Animal Crossing Players Deserve A Second Save File

When Animal Crossing: New Horizons was first released, fans were unpleasantly surprised at the inability to have more than one save file on each Nintendo Switch. Instead, players were forced to share the same island with other profiles present on the console. This immediately made things difficult for fans looking to have multiple islands, or sharing a console with family members. Updates for ACNH continue to disappoint, with Nintendo seemingly dedicating fewer resources to its latest Animal Crossing game, and players deserve a second save file on their Switches now more than ever.

Aside from the obvious shortcomings that accompany the limit of a single save file for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, this design choice also limits the game’s longevity. Throughout its lifetime, ACNH has received several content updates that added new items, events, and characters to the game. While these events have given the Animal Crossing fanbase reasons to return, it’s also prevented many players from safely restarting their save file and experiencing the game’s content from the beginning. Enabling multiple saves for New Horizons could be the game’s saving grace during a rather lengthy content drought.

One of the major complaints players had upon receiving ACNH was the inability to have multiple saves on one console, as Nintendo forced players to share islands. Not only does this result in cramped islands, but it prevents a single player from fully embracing their design ideas. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has hundreds of customizable items to craft, buy, or earn from Villagers, with dozens of themes and designs to utilize for interesting and exciting island setups. Given that decorating is one of the main attractions of the Animal Crossing franchise, this limitation is counterintuitive toward gameplay mechanics that have long been a staple of the series, and it’s far overdue for players to have their own islands on shared consoles.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Longevity Depends On Second Saves

There are countless video games that actively encourage players to create second save files, whether due to narrative reasons or to simply replay the content for another round of enjoyment. Unfortunately, Animal Crossing: New Horizons does not allow its fans to replay preexisting content without completely deleting the progress they’ve made so far. The game even punishes players for restarting, as many time-sensitive events and items will be unobtainable by the time they have reached that progression point in ACNH’s story. Having a second save file will exponentially increase replayability, and allow New Horizons to have a more significant presence compared to other Switch titles.

Like all Animal Crossing games before it, New Horizons has a Villager limit for players, preventing them from filling their islands to the brim with its many unique, exciting characters. While this limit is for a very good reason and keeps islands from becoming overcrowded, it can be disappointing for players who want to explore all the character options the game has to offer. Collecting more than ten Villagers across various save files would allow the community to explore more Villager options beyond the obvious popular choices, like Raymond and Marshal.

New Horizons’ fate could depend on the addition of second save files for players, as its current state and lack of significant content updates could chase away its fans to other titles or platforms. By offering users the opportunity to re-experience the early stages of the game, and recreate their perfect island paradises in other fashions, ACNH’s lifespan could be expanded. Given the restrictions that have been placed on player profiles, there’s a chance that expanding the save file capabilities could reinvigorate past, present, and newcomers to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons all over again.

About The Author

Natalie Lindner
(499 Articles Published)

Natalie Lindner is a Game Features Writer for Screen Rant, creating content on the past, present, and future of games in the industry. Prior to this, she worked out of a writing consultancy in Rhode Island from 2018 to 2021, where she helped college students improve their writing abilities. Natalie has contributed her video game writing to several smaller websites and projects since 2018 and is eager to continue that journey with Screen Rant.

Working out of New Hampshire, Natalie spends the time she isn’t writing about games outside; hiking or biking. On those rainy days, she can be found striving for action on the latest FPS or perusing the latest comic books.

More From Natalie Lindner