Can I Face My Animal Crossing Villagers After Years Away?

With the release of the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 I’m having an existential crisis about facing my Animal Crossing friends. Yes, like most people who needed an escape during lockdown, I found comfort and community through playing New Horizons.

I was able to hang out with my best friend who lives in Japan and so many others through late night hours of anxiety as we all went through it. The squabbles with my fellow villagers and doing capitalism lite thanks to one island czar by way of Tom Nook, who with his Jimmy Buffett tropical vacation vibes made it easier to want to earn and spend bells. Did I need an brick pizza oven and a flatscreen in my Venetian maximalist cottage? Yes, obviously.

I developed surprisingly endearing friendships with my villagers. Pashmina was my first neighbor; initially, we hated each other but over time warmed up after months of sabotaging each others’ homes. We recruited some rare friends on our orange grove little plot of land in the sea, and made so many wishes on stars with the astrology girly owl Celeste. And of course learning the meaning of the lucky raccoon Tanuki’s… sack was delightful.

But over time as the world opened up again, I stopped letting myself relax while playing on my island. I stopped collecting art and rare fish, and let the weeds get out of control. It really got to the point where I would open up the game and then spend so much time weeding that I’d be too tired to play after. And then of course my villagers started noticing my extended periods of absence—some even moved away, like goth mom Mathilda and her baby. I now fear logging on and finding out my beloved Lucky, the mummy dog, has moved on.

The thought of returning to my cluttered holiday cottage also fills me with dread. If I could I’d recreate the Doechii TikTok dance with my Animal Crossing Mrs. Nesbitt (yes, named after Buzz Lightyear’s trauma-induced split personality) and dance with my anxiety in that world. The upkeep of things that kept piling on became too much as the imaginary world became like my real world and I didn’t have enough bells to fix it. I went back for a spell to work off-island at Animal Crossing‘s vacation resort, which was very White Lotus and I worked as a Belinda type. But even that didn’t hold my attention for long.

So while the Nintendo Switch is offering the capability to move your island to the next system, I’m not sure what the appeal is. Will there be a big event on-island? It doesn’t appear that the Animal Crossing franchise is getting a new installment by the Switch’s June release. Honestly, I remain avoidant and trapped between disappointing my villagers after years away and their intense line of questioning as to why I have left them in a purgatory of my own creation.

Then there’s the daunting decision that looms over me. Maybe I should delete the life and memories my virtual neighbors and I built together? I don’t think I have the heart to do that to them so for now they wait, suspended in the between until I turn the game on again. Or maybe they’ll stay that way for good and I’ll tell myself they can think I moved away. Perhaps I can even wait till a new game arrives and hope there’s a way to visit my old island and visit my old friends—and that I too can resettle like they do. Wouldn’t that be nice?

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