Animal Crossing Switch: All we want to see from the upcoming exclusive

The wait for Animal Crossing for Nintendo Switch has been agonising one, especially given it’s been so long since the release of New Leaf on 3DS. We’re desperately to jump into a new town filled with adorable animals and get to collecting fruit, spending bells and making oursevles at home. Set for a 2019 release, it’s bound to be one of the console’s biggest games this year.

Trusted Reviews has compiled everything you need to know about Animal Crossing for Nintendo Switch including all the latest news, release date, trailers, wishlist and more.

Animal Crossing Switch – what is it?

At the time of writing, we don’t have a concrete idea of what Animal Crossing Switch will entail, or how it aims to expand upon the existing formula. It is a main entry in the series, so is on the same playing field as New Leaf and not a spin-off like Happy Home Designer, which wasn’t as well received by fans. 

Animal Crossing Switch release date – when is it coming out?

It was confirmed during a recent Nintendo Direct that Animal Crossing Switch will be launching for the platform in 2019. Nothing else was mentioned beyond that.

Animal Crossing Switch trailer – how does it look?

Adorable! While we weren’t subject to any gameplay footage, we were treated to two Animal Crossing trailers during the aforementioned Direct. The first of which was a teaser which led to Isabelle’s announcement as a playable character in Super Smash Bros Ultimate:

Next up is the announcement trailer, although this doesn’t contain any gameplay footage. Instead, it features everyone’s favour loan shark, Tom Nook, as he fiddles with a light switch on his desk. It’s fun, adorable and an unbearable tease for what’s to come:

Animal Crossing Switch Wishlist – What we want to see

A bigger, more lively town

This marks the first time Animal Crossing steps in the realm of HD gaming, with the exception of Amiibo Festival, but we don’t talk about that monstrosity. Knowing this, we’re hoping it aims to take advantage of the added power to provide us with a bigger and more ambitious city to explore.

New Leaf was relatively small due to its portable origins, providing us with a quaint village and a few additional locations to explore. It was lovely, yet after 50 hours or so you were recycling the same routine in exchange for bells and new decorations for your humble abode.

We’d love for the Nintendo Switch release to introduce an entirely new town or even a small city for us to explore and make our own. We’re talking bigger houses, prettier gardens and even more townsfolk to befriend and fall in love with. Speaking of…

Meaningful relationships!

I’ll never forget the day Antonio the Anteater abandoned me, moving to a faraway town when all I ever did was shower him with love? Was I too clingy? I’ll never know, forever living with regret. In case you hadn’t guessed, Animal Crossing does an excellent job of making your villagers mean something.

Not that they didn’t already, but a more meaningful connection represented by in-game events, rewards and perhaps even the option to marry other humans and move into the same village together.

Many of the things we’d love to see are inspired by Stardew Valley, largely because of how creatively it expands the formula. Relationships are one of them, and the idea of forming a family in the world of Animal Crossing sounds achingly adorable.

More tasks to complete

We love Animal Crossing, but the repertoire of tasks thrust upon you did grow repetitive after a while. Speaking with neighbours, digging up fossils and fishing by the beach resulted in countless bells you could treat yourself with, but it was the same thing every day when boiled down.

Perhaps the option to run our own business and scour dungeons like in Moonlighter could provide the entire experience with another layer of depth. Not only are we running the village as mayor, but you’re also actively supporting the inhabitants financially. That’ll show, Tom Nook!

More fashion!

The Nintendo 3DS didn’t have much power but allowed Animal Crossing to shine through thanks to truly fantastic art direction. Colours popped and character designs were made adorable thanks to charming dialogue and sound effects.

We’ve caught a few glimpses at how Animal Crossing looks in HD on Wii U, but this will be the first time we see a fully-fledged adventure on a more powerful console. Even if Isabelle has run off to Super Smash Bros, they’ll still be plenty of cute animals strutting about the place with awesome designs.

We want more adorable options, shops and means of customisation when it comes to our own character. Whether its outfits, faces or even sound effects we emit while pottering about the village.