Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the games that saved our sanity in 2020, but not everyone plays it every day. Maybe you’ve found something else to play on your Switch or you’re just tired of the daily grind – and that’s okay! But you may notice that your island looks a little different when you return.
Unlike other video games, take time away from it Animal Crossing has consequences in the game. None of them are serious, but the chores and missed special events list gets longer if you spend too much time between visits. Returning to an unkempt island can be overwhelming, especially if it’s your first Animal Crossing game, but we’ll show you everything you need to do to get your village back in order.
Check with your friends
The first thing many socially minded players will do is chat with the friendly villagers they haven’t seen in a while. Some will be happy to see you, but others will be angry that you have been away for so long. They can even threaten to leave if they are not satisfied with the state of the city. But don’t worry, you can regain their affection by fulfilling requests, giving them gifts, and cleaning up the island. Make sure to check in with everyone to see if they have important updates for you or if any specific needs are being met.
Squeeze those cockroaches
If you haven’t been there for over a month you will find some scary cockroaches invaded your island home while you were gone. These little bugs are not harmful, but certainly ugly. You can step on them to get rid of them, but make sure to check under your furniture to see if there is any hidden. Your villager will say, “All the nasty cockroaches are GONE! I feel so much better now! once you delete them all.
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Maintenance of the city
Next, now that your home pest has been eradicated, your island’s landscape needs attention. Weeds, fossils, and shells all pile up while you’re gone. It takes a little time to clear everything up, but the extra shells are handy to make and you can transfer any fossils you find to Blathers the Owl.
Catch up your mail
Just like in real life, you get daily mail delivery Animal Crossing. These are even delivered when you’re not playing, so take a few minutes to catch up with your letters and parcels. Keep in mind that you all of them of your mail.
Your villager’s mailbox can only hold 300 messages at a time. If you’ve been away for several months with a full inbox, you may have even lost email that couldn’t be delivered, including gifts from your friends or special one-of-a-kind items that only appear once a year. Unfortunately, these missed items cannot be retrieved (unless you resort to time travel).
Look for special events
The Animal Crossing games have their own seasonal calendar with special holidays and festivals that only happen once a year. These limited time special events include unique items and updates for your city, such as snow weather on Toy Day. These events are inaccessible once they are over, but if you are lucky you might encounter one when you reload the game. Check every inch of your city to see if anything has changed.
Now I don’t recommend playing a game every day because of FOMO – there are plenty of other games to play, hobbies to pick up, and major life events that are more important than Animal Crossing-however, there are plenty of online resources you can use to keep up to date with important upcoming seasonal events in New horizons or help you predict random events on your island such as meteor shower and weather or Stalk Market Fluctuationsso you don’t miss anything.