Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 update: Should I restart my island?

Once the excitement over Nintendo’s Animal Crossing – New HorizonsThe 2.0 update was over, and Animal Crossing fans started returning to their islands. For some of us — ahem, me — it’s been about a year since we’ve last played in a meaningful way. It was about a year since we last played in a meaningful way. New HorizonsAs 2.0 Trailer ended, my thoughts wandered to something darker: Oh, no. Oh no.

It’s funny, my island disappeared around one year ago. This was just after the Halloween events. To try to rekindle the flame in my heart for the game, I started major renovations. The spark didn’t come and my island was in an uninhabitable state. There were items all over the beaches, as well as flowers that had escaped into every open area. My immediate thought was that I would obviously just restart my island — to begin again as a way to prepare for the upcoming update. A second later, another thought occurred to me: my homemade recipes. I was in the very beginning of New HorizonsWhen everyone was playing, it took me a lot of effort to trade and collect recipes with others. It wasn’t really hard, because so many people were playing the game; with a single post on social media or in Discord, I could find someone with whatever DIY I was looking for, someone with great turnip prices, or even open my island for hordes of visitors looking to sell theirs.

Times have changed. My friends have made progress. There are plenty of us. AreI was excited about Nov. 5, so it is great to return. But the real excitement of New Horizons’ release has passed — it was a moment that couldn’t be recreated in 2021. I found it enough to deter me from trying again. But it wasn’t for plenty of other people who’ve said bon voyage to their original villagers, bells savings account, and established islands.

The only way for some to bring in the new year is through their eyes. New Horizons’ 2.0 update and new DLC was to begin again. New HorizonsChloe spent more than 300 hours on her island and decided to start over in order to create more peace. “I had to weigh how attached I was to my existing island vs. restarting, but ultimately I decided to restart because when I would play it would feel stressful and overwhelming, and I didn’t need that in my life,” she told Polygon.

Yet another New Horizons player, called Pepper, agreed: “I’m enjoying restarting because when I last played, there was so much intense pressure on social media to make your island perfect/play everyday to keep up with friends. Now, I can just relax and enjoy AC on island time.”

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Players are now avoiding large, community-based groups which have appeared around the area. New HorizonsRelease A New HorizonsDylan, a player said that he created the game by using Facebook groups to sell and buy turnips in order to make huge profits. I did it too. “I’m purposefully avoiding that this time to make the progression feel more natural, as I think it kinda broke the experience last time.”

This is true for many players. New Horizons’ mainstream breakthrough in 2020 — documented on social media like no other Animal Crossing game before — changed the way players experienced the fandom. Although New Horizons has been touted for its relaxing, slice-of-life gameplay, it’s also been equally attached to FOMO (fear of missing out) and island insecurity — the desire to make the PerfectIsland. There’s truly no wrong way to play New HorizonsHowever, players feel a lot of pressure to make something worth their while. Many of us have been in that situation, where the joy and playfulness turn into work.

It is time to let go of that island which brings up these emotions New HorizonsSomething new. Malindy Hetherfeld is a game writer. New HorizonsPolygon heard from player that the task of returning to an island still in process felt overwhelming. So Hetfeld resumed.

“I didn’t think [about] the DIYs at all, because earning them, doing the museum hunts again, that was when I had a purpose and I actually wanted that back,” Hetfeld said.

Losing DIY recipes — like the beloved Ironwood furniture series — is one of the main reasons people told me they didn’tYou want them to start over. For players who have spent hundreds of hours building collections, losing those islands would be devastating. Animal Crossing’s clever players have an answer. One player that reached out to Polygon said they’ve concocted an elaborate scheme with their partner to preserve some of their favorite or pricy items before they restart: One will hold onto the items, transfer them back, and then restart themselves. It’s a lot of work, but not as much work as the hours of gameplay necessary in gaining them back.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Talk to 12 of them. New Horizons players about their island plays, I haven’t heard any consensus on the right way to prepare for the new update, or even a consensus on Why they’ve restarted. And that’s because there isn’tYou can prepare your home for an update or restart it. This decision is yours to make, whether you want to renovate or start over. The answer depends on your needs. New Horizonsit is for you. For some, it’s the process of daily rituals of collecting and harvesting. For others, it’s the legacy built from hours and hours worth of gameplay and intricate design. There’s nothing better than knowing that there will always be new bugs and never again having to go fishing.

I saw a post on the Animal Crossing subreddit today that said it well enough as anything else: “Please don’t stress. Allow yourself to move at your own pace. Your island isn’t perfect? That’s completely fine, you have tons and tons of time to make it look like you want it to look. The update isn’t a deadline. The game isn’t a second job. You can create your rules and have an island escape. It’s your island, not an assignment.”

So maybe there’s nothing you want to do in preparation for the update — no renovating or restarting. That’s good, too.