It's hard to believe that five years have passed since Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched on Nintendo Switch. Heck, it's hard to believe that five years have passed since March 2020, period.

New Horizons is, and will always be, a special game for me. I've logged ~720 hours in it over the past five years, and created some really special memories. It was an amazing balm during the pandemic and a constant source of coziness & comfort in the months and years afterward.

What made the game special for you? And what do you hope to see in the next installment on Switch 2?

DOOM Crossing!

I somehow wracked up nearly 1000 hours on this game. The only game I played that comes close is Witcher 3 - which I played through several times on Switch.

My second most-played game ever, only slightly surpassed by New Leaf (its predecessor).
New Leaf and New Horizons were very tough to wait for.
The next Animal Crossing will probably be less of an agonizing wait since I've branched out more and more in games.
New Horizons, at least post-launch is the best Animal Crossing game, narrowly beating out New Leaf Welcome Amiibo.
New Horizons came out at the right time and has made Animal Crossing a juggernaut.
It's tough to know what to want from a sequel other than a bigger island (but not too big) and more varied/snarky villager dialogue.

I should get back into New Horizons.

Played this game pretty much every day for over a year. Good times.

Glad to hear it made such a strong impression :)

I believe it’s my most-played game ever. For the first 12 months I think I was averaging an hour a day. It’s fallen off considerably over the years but I still check in a few times a month. I’ve been kind of dreading signing off for the last time — even though I’m ready for the sequel. It’s always hard saying goodbye to Animal Crossing.

For the next game, I wouldn’t mind a few more facilities and even some light puzzling/adventuring gameplay. I don’t necessarily want Rune Factory, but maybe some caves or islands where you need to avoid tarantulas and scorpions, or something like that. Maybe more May Day-style puzzles.

* Rip And Tear starts to softly play as you approach Tom Nook's house *