Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
Pokemon Pokopia screenshot showing Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle all gathered around a Ditto in human form between two green trees
Pokemon The ultimate Pokemon Pokopia guide for restoring the world around you
Pokemon Pokopia Mosslax
Pokemon Pokopia players can't fathom just how big the Pokemon spin-off is so far
Upcoming Switch games for 2026 banner showing Mega Man from the All Star Force Collection, Witches in Witchbrook, a large woman in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, and Fiona in Neverway
Action Games Upcoming Switch games for 2026 and beyond
Big Walk screenshot showcasing a couple of characters squatting on the beach in front of a key thing
Co-op Games Big Walk could be your next Peak-like obsession
Best games like Animal Crossing: A group of villagers on a stone bridge during New Horizons.
Animal Crossing 15 Best games like Animal Crossing that are so wholesome it hurts
Julian, a light blue horse with a unicorn-like horn, in Animal Crossing: New Horizon poses in front of the mayor's office, with the GamesRadar+ On The Radar frame
Animal Crossing The best Animal Crossing: New Horizons villagers have been our faves since day one
Screenshot from Pokemon Pokopia shows a Ditto protagonist, Leafeon, and Sylveon in a field of flowers.
Pokemon 90 minutes with Pokemon Pokopia convinced me this could be the biggest cozy game since Animal Crossing
a ditto human sitting on some logs with pikachu and pichu
Pokemon Pokopia's unhinged dialogue is tempting me away from Animal Crossing: "It's a pretty nice butt, don't you think?"
A screenshot of the player in Starsand Island at the ranch shop looking at a chicken
Simulation Games I've played Starsand Island for 25 hours, and this is the most invested I've been in a cozy game for years
A path design in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing Best Animal Crossing: New Horizons island ideas
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
Simulation Games Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream won't allow Mii and item sharing or any real online functionality at all
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Isabelle
Animal Crossing How to find Isabelle in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Screenshot from Pokopia. A ditto is in the centre of the frame sat in a cave
Pokemon Pokopia "doesn't force you to wait" like Animal Crossing – the Pokemon life sim lets you knock stuff out as you wish
Animal Crossing New Horizons guide
Animal Crossing Full Animal Crossing: New Horizons guide for island life
Animal Crossing: New Horizons fish
Animal Crossing When and where to catch all Animal Crossing: New Horizons fish
  1. Games
  2. Simulation
  3. Animal Crossing
  4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

This new Animal Crossing: New Horizons footage will be the most wholesome 5 minutes of your life

News
By Jordan Gerblick published 4 September 2019

Tom Nook wants your weeds

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Today's Nintendo Direct revealed a predictably adorable gameplay trailer for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and it's five perfect minutes of fruit-picking, butterfly-catching, gallivanting fun. The trailer also breaks down some new additions to the Animal Crossing franchise, like the island's Resident Services building, crafting mechanics, and 8-player online multiplayer. 

The Resident Services building is where you can buy tools and furniture. And while you're there, an environmentally friendly Tom Nook is offering to buy your "unwanted items" and weeds as part of the town's new "Island Cleanup Plan." Now if you skip a weekend and come back to the game, you'll likely be busy collecting weeds and turning them into sweet, sweet Bells.

Then there's the Nook Mileage Program, which is the only mileage program I've ever been interested in. Completing different activities, like greeting a certain number of residents, using your NookPhone, and catching a bunch of fish, can earn you Nook Miles which you can trade for special items and recipes.

You may like
  • The New Year's Eve countdown in Animal Crossing: New Horizons finishes, with the villager and residents of the island gathering in the plaza to celebrate - presented with the GamesRadar+ On The Radar frame Time ticks on in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, whether I'm obsessed with playing or taking a break
  • Some of the village gathers around with Tom Nook and Kapp'n's family in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch 2 celebrate the Resort Hotel opening - with the GamesRadar+ On the Radar branding frame Six years later, the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Switch 2 and Update 3.0 have hooked me back into this cozy world thanks to these five fresh features
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons tips 30 Animal Crossing: New Horizons tips to know before you start

As one would hope, the gameplay footage confirms that despite some new additions to the formula - like crafting and social aspects - the heart of Animal Crossing: New Horizons will remain familiar with the series, which means we'll all be fishing, catching bugs, and growing flowers in perfect harmony, rain or shine. Plus, with eight players allowed to play in online modes, you can spend time with your friends and family in the beautiful deserted islands of Animal Crossing: New Horizons instead of in the stupid real-life world.

