With the most recent mega-update 2.0, plenty of folks, perhaps yourself included, are torn between starting a new island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons or not. I know I had the same dilemma. But then, I realized something. All of the end-game content introduced in the 2.0 update is just that, end-game content.
But hey, don’t let that stop you if you’re truly set on beginning a fresh island save!
Should You Start a New Island in Animal Crossing?
There are numerous pros and cons to beginning a new island. It’s stressful, right? You’re torn between a blank slate with an abundance of unique ideas, or sticking with your current setup, which includes all of your DIY recipes, tools, perhaps even your ideal villagers. It’s a gamble!
As you likely know, the gameplay loop in New Horizons focuses on specific objectives, like paying off your loans to Tom Nook to further upgrade your home. Or, another example is collecting that perfect villager after visiting twenty-plus deserted islands.
You’ll lose it all if you delete your save. All of that progress. What other options do you have, though? You could, say, create a blank canvas by flattening your current island, placing all residences on the beach, and then terraforming to your heart’s content.
Or, you could delete the save and pick a new layout.
Why would you choose the latter? For a few reasons, like the ability to replay all of the included content from scratch. After all, once you hit “end-game” in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the gameplay becomes a tedious loop of monotonous daily activities, such as checking Nook’s Cranny, picking fruit, or digging up your daily fossils.
How to Start a New Island
If you genuinely want to start a new island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you’re in luck. Nintendo made it quite easy to delete your current progress and start afresh.
First, know that you must navigate through the Nintendo Switch Settings. You’ll open up the settings menu via the home screen, then find “Data Management.” From here, select “Delete Save Data” and find Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Select the game. Confirm your selection.
Once you launch Animal Crossing, you’ll receive the opening screen, allowing you to create a new island and start your debt-filled journey with Tom Nook once more!
Major Features Introduced in the 2.0 Update
One of the key reasons why folks choose to flatten their current island instead of fully restarting is due to the major 2.0 update released in November 2021. This was the major update we all impatiently waited for, with a slew of new features and enhancements to the game. It also included a ton of end-game content to explore.
- The Roost and Brewer
- Cooking
- Farming
- Harv’s Island expansion
- Kapp’n’s Boat Tours
- And so much more!
If you restart your island, you’ll lose access to much of this content for what could be weeks or months of grinding.
But hey, whether or not you start a new island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons falls to you. It’s your island, your game time, so choose wisely and enjoy yourself!