While nothing has been officially announced yet, a new Animal Crossing is bound to be on the horizon. It feels like almost every Nintendo console since the GameCube has its own entry, and because of the massive success of New Horizons, it would be a mistake to let the IP lay dormant. So, it is only a matter of time before the company chooses to announce one, and once it finally does, this next Animal Crossing needs to fix some of New Horizons' biggest flaws.
One such flaw comes in the form of Animal Crossing: New Horizons Bunny Day event. Themed after Easter, this event was supposed to be a cute way to celebrate the real-world holiday. In reality, it threw off many players' daily gameplay loop, and interrupted the core Animal Crossing experience considerably. All of that made for an event that the community seems to dread every year, but they should not have to. With the right additions, Bunny Day could easily become one of Animal Crossing's best.
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Animal Crossing's Bunny Day Really Needs to Be Fixed Up
Bunny Day Was One of New Horizons' Worst Events
Bunny Day has been a thing since Animal Crossing: City Folk, but with New Horizons, Nintendo took it to a completely new level. Since the entire game revamped that core experience, the events also had to be given a facelift. So, instead of simply going on Easter Egg hunts, the islands were littered with six different types of eggs waiting to be discovered, which could then be used to build some exciting bunny-themed furniture with the help of Zipper.
At its core, Bunny Day does not sound so bad as it gives players some fun new items to work towards. However, the actual way it was implemented left much to be desired. These eggs would appear in trees, underground, in the water, and even in balloons. Instead of simply getting fossils or fish, there was a high chance players would discover an egg. Because the drop rate seemed to be extremely high, players who simply wanted to do what they had been doing for months were forced to interact with the event. What made that even more controversial was the fact the event ran for 12 days, making it virtually impossible to do daily chores.
Nintendo Could Spruce It Up With a Plethora of New Features
After the first Bunny Day, the Animal Crossing community seemed to hate it. Since the entire game is built around doing what you want to do at your own pace, forcing players to also gather Easter Eggs messed that up. But the next Animal Crossing does not have to follow in those footsteps. With a few tiny changes, the entire event may be received a lot better next time around.
For starters, Nintendo could simply decrease the Easter Egg drop rate and make the event shorter. If players are picking up fewer eggs over a shorter period of time, the process will feel more bearable. Right now, many players find themselves overwhelmed with eggs, and after a couple of days, they are yearning for its conclusion.
Along with that, Nintendo could also either add more things for players to do during this time or force them to actually opt into the event before their island is littered with eggs. If there were new collectibles like New Leaf's candy or special bunny-themed mini-games to play, then that would help spruce things up. Additionally, if players had to actually talk to Zipper to participate, then players who did not want to touch an Easter Egg would not have to.
One of the best parts of Animal Crossing has always been the fact it lines up with the real-world calendar, and as such, is filled with special holiday events. But while some holidays can be a lot of fun, New Horizon's Bunny Day has always been the odd one out. Yet, with these changes, it could be improved immensely. And Nintendo does not have to stop there, as there is even more it could probably do if it wanted to reinvent the franchise once 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.
- Franchise
- Animal Crossing
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- 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
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