Too tired for blasting baddies? We here you - here are 11 games like Animal Crossing to stroll through until New Horizons releases.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
Nintendo Switch Platforms Nintendo
Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Social Links Navigation
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

Read more
The New Year's Eve countdown in Animal Crossing: New Horizons finishes, with the villager and residents of the island gathering in the plaza to celebrate - presented with the GamesRadar+ On The Radar frame
Time ticks on in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, whether I'm obsessed with playing or taking a break
 
 
Some of the village gathers around with Tom Nook and Kapp'n's family in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch 2 celebrate the Resort Hotel opening - with the GamesRadar+ On the Radar branding frame
Six years later, the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Switch 2 and Update 3.0 have hooked me back into this cozy world thanks to these five fresh features
 
 
Animal Crossing: New Horizons tips
30 Animal Crossing: New Horizons tips to know before you start
 
 
Tom Nook from Animal Crossing New Horizons on the GamesRadar+ On the Radar hub branding
On the Radar with Animal Crossing: New Horizons
 
 
Best games like Animal Crossing: A group of villagers on a stone bridge during New Horizons.
15 Best games like Animal Crossing that are so wholesome it hurts
 
 
An Animal Crossing: New Horizons player standing on the pier in front of a hotel
I haven't played Animal Crossing: New Horizons since 2020 - here's why the 3.0 update has lured me back in
 
 
Latest in Animal Crossing
A player character sat surrounded by books in a cozy room in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons update ensures Timmy and Tommy never let you out of their sight again, stops fence cloning
 
 
Celebrating the opening of the resort hotel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Nintendo says those Animal Crossing and Splatoon updates are there so players can migrate to Switch 2 at their own pace
 
 
Photo of a pile of official Animal Crossing amiibo cards, with an Isabelle card in the middle.
UK Nintendo fans this is not a drill, Animal Crossing amiibo cards are back
 
 
Photo of an official Animal Crossing Brewster cup and rubber keychain sitting on a white surface.
The new Animal Crossing New Horizons merch at Nintendo is too cute to handle, but it's UK only for now
 
 
Animal Crossing: New Horizon On the Radar special
I love Animal Crossing: New Horizons Slumber Islands, but it could’ve been so much better if they added these features
 
 
Tom Nook from Animal Crossing New Horizons on the GamesRadar+ On the Radar hub branding
On the Radar with Animal Crossing: New Horizons
 
 
Latest in News
Elsa Bloodshot in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals devs felt "panic" at the thought of going into the live-service graveyard that just claimed Highguard
 
 
Palworld Pal with shocked expression
"I wouldn't rule out a Palworld 2.0," says Pocketpair publishing head, but don't expect a "No Man's Sky situation"
 
 
Dafne Keen brandishing her claws as Laura/X-23 in Deadpool and Wolverine
Marvel fans are debating whether Dafne Keen should become Wolverine or stay as X-23, and I've already chosen a side
 
 
Peak mesa biome
Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads to see whose game would sell more
 
 
Key art for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred showing Mephisto, a spiky and angular demon, against a red, lightning backdrop, arm and claw raised menancingly, cropped to show more of him
Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion will be "really f*cking hard" at its highest difficulty, dev threatens
 
 
Jin, Mugen, and Fuu standing in a row
Samurai Champloo is getting a live-action Netflix series from One Piece studio, and the original creator is on board
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Elsa Bloodshot in Marvel Rivals
    1
    Marvel Rivals devs felt "panic" at the thought of going into the live-service graveyard that just claimed Highguard
  2. 2
    Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion will be "really f*cking hard" at its highest difficulty, dev threatens
  3. 3
    Marvel fans are debating whether Dafne Keen should become Wolverine or stay as X-23, and I've already chosen a side
  4. 4
    "I wouldn't rule out a Palworld 2.0," says Pocketpair publishing head, but don't expect a "No Man's Sky situation"
  5. 5
    Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads to see whose game would sell more

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...