Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Games review
As of Jun 23, 2026, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is rated 90/100 on OpenCritic (151 critic reviews), and 90/100 on Metacritic (122 critic reviews). Each source is shown in its own units, never blended into one score.
Is Animal Crossing: New Horizons worth it in 2026?
A 90/100 from both OpenCritic (151 reviews) and Metacritic (122 reviews) reflects a game that earns its scores through genuine structural ambition: the island-building overhaul is a real redesign of the series formula, not a cosmetic refresh, and the new challenge system converts a cozy atmosphere into an actual reason to keep playing rather than just a vibe to soak in. The broad appeal is real but specific, it comes from the combination of creative freedom, low-pressure pacing, and a wholesome tone that lets players engage on their own terms, which means players expecting narrative payoff, combat, or conventional progression ladders will find nothing for them here and should look elsewhere. The slow, real-time pacing is the most honest complaint: you will hit walls where progress requires waiting for tomorrow's actual date, and that is not a genre literacy problem, it is a design choice that will genuinely frustrate certain players.
Players who want a low-pressure, creatively open daily ritual, designing spaces, collecting, and unwinding, especially those new to the series or returning after years away.
The real-time pacing means progress is deliberately rationed by the clock, not your effort, and the communal social experience that defined the game's 2020 peak has largely dissipated, late adopters are buying a more solitary product than the critic scores describe.
ReviewPond's conclusion, drawn only from the verified scores and review themes below. Not a paid or editorial opinion.
Different sources measure different things, so each is shown in its own units and never merged into one number.
Pros
- relaxing stress relief6
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- Overall, playing New Horizons was well worth the wait. The game is relaxing, enjoyable, well thought out, and fantastic chilled out fun for all ages. Right now, we really need a di...
- A new challenge system reinvigorates the familiar core, providing a wonderful incentive to explore all of Animal Crossing's myriad activities. This cheerful life sim is the next be...
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a respite from the current state of the world. I find my general anxiety slowly subside as I run through my town, water my plants, and build furnit...
- improved series formula6
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- Animal Crossing: New Horizons revitalizes the series formula with a fully customizable island that players get to design from the tent up.
- An impressive suite of improvements combine with a more clearly defined structure for Animal Crossing's finest outing to date.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives you more creative freedom and more to do on any given day while preserving what makes the series special.
- broad appeal4
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- Overall, playing New Horizons was well worth the wait. The game is relaxing, enjoyable, well thought out, and fantastic chilled out fun for all ages. Right now, we really need a di...
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons is everything I hoped it would be, and it’s yet another stellar release that showcases a confident Nintendo at its best. It is excellent, and is easil...
- The best thing I can say about New Horizons is that I think it's going to win over some players who previously bounced off the franchise. And it will do so without losing any longt...
- abundant content4
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- A new challenge system reinvigorates the familiar core, providing a wonderful incentive to explore all of Animal Crossing's myriad activities. This cheerful life sim is the next be...
- Animal Crossing games have always delivered a compelling version of self-quarantine, and this one overflows with quantity, without sacrificing quality, to do so at a scale series f...
- After a few weeks with the latest Animal Crossing, our craving for catching rare bugs and improving our island hasn't calmed one bit. The series' first console release in over a de...
- creative freedom3
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- Animal Crossing: New Horizons revitalizes the series formula with a fully customizable island that players get to design from the tent up.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives you more creative freedom and more to do on any given day while preserving what makes the series special.
- A beautiful, welcoming game that is everything and anything you want it to be. This is one you'll play all year and beyond, and it's exactly what the world needs right now.
- charming wholesome atmosphere3
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- There continues to be nothing quite like Animal Crossing, and New Horizons proves that there's life in the old Nook yet.
- Animal Crossing has always been a series where every little thing leads to something productive.
- By bringing players into their own island, Animal Crossing: New Horizons works the series' charming, wholesome magic like never before.
Cons
- slow pacing2
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- Animal Crossing: New Horizons is everything I hoped it would be, and it’s yet another stellar release that showcases a confident Nintendo at its best. It is excellent, and is easil...
- After a few weeks with the latest Animal Crossing, our craving for catching rare bugs and improving our island hasn't calmed one bit. The series' first console release in over a de...
- shifting social experience1
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- What makes Animal Crossing an appealing franchise is that I’m able to meet it on my own terms, even if those terms are the polar opposite of the ones I brought to the game in 2020...
Themes and quotes are drawn from 20 sampled reviews with text; the scores above reflect all 273 ratings. Counts are how many of the sampled reviews mention each point.