Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 Update: Should I Reboot My Island?

Once the excitement for the Nintendo Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update 2.0 was shut down, Animal Crossing fans began to return to their islands. For some of us, ahem, for me, it’s been about a year since we last played in a meaningful way. When the New Horizons 2.0 ended the trailer, my mind wandered to a darker thought: Oh no. My island.

You see, I left my island about a year ago, shortly after the first Halloween event. In an attempt to rekindle the spark of the game in my heart, I had started a major renovation project. But that spark never came, and I left my island in a shattered state, with items strewn on its beaches and flowers scattered throughout any open space. My immediate thought was that I would obviously just restart my island, to start over as a way to prepare for the next update. Seconds later, I had another thought: my DIY recipes. In the first months of New HorizonsWhen everyone was playing, I worked hard to collect and exchange recipes and other items with anyone else who played the game. It wasn’t really difficult, because a lot of people were playing; With a single post on social media or on Discord, I could find someone with whatever DIY I was looking for, someone with great turnip prices, or even open my island to hordes of visitors looking to sell their own.

The time has changed. My friends are gone. Sure, many of us is it so returning in anticipation of November 5, but the sheer excitement of New HorizonsLiberation has passed, it was a moment that could not be recreated in 2021. The thought of doing it all over again, this time, largely on my own, was enough to dissuade me from annihilating my island. But it wasn’t for many other folks who have said Bon voyage to their original villagers, Bells Savings Account, and established islands.

For some the only way to usher in New HorizonsUpdate 2.0 and the new DLC would start over. New Horizons Gamer Chloe, who invested over 300 hours on her original island, started over to bring more peace to her game. “I had to weigh how attached I was to my current island versus rebooting, but I finally decided to reboot because when I would play it would feel stressful and overwhelming, and I didn’t need that in my life,” she told Polygon. .

Other New Horizons The player, named Pepper, agreed: “I’m enjoying rebooting because the last time I played, there was a lot of intense pressure on social media to make your island perfect / play every day to keep up with friends. Now, I can just relax and enjoy the air conditioning on island time. “

Some players are even avoiding those large community groups that popped up around the New Horizons release. TO New Horizons The player, Dylan, said he started the game by using Facebook Groups to buy and sell turnips and make big profits. (I did this too). “I’m purposely avoiding that this time to make the progression feel more natural, as I think it broke the experience last time.”

And, in fact, this is true for many players. New HorizonsThe major trailer in 2020, documented on social media like no other Animal Crossing game before, changed the way players experienced fandom. Although New Horizons has been touted for its relaxing and realistic gameplay, it has also been equally attached to FOMO (fear of missing something) and the insecurity of the island: the desire to do the Perfect Island. There really is no wrong way to play New Horizons, but players still feel a lot of pressure to create something worthwhile. Many of us have fallen into that trap, when excitement and playful dread turns into something that feels more like work than play.

Letting go of an island that brings those emotions makes New Horizons something new. Malindy Hetfeld, game writer and New Horizons player, told Polygon that returning to an island in progress felt like a chore. And then Hetfeld rebooted.

“I did not think [about] The DIY ones at all, because winning them, doing the museum hunt again, was when I had a purpose and actually wanted to get it back, ”Hetfeld said.

Losing DIY recipes, like the beloved Ironwood furniture series, is one of the main reasons people told me that I did not do it they want to restart their islands. Losing them would be devastating, for some players with hundreds of hours of progress building their collections. For that problem, smart Animal Crossing gamers with multiple Switch consoles have a solution. One player who reached out to Polygon said that they have come up with an elaborate scheme with their partner to keep some of their favorite or expensive items before rebooting – one will hold onto the items, transfer them back, and then reboot. It’s a lot of work, but not as much as the hours of play needed to get them back.

When talking to a dozen New Horizons players on their plays on the island, I have not heard any consensus on the correct way to prepare for the new update, not even a consensus on why have rebooted. And that’s because there It is not a correct way to prepare for the update, or a singular reason to reboot. No one can make this decision for you, restart or renew. What does it depend on New Horizons is for you. For some, it is the process of daily gathering and gathering rituals. For others, it’s the legacy built from hours and hours of gameplay and intricate design. The joy of always having new insects to bring to the museum, or the joy of never having to fish again.

I saw a post on the Animal Crossing subreddit today he said it pretty well like anything else: “Please don’t stress. You can afford to go at your own pace. Is your island not perfect? That’s completely fine, you have tons and tons of time to make it look like you want it to show. The update is not a deadline. The game is not a second job. The game is an island getaway where you can create your own rules. It’s your island, not a chore. “

So maybe there is nothing you want to do to prepare for the update, not renew or reboot. That is good too.