it works fantastically; it’s a gimmicky spectacle that makes the battles feel special and significant.
As for competitive gameplay? It’s janky and jarring, shifting the next three turns with all of the elegance of a Gigantamaxed Garbodor on a flimsy pogo stick. We lost Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves — two finely tuned mechanics that could shift the tide of battle when applied expertly — and are instead left with this time consuming kaiju facsimile that breaks up the flow of battle.
New Horizons is different from its predecessors, too, particularly in how heavily it leans into the crafting element first introduced in Pocket Camp, but as fellow Twinfinite writer Rebecca said, it absolutely works. Plucking weeds has gone from a chore to an actual productive activity, and the game is constantly validating you with Nook Miles for seemingly any old thing.
Different is good, but only when it’s done purposefully, and that’s how New Horizons feels. Add in the little quality of life enhancements like the vaulting pole and being able to navigate through tight spaces that would otherwise be impassible, and you’ve got the makings of a real winner.
