Starting a new game in Animal Crossing: New Horizons can be a stressful decision for players who have put a lot of time and effort into their current saves. Like previous games in the Animal Crossing series, New Horizons only s one save file. However, unlike past games that held save data on the cartridge, New Horizons saves are ed on the Nintendo Switch itself, meaning players can't purchase a new copy of the game to start fresh. Because of this, there are many pros and cons to weigh before deleting past progress and starting over.
New Horizons' gameplay is driven by a handful of specific objectives handled during real-time. Players can upgrade their home by taking out loans with Animal Crossing's Tom Nook, expand the town through quests, and beautify their town with villager inhabitants and decorations to gain a five-star rating for their island. However, once these goals are accomplished, content becomes a repetitive cycle of daily gathering tasks and engaging in the event that is currently active. The lack of long-term goals and endgame options can make New Horizons less compelling to keep playing. Because of this, players may decide to flush their completed islands for a chance to start with a new layout and series of base-game goals.
New island saves in New Horizons offer a number of benefits. For example, players can select a new base layout for their island, offering new possibilities for decoration and design. All town upgrades reset, so players can also place buildings like Nook's Cranny, Able Sisters, and the Museum in new locations. While home upgrades remain the same with a restart of New Horizons, rooms can be set up in a different way, with the kitchen where a bathroom may have been previously, or the downstairs upgrade being used as a bedroom instead of a music studio. One of the biggest perks, however, is the opportunity to try out new Villagers. With a fresh island, players can collect a whole new list of Villagers to brighten their community, without the need to wait for a previous villager to move away.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Restarts Can Be Tedious For Crafting
Despite the fresh slate for creative freedom, restarts also mean players will lose a number of late-game perks. All items, DIY recipes, and Bells will be reset when starting a new game. While players can store some of their personal favorites on a friend's island to bring over later, the majority of this progress will be removed. Players can spend months regaining access to and finding DIY recipes - like Celeste's space and zodiac decorations, Golden Tools, and seasonal event decorations among many others. Players will also lose backstocks of rare crafting items, like golden ore. While this will give objectives to regather everything lost, it can make creative freedom frustratingly limited for those who had access to a wide variety of options pre-reset.
Restarting can also be a setback during seasonal events, so players who want access to certain tools or home upgrades for decorating will want to time a restart early enough to ensure they have what they need for Animal Crossing content. While starting a fresh save in Animal Crossing: New Horizons can feel like a daunting project, for those ready for new adventures, it may be the perfect way to reinvigorate gameplay.
