It seems as if winter is finally melting into spring – even on my Animal Crossing island! Although I have had my fair share of fun with this game, sometimes it’s hard to stay creative enough to stay active on this game if you’re not like me. I designed my island, got villagers I liked and went a while not really playing the game much (other than to pick weeds and other maintenance on my *ahem* 5-star island!) However, with the first anniversary of Animal Crossing: New Horizons just passing by recently and the snow disappearing from my island, I was struck with inspiration to put some more time into my island. If you’re in an Animal Crossing slump like I was, here are some ways you can revamp your island!
1. Change even the things you like.
If you’re like me, you spent a TON of time trying to get your island perfect at the beginning of the game. The two things that I was proudest of were my little shopping square and my museum – so proud, in fact, that I didn’t want to touch them ever again. But this also puts a lot of limitations on your gameplay. There’s limited space on your island, so if you don’t want to change anything that you’re satisfied with, it won’t take long until you run out of things to do. Instead, don’t be afraid to try something new to keep your island fresh!
2. Say goodbye to those you love .
We all have our favourite Animal Crossing villagers (you can pry Fauna and Marshal from my cold, dead hands), and it can be hard to let them go once you’ve gotten attached. Because of this, once I was happy with all ten of the villagers on my island, I stopped trying to get new ones. However, to me, one of the most fun things about the game is villager hunting, going from island to island and wondering who you’re going to get. So recently, I started letting go of even some of my favourite villagers, cycling them out and letting them leave as long as I have their photo (I’ll never forget you, Marina!). If you’re lucky, you can even hand them off to a friend and visit them later on! There are hundreds of villagers in Animal Crossing, so even if you let go of the one you like, you’re bound to find another to take its place in your heart. Plus, it’s fun to watch your photo collection grow and grow!
3. Watch YouTube videos for island inspo.
Sure, I like to consider myself a good writer, but I’m not exactly the most creative person when it comes to design. There are people out there with insane design skills and put hundreds of hours into designing and creating their island, and these videos are amazing to watch! You don’t have to copy their designs exactly, but looking at these kinds of videos helps get my own creative juices flowing. My personal favourite that I’ve seen recently was someone that created a “subway system” with the brand-new Mario pipes!
4. Get custom designs.
Animal Crossing has some cool designs, especially when you talk to Sable to expand your collection, but sometimes you want something new and fresh for things like your sidewalks that are a little more difficult to design. However, this is where custom designers come in! My NookPhone is absolutely chalked full of custom designs (I wish I could hold more), and they really help spice up your island. If you have some digital design skills (unlike me), you can try your hand in making your own!
I was quite happy to start spending a little more time on Animal Crossing recently – after all; I like to get my money’s worth out of the games I buy! If your island is currently collecting dust, this is a sign to put some TLC into it this spring!