Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a smash hit in March of 2020, while many people were stuck in quarantine. The last major update finally came out, but is the game still worth playing?

The 2.0 Update

Many of the new items implemented in the update are from previous games in the Animal Crossing series, such as Wild World and New Leaf.

Gyroids

Gyroids. Gosh, aren’t they great? Terracotta based pots that make noise randomly (or, if there is music nearby, in tune and on rhythm). Fans have been advocating for their addition into New Horizons for quite awhile. These cuties are considered furniture items. New Horizons redesigned the gyroids, and all of their names end with “oid.” Pictured to the right: Bloopoid.

Brewster

So many players have wanted Brewster since the beginning of the game – and in the last major update, they finally got it. A dark teal pigeon, Brewster serves the player coffee (and if you have no Bells, water.) I won’t spoil how you find him, but know that your island must be at least 3 stars for you to even have a chance to meet this awesome avian. (picture.)

New Items

So many new items were introduced in the 2.0 update. In fact, there were over 9000 new items added to the game. From new backpacks to new furniture, all the way to the re-introduction of the Froggy chair, many items (some unseen in previous games) were added for the players to enjoy.

Cooking

With the addition of new items also came a new system! Cooking was introduced in the 2.0 update, as well as vegetables to grow. Using the vegetables, a player can cook different recipes. The cooking recipes are similar to diy recipes, as both are obtained through bottles, villagers, balloons, or Nook’s Cranny.

Overall Review

Sure, all these additions are great, that’s for certain. And even though the game came out a year and a half ago, it’s still worth enjoying.

Junior Gabriel Masula isn’t new to the Animal Crossing series. Playing several previous games in the series, such as Wild World and New Leaf, Masula has even played the Japan exclusive Dōbutsu no Mori. He got Animal Crossing: New Horizons pre-ordered.

As an experienced player, he recognized that a majority of the new content to ACNH wasn’t actually new.

“[A] lot of the content isn’t exactly new, we’re just getting kind of recycled content from New Leaf with like seasoning of extra stuff,” Masula says. “[The 2.0 update for New Horizons was] not worth the wait.”

Instead of the 2.0 update, Masula suggests that the 1.3.0 update was superior. This update added the swimming mechanic, as well as many new sea creatures to discover. It also added Pascal, a scallop loving otter that might give the player special Mermaid diys.

“I’d say that was probably like the biggest update because they added all like the entire new system,” Masula said.

While the 1.3.0 update added a lot, it was not nearly as much as 2.0, regardless of recycled content. The previous update, 1.11, had a pretty big gap between the 2.0. For 3 months and 7 days, ACNH players had no new content.

During that time, many players set down their Nintendo Switches; either they were playing different games or going back into the real world, as quarantine was ending in many places. Masula, after months of not playing, finally picked it back up when he heard of the update.

“[B]asically, I built a giant wall around my island, regretted it, tore everything down, flatten[ed] the entire island out. And now I’m deciding to pretty much start fresh and build everything up,” Masula says. He added that doing so would easily add “200 more hours.”

Masula isn’t the only player that took a break. Sophomore Ana Ventresca also set her Switch back down, saying that she’s trying to “backtrack to where [she] was to where [she] should be now.”

The 2.0 update brought a lot of change to ACNH – such as Nintendo stopping their support on the game. Nintendo decided that it was time to pull the plug on their support, saying that there will be no more major updates, paid or free. 

“I think they’re pulling way too soon,” Masula says. “Because the game was on like a huge update, just [a] hiatus and then all of a sudden, we get this mediocre update.”

Masula thinks the fans want more content, more new things to experience in-game. However, Vantresca disagrees.

“I mean, it’s not [an] old game, but it’s old for the Switch as of right now. So I think it’s fair,” Vantresca says. “[They] kind of added a little bit more, with maybe Celeste or some other characters, but I think we’re at a good point, now that we have some of our old characters back.”

I personally think they both have good points. Many players are expecting New Horizons to be just like previous games, like Wild World or New Leaf. 

While I am disappointed that 2.0 is the last update, I do believe it is a fair choice. As much as I love the game, it is old compared to the Switch. Even though there will be no more updates for New Horizons, isn’t it possible that soon there will be a new addition to the Animal Crossing series? This update brought many players joy, including me. I hope the next game in the series is just as good, or, hopefully, better, than New Horizons. In the meantime, I still love New Horizons, and will continue to play until my Switch dies.