Animal Crossing: New Horizons Player Creates Neat Sci-Fi Island Map Layout

Fans have long enjoyed the expansive customization options in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, including one player who utilized the unique terraforming function to create a sci-fi layout for their island map. With a variety of placeable items, building modifiers, and terrain options, incredible island designs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons frequently capture the attention of community members and spark inspiration for fellow players.

The fifth installment in the beloved Animal Crossing franchise, Animal Crossing: New Horizons skyrocketed in popularity, due in large part to its release during the Covid-19 pandemic. Audiences adored the relaxing atmosphere and carefree gameplay, driving the game to impressive sales numbers and garnering positive responses. As some players hold out hope for another release in the series, others continue to put their creativity to the test in New Horizons.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons player historic_alien shared a look at their space-themed island map layout, putting a unique sci-fi twist on the often “cottagecore” aesthetic of Animal Crossing. Terraforming, or the ability to alter the geographical layout of a landscape, is a new feature introduced in New Horizons, making it a massive addition to the Animal Crossing series. For players wanting to control their island map layout in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the terraforming feature can be a game changer. As showcased by historic_alien, players can redirect waterways, alter terrain types, and raise or lower landforms. In doing so, fans can customize their island map layout, offering up exciting creative opportunities, such as terraforming the land to look like stars, moons, planets, and even flying saucers and rocket ships.

Terraforming in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

To unlock terraforming in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players will need to complete the main story of the game. This requires building and finishing the Museum and Nook’s Cranny, bringing more residents to the island, and achieving an overall island rating of three stars. Once the story is complete, K.K. Slider will visit the island and perform the game’s main theme song. After the performance, Tom Nook gifts the player the Island Designer app. With the Island Designer, players are then able to start terraforming in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, letting their creativity run wild across their island.

While there have still been no official announcements about a new Animal Crossing game, many fans are hopeful that a fresh installment will continue to offer the terraforming tools and even expand upon them. In the meantime, players like historic_alien are content to try out new creative designs with the familiar mechanics and beloved atmosphere of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the fifth major game in the Animal Crossing series. This slice-of-life simulation game tasks the player with developing an abandoned island into a small town for its resident villagers. The game was released at the start of worldwide lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which catapulted it into massive success. It’s currently the best selling game of all time in Japan.

Released

March 20, 2020

Developer(s)

Nintendo EPD

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Expansions

Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise

How Long To Beat

61 Hours

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