Animal Crossing: New Horizonsallows players to customize almost every part of the experience to some degree, be it their clothes via custom designs and the theme of their home to the layout of the island they inhabit with the other villagers. Creatively-minded fans have even usedNew Horizons’bulletin boardto create adorable art that gets shared online and is applauded for being a show of talent within the game’s limited systems.
Despite all the attention visual art forms get in the game,Animal Crossing: New Horizonshas not allowed players to be quite as creative with anything audio-related. One playercreated an orchestra usingAnimal Crossing’s gyroids, but even this required the collectible songs by KK Slider as there are no means to create custom tracks.
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Animal Crossing Should Allow Players to Flex Their Musical Muscles
There are some things thatAnimal Crossing: New Horizonscould allow players more control over, and one of these would be to allow players to create their own music tracks that can be played and shared. An obvious potential upside would be giving players a use for any instruments they collect, because while they look nice and are fun to mess with for a few seconds, they are little more than another decorative piece to fit into a home.
Adding a music creator to the game does not even have to be all that complicated.Animal Crossing: New Horizonsalready has a lovely soundtrackthat changes hourly, and it has a history of player-made Town Tunes and Island Tunes that add a little personal touch to the music, but they’re a far cry from a full-blown music maker.
If the next game in the series were to offer players a musical suite that allows them to create songs in the same vein, it would open up the possibility for curious players to get a better appreciation of why the score works so well while coming up with their spins on a song they particularly enjoy. The game already features various instruments including drums and pianos, so a simple song-making set-up could allow that creativity to flourish while still staying accessible to a broad range of players.
One of the biggest strengths ofAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsis how it can cultivate a sense of community, not only with the player and villagers on their specific island, but with others who play the game. That’s thanks to the inclusion of features such as multiplayer, mailing items from one island to another, and sharing custom patterns. Like almost every part of the game, the simple and laid-back approach taken with these features adds to the game’s charm, and being able to share custom songs would be a natural extension to what is already present in the game. If music can be made with instruments, it would even open the door for players to form a little band within the game.
Whether via a QR code like with the customs patterns or as an item like the KK Slider tracks, sharing music should be a simple process to share noteworthy pieces with friends or for anyone to listen. Even if someone prefers to keep to themselves, it would be nice to listen to custom tracks, whether with something like an MP3 Player or on radios players placed throughout the island.
A lot can still beadded toAnimal Crossingwithout sacrificing the simple charmthat makes the series so comforting. While many life simulators will emphasize things like farming, fishing, and cooking,Animal Crossingcan distinguish itself from other games in the genre by focusing on players' more creative pursuits.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis out now for Nintendo Switch.
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