Animal Crossing: New Horizonswas incredibly successful in its myriad of customization features. From item decor to house embellishments to furniture, the options were near limitless in how players chose to craft their island spaces. Given that the next entry is likely to taketheAnimal Crossingseriesto even further heights, an increase in creative freedom for players will almost certainly be featured. With this, a heightened focus on building customization, particularly for main structures, could make all the difference in how players choose to demonstrate their themes.
Many of the creative ideas that players have had while decorating their islands inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonshave been accentuated by their chosen themes; while it’s certainly possible for players to craft beautiful landscapes with a mishmash of ideas, some have opted to create spaces for their villagers that center around a specific aesthetic. Whether tied to genre like a fantasy realm or western desert, or to items/decor of a specific color, the ability to hone in on a specific design concept can often pave the way for hours of customization, helping to make gameplay more goal-oriented.
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Successor Could Introduce Customization for Main Buildings
With this said, there are a few limitations thatNew Horizonsholds that might not fall perfectly in line with a chosen aesthetic. Buildings like the museum and Nook’s Cranny are unable to be customized by the player, and though these structures remain quite neutral in design, they might not entirely match up with more stylized themes. Similarly,New Horizons' base game restricted the remodeling of villager homes, though this was remedied inHappy Home Paradiseto great acclaim. Many of the changes present in the DLC could point towards more openly customizable spaces for the next entry in the series, which may have a further impact on how players present their spaces.
The ability to customize the interior and exterior of villagers' homes in Happy Home Paradise could allow for a similar feature inthe nextAnimal Crossingtitle, which may be applicable to main structures as well. Though it might not be feasible for the player to change everything about the museum or Nook’s Cranny, a facelift through an exterior color change or different door could go a long way to make players' themes more consistent. A more nuanced range of customization could be a game-changer in both styles of buildings; players could see a nature-themed space where villager homes had ivy climbing up their walls, or a wild-west theme with shabby wood sidings and metal signs for shops.
Such a feature would work well to tie into players' spaces while offering more cohesion in their exterior design. If the same idea extended to the interior design of main buildings, then perhaps the next game could include preset styles, where shop and museum designs could differ depending on a particular theme chosen by the player. For example, having the option between a modern, regal, old-fashioned, or kitschy look could allow these structures to change shape without having direct effect on things like the placement ofAnimal Crossing’s museum exhibitsor the daily inventory of Nook’s Cranny.
WithNew Horizonsbeing a showstopper in regard to its customization, the next entry in the series is under pressure to go even further to enable the creativity of players. Though it is unclear what terrain the game will opt for, the precedent set by Happy Home Paradise could mean that buildings will be more customizable than ever before. Such a feature would be wonderful news for players sticking to a certain theme, and could work in tandem to whatevernew features the nextAnimal Crossinghas to offer.
